SEPTEMBER 23, 2025|BOOKS & REVIEWS
The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Design for a Radically Changing World by Diane Hoskins and Andy Cohen

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 >>

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.
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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.




