Three book suggestions for your semi-leisure summer reading. Harold G. Nelson President of ADI

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Dear ADi While waiting for the new ADi site to come on-line I wanted to pass along a recommendation for three books I found to be very interesting from a design perspective. They represent a growing swell in the popular press for design related topics even if in many cases the authors don't make the direct connection themselves. The first two books have spent time on the New York Times Best Seller List and are by the same author; Malcolm Gladwell. The first book; 'The Tipping Point; How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference' (Little Brown and Co., 2000, 2002) deals with the process of innovation. Too many authors use the terms creativity and innovation interchangeably but in this case Gladwell is writing about how things or ideas become part of people's lives spreading through large populations; the definition of innovation. Businesses have picked up on this of course because it ties in with their marketing and sales efforts. Volumes of the book are being networked in business organizations mimicking the process described in the book itself. The second book by Gladwell; 'Blink; The Power of Thinking Without Thinking' (Little Brown & Co., 2005) deals with judgment. Erik Stolterman and I have written about types of design judgment and this is an example of one type in particular, the quick off-hand judgment. In both books Gladwell expands on a core idea through many, many real world examples. The danger is always that the idea will get lost in the details but the benefit of so many concrete examples is that for the average person this is how they best remember things. The third book by Daniel H Pink; 'A Whole New Mind; Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age (Riverhead Books, 2005) focuses on the emerging value of what is commonly referred to as 'right brain thinking'. In this book Pink makes a case for a balance between both left brain and right brain thinking although the book primarily presents examples and exercises for right brain thinking (the exercises are great ways to concretize the abstract ideas) . Pink acknowledges in interviews that the left/right brain metaphor is not exactly accurate but it does reflect people's preference for dividing things into polarities. Unfortunately in his list of "six senses" that define right brain thinking, design is given a very narrow definition. I suggested to him that design thinking is the integrative process the unifies both left and right brain approaches and is much more inclusive than the concept used in his book. Maybe the next book? These are not technical or academic books and are easy reads. I recommend them for your semi-leisure reading. They are examples of books that are influencing a broad population of readers who are being exposed to ideas fundamental to a broader and deeper appreciation for design thinking. This is good news for those of us interested in innovating design thinking.