Liliana Becerra's well researched book soft Design: Aesthetic Experience at the Intersection of Materials, Technology and Interaction highlights the importance of the liminal and the interdisciplinary as realms that we must explore and need to inhabit to craft new futures of cultural and technological innovation.
Suchi Reddy, architect, artist, and Founding Principal, Reddymade
soft Design: Aesthetic Experience at the Intersection of Materials, Technology and Interaction is a welcome manifesto for a new design paradigm. Liliana Becerra banishes sharp edges and mass-produced sameness in favor of soft surfaces, digital craft, and inclusive solutions. This emerging design ethos ties multisensory care and aesthetic delight with improved mental and physical well-being for users.
Ellen Lupton, Curator Emerita at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and author of The Senses: Design Beyond Vision
soft aptly speaks to the multi-dimensionality of humans, culture, materiality, design and what we 'perceive' to be 'real.' In an increasingly neurodynamic world, how are we exercising our sensorial acumen to its fullest potential? soft explores the interconnectedness of heart and mind; of intuition and informed thought; of the sensual and the actual; of the obvious and the discrete; of the calculative and the collaborative; of art and science. In design, technology, and in complex problem-solving, soft validates a more immersive and experiential quest that is sublimely human. soft is essential reading for designers, creatives and for anyone who is a student of the ever-evolving human condition.
Cheryl S. Durst, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, The International Interior Design Association and host of the Skill Set Podcast
"In a world increasingly defined by complexity, soft offers a compelling vision for how design can meet the momentwith empathy, adaptability, and depth. Drawing from the science of neuroaesthetics, it reveals how sensory experiences shape cognition, emotion, and well-being. Blending art, science, and sensory intelligence, the book invites readers to reimagine innovation as a fluid, human-centered practice rooted in care and imagination."
Susan Magsamen, Executive Director, International Arts + Mind LabCenter for Applied Neuroaesthetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and co-author of Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
