Becoming a successful and responsible designer and bringing about real and lasting social changes is a punishing process—and a slow one. However, the essays and interviews in this section prove that, far from being disheartening, this humbling realization can be energizing. First because it requires an extra layer of creativity, but also because it puts you in touch with issues you didn’t even know existed. The roots of a problem are always much more complex than expected; at the same time, once you understand what’s truly at stake, your efforts and personal investments are less likely to be squandered. “Think small and look in your own backyard,” says Mark Randall. “The essential nature of social design is that you can’t do it alone,” warns Cheryl Heller. “The hardest thing for designers is not to be able to do things perfectly,” notes Laetitia Wolff. Design citizenship is boot camp for the soul.