Irene Au does a great job of describing what design can be when it reaches its fullest potential. Her comments remind me of something I read recently about Andrea Palladio, a figure in the Italian Renaissance and arguably the world’s first architect.

Irene’s deeper point is that great design in the things we use can help us overcome negative emotions like fear, greed, and attachment. This lines up nicely with Palladio’s assertion that being in a great structure can help us achieve calm, harmony and dignity.

In a nutshell, since things can be better, we can be better.