ABSTRACT
Half a century ago, in the book Design for the Real World, Victor Papanek challenged the design world to contribute to a better world and stop designing bad products that sell well. In “Something Old, Something New,” she looks back on her 40 years as a product designer and applied design researcher. The conclusion is that, on the one hand, much has changed in the design world. On the other hand, the challenge has remained the same, namely, to develop solutions that, in Papanek's words, are “responsive to the true need of men.” Products that solve something, not just because it is possible. And that is apparently more difficult than Papanek could have imagined.
