This book contests assumptions about the purpose and meaning of design in the 21st century. Through an analysis of artistic avant-garde strategies employed by designers to generate impactful social engagement, it explores ways to think about the value of design beyond its practical utility.

The focus on how a design can be used within the real world persists within design criticism and culture, despite the contributions of differing perspectives on design from the arts and crafts movements of the 1900s, the Ulm model of design in the 1950s and 60s, radical Italian designs in the 1960s, experiments in digital production in the 1980s, the expansion of design in the exhibition domain in the 2010s, and the shift to social design and 'open works' in the 2020s. Katherine Moline confronts dominant ideas about how design should function by examining a range of socially engaging design practices, and their international critical reception, from the early 20th century to the present day.

Contextualized within current debates, chapters highlight designers who respond in alternative ways to urgent technological, environmental and social issues. Case studies include, among others, work by Dunne & Raby that stimulates discussions around artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, by Martí Guixé that questions ideas of nature and industrialization, and by Ana Mir that disrupts the bourgeois values and moral agenda shaping the ethos of modernist functionalism in design. Others include the Interaction Research Studio, Gabriel A. Maher, Benedikt Groß, Formafantasma, Onkar Kular, and Brave New Alps. These designers experiment with materials, technology and processes to produce powerful, thought-provoking works and mobilize a radical imaginary sensibility in design. This book provides new theoretical and conceptual tools for evaluating design and focuses particularly on the importance of aesthetic theory in understanding both the historical impact and potential of design.