As Featured In:

The New York TimesThe Wall Street JournalThe Washington Post
EntrepreneurInc.CNNWebby Award Honoree

Selected as one of the best newsletters on the Internet by the Webby Awards!

SEPTEMBER 23, 2025|BOOKS & REVIEWS


The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Design for a Radically Changing World by Diane Hoskins and Andy Cohen


NOBW_Design for Radically Changing World 900x600

The offices (or coffee shops) we work in, bridges we drive across, and temples we pray in were all imagined, designed, and built by architects. Could knowing more about how these places are built lead us to a greater understanding of the way we work and live? This book aims to answer this question. I profiled this book back when I was writing about books for Inc magazine. At that time, I wrote this review:

"The core belief the authors introduce is that most problems in the world can be solved through more thoughtful design. Loneliness and a dwindling sense of community can be reversed through more mixed-use projects and shared living spaces. Rising sea levels can be addressed with more permeable building solutions and the use of less-carbon-intensive construction materials. The steady decline of physical retail could be transformed through a focus on more experiential design. In short: This is a wonderfully packaged jolt of architectural inspiration to help anyone imagine a more beautifully designed future."

​Download the full review as a PDF here >>

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: NOBW Design for Radically Changing World

​

Buy On Amazon »Buy on Bookshop.org »

About the Non-Obvious Book Selection of the Week:

Every week I share a new “non-obvious” book selection. Titles featured here may be new or classic books, but the date of publication doesn’t really matter. My goal is to elevate great reads that perhaps deserve a second look which you might have otherwise missed.

Share

Book Rohit To Speak

Want to bring these ideas to your next event?

Rohit turns the thinking behind posts like this one into keynotes for audiences around the world, from Fortune 500 leadership teams to global industry conferences.

Learn More About Speaking
Rohit Bhargava delivering a keynote

Related Categories

How It All Started

A Short Backstory Of This Blog

This is a blog about non-obvious ideas. Originally launched on the Typepad platform in 2005 as the Influential Marketing blog, the stories at first focused mainly on digital marketing while Rohit worked at Ogilvy Advertising. In 2015 Rohit officially rebranded to the Non-Obvious Insights Blog and published his WSJ bestseller Non-Obvious. For the past twenty one years, this blog has coined new terms, introduced future marketing practices and inspired the next generation of non-obvious thinkers and marketers.

Want More Non-Obvious Ideas?

Join 100K+ ReadersTo Get Weekly Insights

The Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter brings you the five or six most fascinating and overlooked stories of the week, with a quick take on why each one matters.

    One email every Thursday. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

    ×