Friday, October 04, 2024

Exhibition: CHARACTERS: Type in Action at the Museum of Design (Atlanta)



The power of typography is demonstrated in an exhibition using the stories of historical figures to communicate and impower.The Museum of Design Atlanta located at 1315 Peachtree St. NE Atlanta, GA 30309.








Link: Museum of Design 

Saturday, September 28, 2024

An American Architect- A Conversation with Frank Llyold Wright

The architect Frank Lloyd Wright discuss the being off his career, the definition of Organic and Skyscrapers.


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Monday, September 23, 2024

The Magazine like the Album Continues to Morph - What are They Now?


The magazine much like the album, held a special place in culture especially for communication through imagery, often note by graphic designers as their inspiration for entering the profession.

As society has moved into the digital era these useful symbols of communication and commerce have suffered but surprisingly have not disappeared completely.

NYTimes: What is a Magazine Now?

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Book: Here/Where the Black Designers Are - Cheryl D. Holmes-Miller

This long-awaited book documents the history of the question she has been asking for decades: “Where are the Black designers?” along with related questions that are urgent to the design profession: Where did they originate? Where have they been? Why haven't they been represented in design histories and canons?




Saturday, September 07, 2024

Saturday, August 17, 2024

The Origin of: Form Follows Function

The evolution of the classic line: Form Follows Function, its definition has changed over time embodying the evolving ethos of the profession  





Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Book: Barcode by Jordan Frith (Author)

Barcodes bridged the gap between physical objects and digital databases and paved the way for the contemporary Internet of Things, the idea to connect all devices to the web. They were highly controversial at points, protested by consumer groups and labor unions, and used as a symbol of dystopian capitalism and surveillance in science fiction and art installations. This book tells the story of the barcode's complicated history and examines how an object so crucial to so many parts of our lives became more ignored and more ordinary as it spread throughout the world.

ISBN9781501399916

Friday, July 26, 2024

Fashion Designer: Takkahiro Miyashita

 Rarely do I cover fashion design topics but the video below is informative on many levels to share here.

The YouTube channel The Casual is an excellent source of fashion insights.





Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Digital Technology: A Conversation with Mark Zuckerberg - AI Era

 A leader in the digital era, Mark Zuckerberg, talks at length about how he see the future of AI.






Thursday, July 04, 2024

The Legacy of Virgil Abloh


Virgil Abloh defined design of the new century. Born in 1980 and died in 2019 his life and designs embodied the language of the digital generation and the democratization of design.

He built his own table when there was not one that included him…



Wednesday, July 03, 2024

Book: The World History of Design - Victor Magolin

The latest entry to my design library is the two volume series entitled the World History of Design. This thoughtful look at design historic origins will without doubt supplement my course on the same subject.







Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Chair_One

This die cast aluminum chair was designed as stackable outdoor seat by Konstantinos Grcic in 2003.

Born in 1965 in Munich, Konstantin Grcic developed his particular aesthetic and became a well-known industrial designer



 

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Norman Teague: Designer and Educator in Chicago

The design community in Chicago is vibrant and active in bringing cultural ideas into reality. Norman Teague is building on the histories of Chicago and Africa past to inspire and remind us of the world’s connections.


7 Questions Using Design to Effect Change

Friday, June 14, 2024

World Expo 2025 - Osaka Japan

The first World Fair was in 1851 when Great Britain invited the world to witness the innovations of the Industrial Revolution. This marked a shift in how humanity would function moving from agricultural to industrial driven economies.

And so it expected that Asia and Japan specifically technological and economic influence will demonstrate where humanity has the potential to go… 


Designing Future Society for Our Lives


Official Site for World Expo 2025

USA Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka






Saturday, June 08, 2024

Swiss Design - It’s Origin and History

 How Swiss designs embraced the principles of modernism at the time the world was reshaped by World War II.

A scientific approach, Clarity, Structure, Function and a philosophy of Less was More defined an era.




The Evolution of the Washing Machine - Japan

Domestic appliances have made life so much more convenient by removing so of the drudgery from routine task, none more then laundry. The history of the washing machine, in Japan, proves this point.




Sunday, June 02, 2024

Architecture: The Musuem of the Future

This is a striking structure and raises a few questions: Who designed it? What is it? And Where is it?










Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Creator of a Personal Computer Prototype: C. Gordon Bell

 

C. Gordon Bell, a technology visionary whose computer designs for Digital Equipment Corporation fueled the emergence of the minicomputer industry in the 1960s, died on Friday at his home in Coronado, Calif. He was 89.


NYTimes: C. Gordon Bell Obiturary

Saturday, May 18, 2024

It’s Time to Replace the Mop and Bucket Method of Floor Cleaning

Dyson comes to the rescue, with the introduction of its wet floor cleaner.  Just as I was thinking that why must I use a bucket and mop to clean hard surface floors which I feel is far to much effort and mess for the small areas I need to maintain specifically the kitchen and bathroom floors.

 


Sunday, May 12, 2024

Ease of Use is Good Design

As product become more complex the designer must work to achieve simplicity in the user experience, failure to do so often results in users dissatisfaction and a barrier to the products success.



