Solving First World problems with Third World solutions.

David Stairs

You know the popular saying, “No pain, no gain”? It’s always kind of bugged me. I mean, it just doesn’t stand up to common sense. There’s no animal in the universe that likes pain. Most go out of their way to avoid it. But human institutions are contrary. They seem to be grounded [...]

If you’re not entirely comfortable following the assurances of “the world’s leading design firm” or the blandishments of “the association for design” regarding sustainability, there may be hope for you yet.

David Stairs
“The subordinate place of history, theory, and criticism in design education is concomitant with the difficulty most designers have in envisioning forms of practice other than those already given by the culture.”
–Victor Margolin

Turf Wars
When Victor Margolin published those words in 2002 in his Politics of the Artificial I chastised him for being too [...]

David Stairs

Ball State Visual Communications student Kat Townsend documenting a hand-painted sign on a condemned house in Flint, Michigan. Photo by Laura Huffman.
Winning and losing: the dichotomy is endemic to the American way of life. From Vegas to American Idol, from athletic wagers to Dancing With the Stars, we take our entertainment with a [...]

Arvind Lodaya’s social design proposal for the new century

In a nation where cookie-cutter McMansions have become common from coast to coast…

David Stairs on the connection between design, memes, and altruism.