Issues 1-30 - Issue 31 - 60 - Issues 61 - latest
Issue 1 The new green Product designers need to learn that there is more to sustainability than recycling. Henrietta Thompson asks how. A Byte to drink Where might we go when we become bored with style bars? And will we have to be smart to get in? Henrietta Thompson looks at a new direction in bar design. Tunnel visions Andrew Beeby considers Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the perils of innovation. Game of the names Why do companies name themselves after fruit? Antonia Ward finds out.
Issue 2 Reinventing the wheel It seems as if everyone from Clive Sinclair to Marc Newson has had a go at redesigning the bicycle. Jonathan Ward says they should keep on trying. Neither here nor there The Mini is dead, long live the MINI. Matt Youson looks at the latest in rolling retro. Designing for aliens Children are getting older younger. Phil Ward delves into the toy box to find out how designers in large and small toy companies are adapting to a changing market. Gods of all creation Design is design is design. Or is it? Henrietta Thompson talks to Pierre Cardin and looks at the world of the multidisciplinary designer.
Issue 3 Fame and fortunes Clare Dowdy asks whether being a famous face in product design makes good business sense. Nice Pair Henrietta Thompson looks into the spectacles industry, where independent innovators are rivalling large fashion houses. Face values Antonia Ward is seeing faces everywhere. Freedom of expression Eigil Thomsen, design manager at Bang & Olufsen, doesn’t brief his designers. John Boult asks him why.
Issue 4 To Russia with love Justine Bothwick visits Moscow and finds out how UK educationalists are helping to create a new design and technology curriculum for Russian schools. What is new design? New design needs new designers, say Robert Young and Sean Blair. Here they outline the need for a new kind of design school-one that they hope will be as pioneering today as the Bauhaus was in the 1930s. Stage directions Are new technologies seducing stage designers into producing spectacle rather than theatre? Justine Bothwick finds out. Mutual attraction Henrietta Thompson finds collaboration between architects and exhibition designers can be a good start.
Issue 5 Magic island mystery Is spending a week exploring your creativity on a remote island with a group of twenty strangers your idea of heaven or hell? Henrietta Thompson finds it’s worth keeping an open mind. Immaculate conception Are product concepts from large global companies a glimpse of the future or just a smokescreen? Antonia Ward finds out. Tapping the market It is time for the bathroom to move into new spheres, says Henrietta Thompson. Office world Henrietta Thompson looks at the importance of designing flexibility into office systems for the global market.
Issue 6 Can designers save the world? (and should they try?)
At this year’s SuperHumanism conference showed, designers are increasingly self-conscious about their social role. Nico Macdonald warns that new design ethics shouldn’t be taken at face value.Dual purpose
Block capital Designers Block is more than just a furniture exhibition. Its organisers have their minds on higher things: encouraging urban regeneration and promoting best practice in business being just two of them. Henrietta Thompson meets Piers Roberts and Rory Dodd. Material gains It’s a truism that hemlines rise with a buoyant eceonomy. But does fashion really reflect social and economic trends? Justine Bothwick finds out if the current talk of recession will lead to radical chic.
Issue 7 Opulence den Meaningless marketing twaddle or evidence of a genuine design-led culture? Matt Youson considers luxury, and finds out why a £100,000 Mercedes isn’t a luxury car. Drink me! The makers of premium spirits are increasingly looking to associate themselves with design-and designers. A leg to stand on New attitudes are as important as new materials in the design of prosthetic limbs. Justine Bothwick finds out why. Associate benefits Research into socially inclusive design at the Royal College of Art aims to have a beneficial effect on urban mobility and our working lives. Ben Hargreaves reports.
Issue 8 SOLD OUT
Issue 9 Brave new world The recent political and economic collapse in Argentina has had very real effects on the nascent Argentinian design scene. Flag days After September 11th 2001 New York nailed its colours to the mast-and to shop windows, pavements and buildings. David Worthington observes the city’s reaction, and considers the interplay of emotion and economics behind the many and varied uses of the US flag. Old Glory New York The difference between iconography and iconology can be translated as the difference between the meaning and the subject matter of an image. The US flag, says Stephen Hitchins, is an icon whose meaning far outweighs the symbolism of mere identity.
