Oak challenge
Faced with a 15cm long branch from a dead oak tree, not everyone has the imagination or skills to turn it into a piece of art or a functional design masterpiece.
Help! i’m not sure what design means
Every design practitioner seems to have their own idea of how to define the discipline. Nick Sunderland is on a mission to pin it down
Independent touch
As big, high street brands and smaller retailers alike are embracing more unconventional store design, cultivating that ’one-off’, local look for their latest outlets, Anna Richardson takes the measure of the creative vision of a range of innovative shops
In the dark
While traditional video games rely heavily on visuals to create exciting worlds, a few brave pioneers are foregrounding sound as the key – and sometimes only – element. Scott Billings finds his way through some thrilling, three-dimensional soundscapes – and discovers more practical audio developments too
Profile: Judith Schalansky
Designing her own books has allowed Judith Schalansky to explore theories about matching form and content, and build on a childhood fascination with atlases. The German-born author and graphics specialist talks to Anna Richardson
Voxpop
What do you think can be done to raise the standard of design education in the UK?
Don’t let the grass grow under the feet of this idea
Bin 2 Bin – what a fantastic collaboration (The Art of Plastic, www.designweek. co.uk, 25 August). Love the Nature Step (pictured).Perhaps this should kick off a series of mash-up exercises that bring together ideators from various corners to create new, sustainable ideas. Any suggestions? John Root Stone, Leading the Brand, by e-mail
We’re creatives, we’re a team – why bother with titles?
In 21 years of working in this industry I have never officially been given a job title (Voxpop, DW 26 August). When I worked at my previous consultancy there were 14 designers and one boss. We just got on with the job without the hierarchy of a title structure. Crush is six people and we […]
UK plc needs train designs as sexy as this
I was interested to read Jim Davies’ lament about the state of rail in the UK (Private View, DW 19 August). I agree that there are some much better rail experiences to be found elsewhere in the world, but with the coalition Government’s commitment to High Speed 2, we are at an exciting point in […]
Inspired: Jesse Boyce – Lethal
Not everyone loves a rubber stamp, but I’m hooked – there’s no better way to set foot on new soil than with a freshly inked passport. It sets the scene for what’s to come and sparks the inspiration. It all starts at passport control. Homing in on the stamp-happiest attendant, I join their queue and […]
Best of the Web
http///verynearlyalmost.com/blog/?p=2901Very Nearly Almost is a blog that documents street art and graffiti. A recent post displays WWF’s latest campaign, which has been created by Ogilvy Paris. It features Photoshopped images of wild animals covered in graffiti, intended as a metaphor for vandalism and the destruction of the planet. http://tiny.cc/i4fh9London Design Guide has teamed up with […]
Crowd dynamics
Finding work is difficult, but graduates should still be wary of crowdsourcing, says Caroline Roberts. What sort of client would commission design services using this phenomenon?
Latest articles
Jaywing creates branding for cultural initiative Hull 2017
Consultancy Jaywing has created the place branding for Hull 2017, the initiative marking the northern city’s status as UK City of Culture. The logo is an “H” shape constructed out of a series of geometric lines, used against a colourful palette of purple, green, yellow, blue and pink. Gavin Shore, creative director at Jaywing, says […]
Sir John Sorrell to step down from Creative Industries Federation role
Sorrell, who founded the Creative Industries Federation in 2014, will be giving up his role as chairman by 2017.
John Spencer: “Language and design should be indivisible”
John Spencer looks at the rich history of words and design, how they have lost their way and what designers can do to make sure the two are complementary.
First look – Design Junction 2016
Design Junction moves to King’s Cross and overhauls format to build show around more divisible spaces and a new emphasis on interaction.
Inspiration
New prints, by Noma Bar
Illustrator Noma Bar has released a new selection of prints, which are available to buy through Outline Editions. Bar uses “bold colours, shapes and pared down iconography”, says Outline Editions, and “imbues simple graphic forms with political and social commentary”. The prints range from £180 to £750 in price. You can view them here. Photos […]
A Good American data visualisation, by Up^
Design studio Up^ has created motion graphics for a new documentary film, A Good American. The film is about previous U.S. codebreaker Bill Binney, and the studio was tasked with “visually and emotively representing” the intelligence tool he created called ThinThread, says Up^. Up^ created CGIs, motion graphics and data visualisation for the film, as […]
Trellick range, by Tom Dixon
Design studio and teaching platform Goldfinger Factory has produced a new Tom Dixon range of products, Trellick. The range includes a tray, a stool, small and large plant pots, a bench and a table, alongside t-shirts and prints. The range is part of a crowdfunding campaign from Goldfinger Factory to raise £20,000, in order to […]
Living Shakespeare essays, by True North for British Council
True North has designed a collection of essays exploring the relevance of Shakespeare in society today, by looking at the context and connection that Shakespeare has around the Globe. The British Council commission includes Nobel-prize winning writers, politicians and others looking at how Shakespeare has a connection with their society. True North has designed a printed […]
Solo, by Uniform
Uniform has designed an “emotional radio” which uses artificial intelligence principals to recognise a listener’s emotions and play mood-influenced radio. A facial recognition feature can recognise the nuances of people’s expressions and react accordingly, says Uniform. It links up with Spotify algorithms and can broadly categorise happiness, sadness and anger. It’s being demonstrated around London […]
Science Museum mathematics gallery, by Zaha Hadid
The Science Museum’s Mathematics Gallery that will open in December has been captured in a new animation the shows the patterns of airflow around the Handley Page aircraft, which hangs at the centre of the gallery. The layout of showcases, and development of the pod-structures around the airplane have also been informed by the airflow of […]
WW chair, by Studio Makgill and H Furniture
Design consultancy Studio Makgill has partnered with furniture company H Furniture to create a new version of the WW chair. The WW chair draws inspiration from the classic Windsor chair, and was previously only available in natural wood colours. The new limited edition range, which is being previewed at London Design Festival’s Designjunction this week, includes […]
Vitra pop-up office and lounge, by Vitra
Designer furniture company Vitra has turned a two-storey building in Shoreditch, London, into an office and lounge space, as part of London Design Festival. The space aims to be an area where people can “exchange ideas on how workspaces are evolving into the future”, says Vitra. The ground floor of the pop-up office includes the […]
