How Design Makes the World may be the year’s best-titled book. That’s because it’s not just about good design or how design works, but how the world around us is shaped by design—good, bad and mediocre—and the many decisions that go into making it. While the book has many helpful suggestions for fostering better design, it also lays out in simple prose the complex reasons why the objects that surround us are the way they are. In the introduction, author Scott Berkun mentions that he took many years to get the book right, and readers should be glad he did. He treats complex subjects with a great balance of interesting anecdotes and insightful lessons. Never condescending to even the least-successful designs—hello Segway—he explains everything from the best, and worst, way to design a door handle to why grids of streets sometimes work and sometimes don’t. The result is a comprehensive and detailed overview of the topic that somehow feels both light and relatable.