Good morning!

The new year is just around the corner. Whether you look towards it with innocent hope or realist anxiousness – or both, now’s the time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture from new angles. This December edition we bring you handpicked books, from our curator as well as our larger design community, that they're hoping to read or have enjoyed the most this year.

Meet our curator of the month

Sebi is a generalist designer, passionate about sustainability, innovation, and the design of systems around us. In his free time, Sebi likes to do gardening, go hiking or mushroom hunting, and every now and then play basketball or football.

Sebi's picks

Prosperity without growth: Economics for a finite planet

By Tim Jackson

In this book, Tim challenges exponential economic growth as a prerequisite for a thriving society. Drawing from over three decades of research and policy work, he puts forward a concrete vision and building blocks for a “postgrowth” economy, which could deliver both ecological and financial stability.

Reimagining capitalism in a world on fire

By Rebecca Henderson

The intro for this book states, “It’s the most successful economic system to have ever existed, but capitalism is in danger of destroying itself—and our world. Reimagining Capitalism gets to the heart of what’s wrong with modern capitalism and lays out a pragmatic roadmap for how business can help to catalyze the systemic change we need to build a capitalism that works for everyone.”

More from our design community

Thanks to our designers Niina Mäki, Sebastian Holzki, Anna Kholina, and Ninja Fedy for the below book recommendations.

• Viestinnän palvelumuotoilu (Finnish) By Elina Piskonen, Salla Syrman - This book has some amazing concrete case examples including Futurice's project with Helsinki City on data-based marketing campaigns.

• The Green Imperative: Ecology and Ethics in Design & Architecture

  By Victor Papanek

• Ruined by Design By Mike Monteiro
• Design after Capitalism By Matthew Wizinsky
• Range: How Generalists triumph in a specialized world By David Epstein

Know more about your curator

Tell us about one project you’ve worked on that you found particularly interesting or challenging.

A couple of years ago my designer colleague Niina and I had to interview several of our client’s B2B customers on the topic of sustainability and its role within their own companies. Our client wanted to better understand how their own services could better serve these customers, especially in terms of providing sustainability data.

I liked that project a lot, not only because of how rewarding the teamwork was, but also because it gave me deep insights that I could rely on for years to come.

What’s one skill or technology you’ve learned recently that has had an impact on your work? 

Last year, Futurice supported my participation in d.MBA, an online intensive business design program aimed at designers. I learned a lot and it’s had a major positive impact both on my work and my career. The business side of things had seemed enticing and daunting for some time and I’m happy I finally got the chance to deep-dive into it and find new skills and confidence in the area.

What emerging technologies or trends are you excited about?

While there are many trends to be less excited about, I feel like the energy transition towards renewables is moving rather quickly and that’s encouraging to see.

What hobbies or interests are you passionate about?

I’m crazy about gardening and the growing-my-own-food part of it. It provides a small window into the topic of sustainable food production– both the opportunities and the challenges of it.

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