Well-designed spaces are not just a matter of taste or a question of aesthetics; they literally shape our ideas about who we are and what we deserve. Design impacts our health, our education, our community, our sense of self-worth, and more, yet all-too-often design is viewed as a luxury. To address critical problems of access and inequity at home and around the world, good design must transcend the endless coverage of multi-million dollar homes and Silicon Valley office spaces to become a key means of uplifting those who need it most.

In his inspiring new book Design for Good, award-winning designer and entrepreneur John Cary offers character-driven, real-world stories about the power of designs that dignify. Beautifully designed in full color with stunning photos that capture the spirit of the places—and people—they represent, Design for Good is a triumphant look at the power of dignifying design.

An uplifting call-to-action, Design for Good challenges designers and interested citizens to seek out and demand designs that dignify. As philanthropist Melinda Gates observes in the book’s foreword, “Great design is not a finite resource; it is a choice we can all make by listening more, empathizing more, and demanding more for humanity. [These stories] call on us all to insist that even in the face of scarcity and suffering, there must always be room for dignity.”

Check out an excerpt from the book below.