Issue 10 Paint your wagon Bourgeois home-from-barratt-home, or the essence of mobility and miniaturisation? Jonathan Bell goes caravanning. Come fly with me Tangerine’s Club World seat for British Airways is a well known, and award winning, story of design effectiveness. Antonia Ward puts the project in context. Carpet burn Henrietta Thompson is completely floored by contemporary rug revivals. Sex objects Product design, retail and exhibitions are all tackling that basest of human desires. Ben Hargreaves finds out whether designers do it better.
Issue 11 “Dude, that’s a book you’re cutting!” Creating a range of products from recycled materials might be a laudable aim, but as Pascal Soboll found out, in some cases people find the idea downright offensive. Are there cultural barriers to recycling certain objects? Tupper Class Lakshmi Bhaskaran is bowled over by Tupperware. Paper view Wallpaper’s back in fashion. Again. Eve Oxberry looks at the product’s history and emerging popularity, and finds a pattern From information to innovation Can qualitative research help companies innovate? Only if they are prepared to rethink the entire process, say David Spenser and Stephen Wells. And that might mean listening to the client as much as the consumer.
Issue 12 Shopping and trucking We are standing on the brink of a revolution in retail technology, but at the moment the drama is more likely to take place in the warehouse than the vegetable aisle. Jonathan Ward reports. Setting store Albert Heijn xl in Arnhem, Netherlands, is a new format for Dutch food retailer Ahold. It aims to introduce Dutch consumers to weekly one-stop shopping, and to the idea of using a supermarket for non-food products. The job of creating the new store went to Conran Design Group. Here, David Chaloner shares his experience of the project. I know what I like on your wardrobe Antonia Ward discovers how an environmentally sound T-shirt company developed point of sale with a point of view.
Issue 13 SOLD OUT
Issue 14 Green house effect Is environmental responsibility finally making its mark in the world of designer furniture? Eve Oxberry went to Tuscany to check out a new sustainable certification scheme.Material gains Glass may be an ancient material, but its power to add value-and a touch of class- to a brand has not diminished. Eve Oxberry discovers its influence in new projects for beer bottles, corporate signs, and the Church. Lovin’ an elevator What’s the most reliable form of transport on your journey into work? Chances are it’s the one you notice the least, writes Matt Youson
Issue 15 Better red than dead Good riddance to pastel shades and roller blades. Packaging for the female market is breaking new ground in its sophistication and scope, writes Eve Oxberry. Stream line Extensive use of rapid prototyping technology is improving R&D performance in Formula One. Jonathan Ward reports.
Space (I believe in) In many city-based firms, the environment in which designers operate is barely considered. Some companies think differently. Nic Shaw investigates some creative spaces.
Issue 16 Life in a cold climate Nokia may be the bedrock of the Finnish economy, but there is much more to the country’s design industry than mobile phones. Ben Hargreaves reports.From dusk ‘til dawn Light design in the automotive industry isn’t all about signature headlamps and dazzling performance: it has its touchy-feely side too. Matt youson uncovers some interior motives. Discreet manufacturing Producing lighting for architecture entails some complex design challenges. Eve Oxberry reports.
Issue 17 Countertop culture Consumers in the US, it is said, are the most demanding in the world. So when Maytag decided to design a new, iconic mixer and blender for their kitchens, Fitch: Worldwide had to pull out all the stops. Nita Rollins reports.Cherish the thought At one design agency in the US, concept products perform a very real role. Eve Oxberry reports. Recording artists Sympathy for the record industry? Not likely if you’re a graphic designer. Matt Youson mourns the receding significance of album artwork.
