What Are People For: Design Philosophy by Patrick Whitney is a multimedia legacy project about the life and work of the pioneering designer, Patrick Whitney. The project reveals how he redefined design as a framework for making institutions, systems, and decision-making more humane, transparent, and responsive to human aspirations and organizational goals.
What Are People For is produced by Murmur Ring.
Boston–Cambridge premiere
MIT’s Morningside Academy for Design
October 24, 2026 | Cambridge
Join MIT’s Morningside Academy for Design (MAD) on October 24 for the Boston–Cambridge premiere of acclaimed design documentarian Gary Hustwit’s (Helvetica, Objectified, Urbanized, Eno) new film, What Are People For: Design Philosophy by Patrick Whitney.
The screening will be followed by a conversation with the filmmakers and Whitney, exploring design’s role in addressing increasingly complex challenges. The evening concludes with a reception.