Summary
Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans applies design thinking principles to personal and professional development. Published in 2016, this groundbreaking self-help book offers readers practical tools and exercises to create a fulfilling life, regardless of age or career stage.
Drawing on their experience teaching a popular course in the Design Program at Stanford University, Burnett and Evans present a systematic approach to tackling life's big questions, encouraging readers to prototype different life scenarios and embrace failure as a learning opportunity. With its emphasis on actionable steps, their method has been tested by thousands of people, from students to mid-career professionals to retirees. The book's success has led to workshops, online courses, and a growing movement of people applying design thinking to their lives.
Plot
In Designing Your Life, authors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans present a framework for applying design thinking principles to your personal and professional life. The book begins by asking readers to assess their current situation across four key areas—health, work, play, and love. This initial self-reflection serves as a starting point for the journey of designing a more fulfilling life.
The authors then guide readers through the process of building a personal compass, composed of one's workview and lifeview. This compass helps individuals navigate career and life decisions by aligning their actions with their values and beliefs. The book introduces various exercises and tools, such as mind mapping and journaling, to help readers gain clarity on their interests, strengths, and goals.
Designing Your Life emphasizes the importance of prototyping and experimentation in career development. Readers are encouraged to gather information through experiences and conversations, testing out potential paths before committing to major life changes. The book also offers practical advice on job searching, including tips on how to approach potential employers and present oneself effectively in interviews.
Throughout the book, Burnett and Evans stress the importance of embracing failure as a learning opportunity and developing “failure immunity.” They also highlight the value of building a strong support “team” to help navigate life's challenges. The authors conclude by reminding readers that designing one's life is an ongoing process, requiring continuous reflection and adjustment even into retirement.
Themes
Applying design thinking to career and life planning
Self-reflection and assessment of current life situation
Creating a personal compass for life direction
Developing multiple life paths and prototypes
Reframing problems and overcoming obstacles
Building resilience and embracing failure
Cultivating happiness and fulfillment in life choices
Setting
Designing Your Life is grounded in the present day, addressing the challenges and opportunities faced by individuals in the modern world, regardless of age or career stage. While not tied to any specific geographical location, the book's principles and methodologies draw heavily from the innovative culture of Silicon Valley, where authors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans have worked and taught. Their expertise in design thinking, honed in the tech industry and academic environments, forms the foundation for the life design approach presented in the book.
Characters
Bill Burnett: Co-author of Designing Your Life and executive director of the Design Program at Stanford. Burnett has extensive experience in product design, including creating the first slate computer. He brings his expertise in design thinking to help readers apply these principles to their life planning.
Dave Evans: Co-author and colleague of Burnett at Stanford's Design Program. Evans has a diverse background, having worked at Apple on their first mouse design and as VP of Talent at Electronic Arts. His experience in technology and talent management informs the book's approach to career planning and life design.
The Reader: The reader is positioned as the protagonist of their own life story throughout the book. They are guided through various exercises and reflections, actively participating in the design of their life.
Hypothetical Case Studies: The book includes various unnamed individuals as examples or case studies to illustrate its principles, serving to demonstrate how the book's methods can be applied in real-life situations.
Quick facts
Designing Your Life spent 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list after its release in 2016.
The book has been translated into over 30 languages.
Co-author Bill Burnett designed the first Apple PowerBook laptop.
Co-author Dave Evans helped design Apple's first mouse.
Designing Your Life introduces the concept of “odyssey plans” for mapping out different life paths.
The book encourages readers to prototype different careers through informational interviews.
The authors recommend reframing “failure” as valuable feedback and learning experiences.
Over 100,000 people have taken workshops based on the book's principles.
A follow-up book called Designing Your Work Life was published in 2020.
About the Author
Bill Burnett is an Adjunct Professor and the Executive Director of the Life Design Lab at Stanford University, from which he received both his Bachelors and Masters of Science in Product Design. He has worked at Fortune 100 companies, including seven years at Apple designing award-winning laptops, most notably the PowerBook, as well as spent several years in the toy industry designing Star Wars action toys. He holds a number of mechanical and design patents and design awards. In addition to his duties at Stanford, Burnett advises several of his students’ startup companies.
Dave Evans is a lecturer in the Product Design Program at Stanford University, from which he received both his Bachelors and Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He is also a cofounder of Electronic Arts, one of the world’s largest interactive entertainment companies. He previously worked for Apple, where he led product marketing for the mouse team and introduced laser printing to the masses.
Driven by their commitment to applying design principles to personal and professional development, Burnett and Evans created the “Designing Your Life” class at Stanford. Drawing on their experience teaching this popular course, they co-authored Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life (2016). The book became a New York Times bestseller and inspired workshops, online courses, and a follow-up volume, Designing Your Work Life (2020).
