Alex Wright

Author of Empire of Ink (Basic Books, 2026).
Writer + designer exploring the deep history of the attention economy.

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

I’m no longer active on X.

You can follow my work here:

Substack: https://t.co/k83pCAMmgk
LinkedIn: https://t.co/qfaN1rdnwL
Instagram: https://t.co/lWmk1NWYm9

[Basic Books @BasicBooks]

🗞️ Happy publication day to EMPIRE OF INK!

@alexgrantwright tells the story of America’s first media revolution—the rise of the newspaper—and the transformation of a fledgling republic into the world’s first information superpower.

Learn more: https://t.co/6YYvVmLLxx

[Aeon Magazine @aeonmag]

The 1970s librarians who revolutionised the challenge of search https://t.co/t5qq8fHdqd

[Cornell University Press @CornellPress]

Today's "information explosion" may seem like a modern phenomenon, but we are not the first generation—or even the first species—to wrestle with the problem of #InformationOverload.

INFORMATICA by @alexgrantwright is available now: https://t.co/EOkOg38f8p

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

Reflections on UX practice, “inner capitalism,” and the problem of professional ennui https://t.co/SRO4EwBGEN

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

Feeling the FOMO for Interaction 23 in Zurich this week, but grateful to the organizers for giving my virtual self a chance to share an overview of my doctoral research on Friday. Here's a preview of some of what I'm planning to talk about: https://t.co/QmdNEYGF7N #interaction23

[Interaction Week @ixdconf]

Many IxD practitioners feel that the horizons of digital design work are shrinking, feeling disillusioned, burned out, and helpless. Join @alexgrantwright in his talk about Regenerative UX, and how it can incorporate sustainable, long-term perspectives in our work. #IxD23

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

Enjoyed the chance to nerd out on library history with WNYC's @mollyfication for this piece on Alexandria and the dream of the universal library. https://t.co/DbLR34Ik9J

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

@karstenpe @SimonDueckert @snowded Thanks @karstenpe! Glad you enjoyed.

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

All doctored up. Big thanks to my committee @iamjchapman @maximolly @futuryst for guiding me on this journey, and congrats to fellow @cmudesign PhDs @sboschg @pure_live_love and Hajira Qazi.

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

@djbduncan @jorgezaccaro @tothelastpage Thanks @djbduncan and @jorgezaccaro! Glad you liked the Otlet book. Joining the mutual admiration society here: I thought INDEX was a first-rate piece of work (and @PC_Bain's cheeky book index was sheer genius).

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

@sboschg Congrats Sofia!

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

Thoroughly enjoyed this piece by @mikekuniavsky on the future of computational design, and the challenges of moving beyond the Modernist mindset that undergirds so much of contemporary design practice. https://t.co/r4VTDudNvf

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

Fantastic piece by @fturner on the politics of Facebook's corporate arts programming: https://t.co/MLGY5Ht71t

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

@ytlee Thanks @ytlee! Glad you enjoyed the Otlet book. As it happens, I’m just wrapping up revisions for a second edition of Glut, to be released in e-book form later this year. Stay tuned!

[Jonathan Chapman @iamjchapman]

Applications now open for our PhD in Transition Design at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Design. Join our community of brilliant PhD Researchers leveraging design as a tool for positive change in the world. 
 #phd #transiti…https://t.co/HqQtuE2UFL https://t.co/bBNvPZLb4s

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

@deljenart Looks interesting! Any idea whether this was recorded?

[Jonathan Chapman @iamjchapman]

I wrote an Op-Ed for @Guardian highlighting a few ideas from my new book, Meaningful Stuff: Design that Lasts ⁦@MITPress⁩ https://t.co/8y5Df8ViK4 #design #circulareconomy #systemschange #materials #obsolescence #waste
https://t.co/Rx4T6PJjVH

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

@epc Salut! And thanks again for getting us all hooked up.

[Alex Wright @alexgrantwright]

@peterme In the weird coincidence dept, we just watched it last weekend for the first time in 20-odd years. Big hit with the boys, who as jaded 8-10 y.o.’s find Star Trek hopelessly cheesy and loved seeing it parodied. They particularly dug the Tony Shalhoub character.