Dark Matter and Trojan Horses: A Strategic Design Vocabulary

by Dan Hill

In this short book, Dan Hill outlines a new vocabulary of design, one that needs to be smuggled into the upper echelons of power. He asserts that, increasingly, effective design means engaging with the messy politics - the dark matter" - taking place above the designer's head."

Genres: Design, Nonfiction, Business, Philosophy, Architecture, Sustainability

186 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 2012

About the author

Designer. Urbanist, Educator.

Reviews

[Kars · Rating 5 out of 5]

The case studies and the suggested strategic design vocabulary save this from becoming a too hand-wavy affair. It is also nice and short, which radically increases the chances of people reading it. And it should be read—by designers interested in more meaningful work, and by anyone looking to change the organisation they work in or the society they live in. Even though I was already familiar with these ideas from Dan Hill's recent lectures, having them all written down in one place for deeper contemplation has given me new handles for thinking about my own practice. Good.

[Kyle Cameron Studstill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise, 90-page definition of the difference between strategic design and it's shallower cousins: design thinking, management consulting, scenario planning, et al. By "dark matter" he means something like "the oft-overlooked politics between the stakeholders of any system which strategic design hopes to address."

[Minjin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most clear and concise books in design / strategy I’ve written

[Douglas Sellers · Rating 3 out of 5]

20% wheat, 80% chaff. An extremely dense, mostly designer pretentious, book about using strategic design to change the works. There are some interesting and useful concepts but the majority of the book seems to be recounting design war stories and speculating about how impactful design could be in different social and political situations.

[Taco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though the author jumps from partial case studies to broad generalizations a bit quickly, the core of the argument is sound and the concepts introduced are useful and sticky.

[Brendon Gouveia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short book does make good on its promise of offering a strategic design vocabulary. I can definitely see how this design lexicon can be applied to my every day work in order to improve my impact and strategic influence. Dan's critique of the limits of Design thinking (especially delivered in a consultant format) also seems pretty spot on.

However, it falls short in a few ways. For one, I am deeply skeptical of the scope and broadness of the idea of strategic design. It's so amorphous in the way it's described that it often feels like a way for designers to larp as someone with influence like a policy maker or entrepreneur while still retaining the title and aesthetic of a designer. Why not simply be an entrepreneur or a policy maker with designer and systems thinking sensibilities?

I think stretching the more conventional conception of design to this degree is hubristic, and can ultimately hurt the perception field of design because the lofty goals of strategic design are simply unrealistic. If you want proof of this, simply look at how the highlighted opportunity areas in the public sphere have progressed. We have the benefit now of looking back on how strategic design has ripened as a field and performed this past decade.

It also doesn't provide much guidance on how to develop the skills of a strategic designer outside of loosely defining some desired qualities, mainly systems, strategic thinking, and maybe the ability to prototype? Although to be fair, given the brevity of this work it would probably be a lot to expect it to.

[Jennifer Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must read for designers or anyone who has engaged in design training. Definitely put the thoughts I've had for years on papers (in a much more eloquent manner) about how design should not be confined to projects that are essentially "putting lipstick on a pig." If designers held positions in public institutions and had the power to use their strategic design toolkit/mindset to address structural/systemic issues that plague our societies, we'd all be much better off. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because I was having trouble discerning the difference between the five different "plays", and his points about the Nordic Model being used as a case study didn't seem to track with the rest of the book. I am glad he pointed out that "design thinking" has become a buzzword that management consults use to puff themselves up. As someone who went through four years of training, I can't take people seriously that think they can use "design thinking" to address their project when they've taken one, three unit seminar about it in their MBA program.

I would say that this book might be a little hard to digest if you haven't been exposed to any material on design or strategic and systems thinking.

[Bart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book thinks bigger than most books on this topic: it's not about apps or websites, but about how everything is design, and how designers can effectuate real change by applying strategic design - not just online. That sounds very complex, but the book is to the point and the definitions are concise. Although it did jump to conclusions at times, it certainly helped me getting a better grasp of the concept of strategic design.

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Dark Matter and Trojan Horses: A Strategic Design Vocabulary" is an interesting read for whom wants to know more about strategic design. Even though it is an introductory text to the complexity of the strategy aspect of the discipline it outlines several of the current challenges that design is facing now and probably will face in the future. I would recommend it to design professionals who want to steer their design practice towards strategy too.

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

At some point in a design leader's career, he/she will need to read this book to understand where a life of design leads. It's challenging and convicting what Hill proposes, that design has the power to change organizations and cultures. He encourages the design community to think beyond the pretty pixels and even successfully critiques design thinking.

[Christoph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice short and good description of strategic design embedded in the current cultural and political situation. I really love the analogy to dark matter, it is very fitting. A little bit to much focus on urban planning and civil service

[Massimo Curatella · Rating 5 out of 5]

"we need to believe that reorienting our various cultures of decision-making may be the only civilised way forward."

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the book incoherent. It may have some interesting metaphors.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for school- interesting theories but didn't keep me too engaged.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for work — found it very interesting and quick read 👍🏼

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Hill gets to the heart of a meaningful frame & vocabulary for the type of design that deals with the messiest of societal / systemic problems. Includes quick case studies to illustrate major themes and a slightly self-referential set of definitions for the realm of strategic design. I want to hear more about embedded design practices taking the strategic design approach, and the outcomes of their efforts. Recommended as a higher level systems point of view for anyone thinking critically about driving real change in delivering products / services, or in a planning field.

[Jason Bootle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed this up until a point. Some very good thoughts about society and a designers role in applying design at a higher strategic level than we do but around half way I found the going tough and it seemed to get bogged down in too many examples. Reading it on the iPhone Kindle app didn't help as the screen is too small for reading.

[Callie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so relevant to the things I experience as a designer at Microsoft. I often tell people that designing for a canonical software product like Excel is more like urban planning than any other form of design. Dan Hill lays out a vocabulary and framework for thinking about how best to affect change when designing for large, complicated systems.

[Alper Çuğun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant little book that makes the case for designers doing more than making things pretty. I especially found it useful to frame the things we had already been doing as activists into terminology that makes it easier to communicatie and apply.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

easy to understand, powerful ideas, excellent primer for role of strategic design in transforming organizations. makes clear the need for both powerful theory and rooted projects and ways to transition back and forth between the two

[Ankit Bhardwaj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating theoretical framework, and explored in some very unique design contexts, but I wish it was taken to more critical ends. This book has opened up excellent room to explore, a topic it could not possibly cover in its short scope.

[Gitamba · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great primer on the reach of Design as a practice, its struggle in leveraging capital to earn a seat at the table of problem solving, and how "Design thinking" was a complete failure.

[Kyle Calian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I already want to read it again. It gives you a wonderful vocabulary to use as a designer who works outside of only the field of graphics.

[Vivien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for everyone who are interested in the next step following DesignThinking.

[Number 41 Media]

Apr 19 - Megan

[Vuk Trifkovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, well-argued and grounded primer on design in the broadest sense. Very good mix of theory and practical tips. Loved cheeky football references too. Go read!

[Emily Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written, short read for anyone interested in systems thinking and strategic design. Provides a critical view of design thinking with some great case studies sprinkled throughout.

[Mons Ghis]

An interesting approach on design thinking, more an introduction with examples of ways to approach design thinking.