The future of design – what does it hold? In the words of the author: the world of organized artifice is transforming in ways that are poorly understood and little explored. Or: tomorrow composts today. In ideosyncratic lingo and with thought provoking insight Bruce Sterling thinks his way out of the serious technosocial problems the world is facing. The key concept is SPIME. The SPIME is a set of relationships first and always, and an object now and then. And designers in their capacity of shaping things to come can make a difference in ushering in the new technosocial possibilities. Based on visionary ideas, Shaping Things outlines new developments in a plausible and -above all- entertaining way. Bruce Sterling may find a following among designers, thinkers, engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs and financiers.