“In the best situations, failure is a trigger. But this is different than ‘trial and error,’ whereby a designer plays with forms until the perfect (or near perfect) one is achieved and actually results in something that will, as our Wiki states, ‘meet a desirable or intended objective.’ But many times what a designer thinks is perfect, and so releases to the world is a flop. With luck, even this will provide a lesson for what not to do the next time or the time after that…”—Steven Heller, from the Introduction

Embarrassing career moves, discarded inventions, colossal accidents, public mistakes—find the silver lining to all your private disappointments and public failures in this collection of essays from top designers and design thinkers. Grimace, smile, and explore the essence of failure and success and the role of failure in a design career in essays by:

·  Henry Petroski  · Alissa Walker · William Drenttel ·  David Barringer  ·  Allan Chocinov · Peter Blegvad  ·  Ross MacDonald  ·  Robert Grossman  ·  Ina Saltz  ·  Warren Lehrer · Rob Trostle · Ralph Caplan · Richard Saul Wurman · Marian Bantjes · Rick Meyerowitz · Amanda Bowers · David Jury · Veronique Vienne · Francis Levy · Nick Currie ·  Debbie Millman · Colin Berry  ·  David Womack ·  Stefan Sagmiester  · Ken Garland ·  Ben Kessler

With anecdotes, illustrations, and historical examples, Design Disasters will inspire students, teachers, and professional designers alike to go against their instincts and embrace and even enjoy every design misstep. Design Disasters proves fear of failure—and failure itself—can be the most compelling part of the creative process.