I’m currently quite focused on responsible product development, and I’m preparing some thoughts on the subject. In the meantime, the people from the product newsletter at the School of product, and notably the powerful Marion Lecerf, asked me for a short reading list on product.

You can read it: Special books newsletter

The link to the complete newsletter: School of product Newsletter #20 special books edition

As for Frechin’s book, Le design des choses, it is very interesting, notably I think, because we have been for some time at the moment where the historical branch of design, that of architects, artists, engineers meets that of the wild entrepreneurs from the startup world. We are at the moment where the historical meaning of design -> purpose, intention, meaning, returns (for good reasons, we’re reaching the end of an era, even of a world). The entire part that highlights this reflection through a history of design is interesting. The second part seems less impactful to me on one hand, because the justified critique of modern iteration bulimia is exaggerated and therefore loses its substance, and on the other hand, because Frechin doesn’t possess the “wild entrepreneur” part, he lacks it, it’s not his nature, he doesn’t understand part of what he discusses about digital.

My advice, mix: From Zero to One by Peter Thiel with Le design des choses by Jean-Louis Frechin.