An illustrated design guide · 2025
The Hippocratic Earth
Why did Mother Earth lose her name?
A book that brings a semester of sustainability readings together into one guide. It borrows the four principles of the Hippocratic Oath and asks why only doctors get to use them, when designers can do just as much to protect people and our Earth.
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The idea
Many readings, one way of thinking.
Over the course I read thinkers from systems theory, economics, psychology and design justice. Rather than leave them as separate notes, I wrote and designed a single book that puts them in conversation with each other and turns them into a working guide for designing sustainably.
My background in physical medicine and psychology shaped the book's voice. Each chapter uses medical metaphors to explain a sustainability concept, so that ideas like planetary boundaries or leverage points feel as familiar as a diagnosis.
I write "our Earth" throughout, hoping the word "our" brings the reader empathy and a sense of oneness with the planet and the people on it.
Structure
Built on the oath
The book is organized around the four principles of the Hippocratic Oath. Each one becomes a lens for a group of readings.
I
Non-maleficence
Do not harm our Earth
- Boundaries & disorder
- Leverage points (fold-out)
- Action & reaction
II
Beneficence
Design for the good of our Earth
- Slowness
- Production vs. consumption
- Doughnut Economics
III
Autonomy
Design for human agency
- Capabilities
- How you empower design
- Human nature
IV
Justice
Treating people and our Earth fairly
- Unity
- How to talk about climate change
- Who's doing it?
The question at the heart of it