Thinking On Paper Technology Podcast Don Norman Is The GODFATHER of Design
At 88, Don Norman, the godfather of design, issues his final warning: the same mindset that gave us convenience also gave us climate collapse, inequality, and fragile institutions. Design isn’t decoration. It’s power. It built the products we use, the systems we depend on, and the crises that now threaten us.
“Human-centered” design sounds good, but it isn’t enough. Norman argues it has blinded us to bigger responsibilities , ecosystems, culture, and the generations who will inherit our mistakes. We need Humanity Centered Design.
In this conversation Don Norman Thinks on Paper with Mark and Jeremy about:
Has human-centered design failed?
Why are climate summits designed to fail before they begin?
How did STEM education strip out wisdom?
Can empathy ever be built into systems at scale?
Can humanity centered design help us survive, or will it keep driving us toward collapse?Please enjoy the interview with Don Norman.
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Timestamps
(00:09) Why Design Shapes the World We Live In
(00:37) How Design Shapes Human Behavior (Often Without Us Noticing)
(06:00) Why Most Solutions Don’t Matter — and What Real Design Should Do
(09:10) Humanity-Centered Design: What It Really Means
(22:16) Can Design Help Us Avoid Collapse?
(26:51) Why Communities Hold the Answers, Not Just Experts
(28:49) The Spark That Starts Humanity-Centered Design
(30:18) How Young Designers Can Change the Future
(33:16) Working Together Across Borders
(35:39) Measuring What Matters, Not Just What’s Easy
(37:06) Why Empathy Can’t Be an Afterthought
(42:05) Thinking Beyond the Next Quarter — Business for the Long Term
(45:02) Rethinking Education for the Next Generation
(46:43) The Hard Questions We Still Need to Answer
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