Bruce Mau’s 24 principles for designing massive change in your life and work.
What to expect
Bruce Mau: MC24 features essays, observations, project documentation, case studies, and design work by Mau and other high-profile architects, designers, artists, scientists, thinkers, environmentalists, and those influencing culture today. Divided into 24 chapters organized by the 24 principles that form his core ethos, it is a practical, playful, and critical tool kit that will empower readers to make an impact and engender change on all scales.
Each section title in this new book is represented by a “button” that corresponds to one of Mau’s 24 philosophies, presenting and tackling different ways of solving problems in one’s life, work, or community. Examples include Begin with Fact-Based Optimism, Design Your Own Economy, Compete with Beauty, Sketch: Hey Everybody Let’s Fail!, and Work on What You Love, to name a few. Every chapter features thought-provoking case studies that demonstrate various solutions and strategies in a real-life context. Throughout, Mau poses simple questions that encourage readers to think outside of the box when confronting an issue.
‘This is an illuminating and provocative book, not just for those practicing as designers, but for anyone thinking about ways of implementing lasting and positive change in the world.
As Director of the Design Museum I share Bruce Mau’s belief in the power of design to change lives. In fact, it’s my job to champion this belief through the museum’s programme and work. Bruce Mau’s design ethos, communicated through the books 24 design principles, is nuanced, eye-opening, complex, inspiring and challenging. It ranges from an exploration of Mayan Ritual to contemporary data theory.
It is systematic and yet anthological and wide-ranging; it is accessibly written but it demands a substantial engagement from its reader. It’s an appropriately elegant and engaging publication from a designer and thinker who describes books as one of the great loves of his life.’
Tim Marlow, Director and Chief Executive of the Design Museum
