As the field of design becomes ever more complex, reaching into increasingly diverse areas of practice, designers are arming themselves with an expanded toolbox of methodologies and approaches in an effort to create projects that defy traditional disciplinary boundaries and more effectively speak to contemporary modes of practice and ways of living. The most inventive designers are those that remain open-minded and draw on a diversity of material from across disciplines in order to steer design into new and more meaningful directions, prompted by issues as far-reaching as our social, political, environmental, and cultural life, as well as developments in new technologies, materials research, and manufacturing processes.

Throughout my career, I have cast a wide net drawing on a range of experts, as well as insightful individuals and groups from a diversity of interrelated disciplines, in order to navigate and steer an evocative direction for exhibitions and publications. For my work, it is essential to understand the roots of design in order to be able to suggest new lines of thought that move beyond historical precedents, ultimately redefining the field of design and stretching its range of influence.

This short bibliography is drawn from some of the books that I feel are truly brilliant and essential reading for aspiring designers, making clear the importance of design as a tool for understanding our relationship with the world around us.