We live in an era of runaway design where the possibilities of new technologies—like generative AI and synthetic biology—are near limitless, but so are the perils. Even the most well-intentioned and transformative innovations can go haywire, jeopardizing our work and our world. In Assembling Tomorrow: A Guide to Designing a Thriving Future, a provocative and deeply hopeful new manifesto, Carissa Carter and Scott Doorley, the Academic and Creative Directors at the Stanford d.school, pair speculative fiction with practical guidance to show how to build a world worth living in rather than one that tears us apart.

Assembling Tomorrow grapples with the future of technology, ecology, biology, work, politics, food, parenting, interpersonal relationships, and more. From the effects of social media to the uncertainty of AI and the consequences of climate change, the outcomes of our creations ripple across our lives, and we are now at a critical moment where we must consider: What does a thriving future look like? How could we design it thoughtfully and creatively if we were tasked with doing so? The book is poised to redefine the discourse on design and innovation, offering a roadmap for creating a future that we can all proudly inhabit.

Assembling Tomorrow is the highly anticipated capstone for a 12-book series on design from Stanford’s d.school. Over the past few years, FAN has hosted events in support of d.school books Creative Acts for Curious People, You Need a Manifesto and Design for Belonging.

Co-authors Carter, a designer, geoscientist, and the academic director at the d.school, and Doorley, a writer, designer, and the creative director at the d.school, will be in conversation with Liz Gerber, Ph.D. (FAN ’13, ’16), a professor of mechanical engineering at Northwestern University, co-director of Northwestern’s Center for Human Computer Interaction + Design, and faculty founder of Design for America.

This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded and available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.

BONUS AFTER-HOURS EVENT: Attendees who purchase a copy of Assembling Tomorrow from FAN’s partner bookseller The Book Stall are invited to attend an AFTER-HOURS event hosted by Carter, Doorley, and Gerber that will start immediately after the webinar. Details on the webinar registration page.