This article is part of our Design special section about buildings, objects and techniques that are fighting to stay alive.

Taking inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s studies of friction, the ‘sneaker squeak’ question cuts to a deep problem in physics.

Foreword / Steven Heller -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Josef Müller-Brockmann: "schutzt das Kind!" and the mythology of Swiss design -- Koloman Moser's Thirteenth Secession Exhibition poster ...