Issue 18 Property right Risk It has been developed by designersblock in association with intellectual propert lawyers, Briffa, to support the development of creative industries. Margaret Briffa looks at what’s new about this initiative. Beneath the surface Textiles and technology may seem contradictory to each other but Liz Brown looks at how they have been innovatively integrated. Water features Design concepts from professional naval architects to recent university graduates are being showcased to portray the watercraft of the future. Tanya Weaver reports.
Issue 19 Joining forces A new collaborative initiative is bringing designers and manufacturers together in order to create more successful working models. Liz Brown reports Shine on Brilliant, a new exhibition of contemporary lighting, is soon to open at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Myles Cummings steps out from the shadows to illuminate the themes underlying the show. Pressing matters Alan Kitching has established himself as one of the foremost practitioners of letterpress typographic design and printmaking. Tanya Weaver takes a look at some of his more recent work.
Issue 20 Fashion god From April to July 2004, the Victoria & Albert Museum is hosting its largest ever exhibition dedicated to a British designer – Vivienne Westwood. Liz Brown reports. Geek Chic Myles Cummings looks at what impact futuristic fabrics and wearable technologies are having on the future of street fashion. Sound Bytes With storage capacity getting larger and the devices getting smaller, a wealth of opportunities is opening up for new applications. Tanya Weaver reports.
Issue 21 SOLD OUT
Issue 22 Will and Testament Sticks and stones may break bones, but names will never hurt the man they call “Mr Blobby” and The “bad by” of British architecture. Myles Cummings reports. Banging on Dave March reports on a landmark piece of public art that is currently being erected to form a centrepiece for Sportcity. The best seats in the house. Vibrant, colourful and filled with brio, the work of two Brazilian brothers has interjected fresh new energy into contemporary design. Juliet Bernard reports.
Issue 23 SOLD OUT
Issue 24 Home is where the heat is There is a saying that no one ever changes the world by sitting at home. But in fact this is precisely where the next design revolution is happening. Liz Brown reports.
Beyond calling distance Telemedicine was designed to span the distance between doctor and patient but how can designers close the gap between developing such technologies and integrating them into the home? Zoe Brigley reports Just what the doctor ordered As the public and medical staff demand healthier hospitals, designers give healthcare environments a much-needed shot in the arm. Zoe Brigley reports.
Issue 25 Good things in small packages Zoe Brigley considers the resurgence of the microcar in relation to the new book, ‘The Macro World of Micro Cars‘. From Inclusive to Exclusive Design…and back again? Julian Ingram says that we are in danger of confusing inclusive design with a larger more important concept, that of better design. Right Reading Alphabet aerobics, the development of a new inclusive font design that is beyond fit for purpose…Jody Chapman reports.
Issue 26 What a triumph Tanya Weaver talks to the designers behind Triumph’s successful new motorcycle. Pulling power The festive season is upon us and retailers are stocked to the brim. Amongst Robosapiens, Bratz and Barbies, Juliet Bernard discovers the Geomag. Inspired by sapphire At a chic, elegant and very blue Bombay Sapphire awards ceremony, Theopi Skarlatos talked to the designer behind this year’s winning entry.
Issue 27 No lipstick on this collar Three years ago in Derbyshire a quiet revolution was taking place. Juliet Bernard looks at how the fruits of that enterprise are now hitting the high street with a bang or should that be a splash. Call of the wild Tanya Weaver takes a trip to Finland and finds out what Finish industrial design has to offer and the importance being placed on design for business and industry.Built to last Liz Brown reports on a new initiative that could lead to the development of longer lasting goods and dispose of our ‘throwaway society’.
Issue 28 SOLD OUT
Issue 29 Haunted by fashion Liz Brown attends the Victoria and Albert Museum’s new fashion exhibition which brings to life the powerful influence of the past on the present. How was it for you? A research fellow at the Royal College of Art claims to have designed a formula for rating the experience of thrill. Steve Brueton investigates. The master craftsman The Arts and Crafts movement is being celebrated in an international exhibition held at the V&A. Zoe Brigley went along to discover what it is all about.
Issue 30 SOLD OUT
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