Saturday, April 27, 2024

Product Design and Business Development in age of the Internet

The ease to which a product can be brought to market is significantly easier than ever...

What happens when the digital content creator partners with a product incubator to develop and market directly through the internet to millions of followers.

We will be able to track how one of the most successful YouTube reviewer of tech products, Marques Brownlee, joins Ridge.




Wednesday, February 21, 2024

How Design Can Be Used as Proganda

The power of design to shape perceptions and behavior, let us be mindful of the ability to create beautiful outcomes.


 

Tuesday, January 09, 2024

Product Designer: Yinka Ilori

A British-Nigerian multi-disciplinary artist and designer whose bold visual language draws on his British-Nigerian heritage.

Friday, December 29, 2023

Fashion Design in Africa - Growing and Diverse

 The growing influence of the creative in fashion design on the continent of Africa is reflective of new generation using social media tools to develop their voice and brand beyond their borders

Friday, December 15, 2023

Architecture:Jeanne Gang on why flow matters

Arguably the most accomplished female architect of the 21st century, Jeanne Gang and her Chicago based firm Studio Gang are getting noticed by the work they are creating.





Monday, December 11, 2023

Logo Design: NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) insignia has three main official designs, although the one with stylized red curved text (the "worm") was retired from official use from May 22, 1992, until April 3, 2020, when it was reinstated as a secondary logo

In 1974, as part of the Federal Graphics Improvement Program of the National Endowment for the Arts, NASA hired Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn to design a more modern logo.

NYTimes Article: How NASA Learned to Love it Logo


Wednesday, November 29, 2023

The Transistor the foundation of the Third Industrial Revolution

 The first transistor created at Bell Labs in 1956, securing a Nobel Prize for their research.


The first generation of computers depended upon the invention of vacuum tubes; for the second generation it was transistors; for the third, it was the integrated circuit; and the fourth generation of computers came about after the invention of the microprocessor


the introduction of semiconductors sparked a revolution in electronics on par with that of steel and steam engines in the Industrial Revolution.


https://youtu.be/Ofv39GBGW3g?si=ft8AUVbxn6HAqiRU

The First African Tech Company to be Sold on Wall St.

 The opportunity of providing design solutions across the continent of Africa is enormous, but how to execute will be the question many will be seeking to answer over the next decade.






Friday, September 22, 2023



The introduction of the first shoe from JEMS a Black-owned shoe factory based in the United States.

Interview with Dr. D’Wayne Edwards 



Friday, September 01, 2023

Architect: (Diebedo) Francis Kéré

The 2022 Pritzker Prize Award winner for the work created to improve life in his home village of XXX in Burkina Faso in Western Africa.

Thursday, August 31, 2023

Architect: Rem Koolhaas

A thinker and writer who through the lens of architecture explores questions around our built environments.

Friday, July 28, 2023

History of the Zipper

The Future of Tech? A Presentation by Scott Galloway

The 21st Century is here do we know where we are going? What is happening in the tech sector, society and geopolics that we should consider? Finally, where are the design opportunities?

Thursday, July 27, 2023

Book: Decolonizing Design: A Cultural Justice Guidebook

Design educator Dori Turnstall has pen a book reframing an approach to more wholesticly understand and reflect, What Design is.
Article: How to Decolonize Design

Friday, July 21, 2023

Design Education: African Futures Institute

Lesley Lokko a Ghanaian-Scottish architect, sets out to tackle global issues through her new school in Accra Ghana.
Wallpaper Article: Lesley Lokko on decolonisation, decarbonisation and diversity

Monday, June 19, 2023

Architect History: Paul Revere Williams

One of his many noted accomplishment was being the first African American Architects to become a member of American Institute of Architects (AIA). Often called the architect of Hollywood, Paul William designed homes throughout Los Angeles for the celabriies of the time.

Sunday, April 02, 2023

Design Collective: LoveForm,

World renown industrial designers Jony Ive and Marc Newson have joined their talents to create a design consultancy that will leverage the design possibilities of the 21st century.
Wallpaper Article

Industrial Designer - Noel Mayo

As the first African American to lead an industrial design firm, Noel Mayo's career has mentored many and continues to impact the profession.
History Makers Noel Mayo Associates

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Recognizing and Reclaiming the Contributions of Black Creatives

A beautiful thing is happening that is a legitmite effort to bring to light the contributions and talents of many that have long been ignored the black creative. Two article appearing the New York Times demonstrates this enlightenment.
The Interior Lives of Black Homes
Putting Black Design in the Spotlight

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Building A Better Future The Work and Legacy of Five African American Architects

Documenting the contributions of African American Architects has become part of the work of the Smithosian Musuem. "Pioneering African American architects, such as Harold L. Williams, Norma Merrick Sklarek, and John S. Chase, expanded the profession and paved the way for a new generation, including Philip G. Freelon and Michael Marshall." National Musuem of African American History and Culture

Monday, February 06, 2023

Thursday, January 26, 2023

Japan Toilet Project

Toilets are a symbol of Japan's world-renowned hospitality culture. Public toilets will be redesigned in 17 locations throughout Shibuya with the help of 16 creators invited from around the world. We invite you to take a look at the uniqueness of each of these facilities.
The Tokyo Toilet Website