The Collected Angers: Essays About Design for an Unwilling Audience

by Mike Monteiro

For ten years or so I've been putting down my thoughts on design, and technology, and ethics. Essays after essay. Some of those essays get turned into talks, some of them get blown out into books, but the essay has always been the native form for all these. I am, at heart, an essay writer. I love the form. It's long enough to be nuanced, and short enough to get it out immediately. All the essays here have already appeared somewhere. Some might be familiar. But I thought it'd be nice to get them all in one book. Cause man I love holding a book, and flipping through it, and writing notes in the margins. Also, I added a bunch of footnotes to the essays. So that's new.




The book is broken up into three the more recent stuff on ethics, responsibility, and race; a section where I throw rocks at Silicon Valley; and a more practical section about design basics, which is where this whole mess got started. I just wanted to help you get paid, remember that? Lordy, it's been a journey.

Genres: Design, Essays, Nonfiction

289 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 7, 2021

About the author

Some say the clothes make the man. Others say it’s opinions. Co-founder of Mule, Mike likes to have a bet both ways. His 2012 book, Design is a Job, was a love letter to hard work, self-awareness, and the importance of a good tailor.

Mike cultivates his reputation around being serious about design, human rights, a damn fine joke, and the Phillies. His philosophy of supportive antagonism helps Mule create great internal and external projects. He has given talks about the responsibility of designers in client relationships at conferences such as CreativeMornings, TYPO, and An Event Apart.

Mike received his BA in Fine Art from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, and his MFA in Graphic Design from University of Texas, Austin.

Reviews

[Martin Doudoroff · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays originally published on-line, so sometimes repetitive, although plenty here is worth repeating. Note that these essays amount to advice for professional designers, not so much a discussion of design itself.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this wasn't still so relevant, years later. A little repetitive, but it clearly still needs to be hammered home in the field.

The final section is full of some amazingly clear & practical advice for design professionals in daily work. I got a ton out of that in particular.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great collection of curmudgeonly essays. Pairs well with with Ruined by Design.

[zoagli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man this guy is ANGRY. And more Marxist than Michael Moore (who I adore).

[Alexander Debkaliuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will trouble, inspire, and empower designers. Good cause, good humor, good writing.

For those following Mike for a while, it does contain a few familiar stories, but oh so worth repeating.