Big Data, Big Design: Why Designers Should Care about Artificial Intelligence

TL;DR: This book is worth picking up for teaching at the intersection of design and AI, at an introductory level.

Why I Picked This Up

At the end of 2022, I was asked to review this book review for Taylor and Francis. It bridged several areas of interest I had and so I happily accepted. What came next was a few months of concerted reading and note taking as I tried to figure out how to position the book in context with everything else I was exploring. The review was published on May 25, 2023.

My Take

I’ll provide two excerpts from my published review below as I think they sum it up nicely:

“…the book seems most suited for design educators who seek supplemental texts with curated examples of AI in design. No matter the audience, with a hopeful tone, Armstrong urges her readers to recognize that when designers shape products and experiences involving AI, it amplifies their power to impact people, which will in turn shape our future. Whether they realize it or not, designers contribute to a future permeated by AI. Thus, caring about AI should become a new foundation for design education, practice, and professions.”

“The field of artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly. Writing any book on the subject is an act of humility: the moment the manuscript is sent to the printers, we can assume it is out of date. As this review is being edited, the arms race within Generative AI is starting to escalate, and already it’s difficult to guess what the next months, let alone years, hold. But even if some examples quickly depreciate in domain-specific value, this book importantly helps to bridge gaps between fields. Armstrong seeks to bring designers into dialog with AI practitioners, so they can work to build better and more ethical technology together.”

You can visit Taylor and Francis to read the review.

Find the book

You can find the book at the Princeton Architectural Press, bookshop.org, or likely any other online book retailer.