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.

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

 

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

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

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.

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?

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

The Origin of the Leatherman

 

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.

 

Article: New Dyson WashG1

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.

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.

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.

 

Product Designer: Yinka Ilori

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

Article: Yinka Ilori Wants to Bring Joy to Work

Yinka Ilori Website

Contemporary Artist Jean Michael Basquit Explained

 

James Dyson: The Story of dyson

 

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

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.

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

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.

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

Interview with Dr. D’Wayne Edwards 

How D'Wayne Edwards Became A Sneaker Legend 

Pensole Lewis College

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.

Architect: Rem Koolhaas

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

Design History - The 1980's: Function gives way to Emotions

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?

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Black Designers Gather in Chicago in 2000

Book: The World History of Design

Architect Steven Holl

3D Printing as a Tool for Creating Products

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

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has Arrived in MS ChatGPT

Questions on how impact will this new product our work and life are beinf asked all around the internet. This also speaks to the new opening for designers to jump into the opportunities this technology brings with it.

The Issues with Fast Casual Architecture

The sameness of many buildings has raised the question as to what extent is architecture being limited by economic and not aesthetic decisions. Article: Washingtons DC's Whaarf Article: As Housing Looks the Same...

The Curious History of the Toilet

How Product Designers Move in a Changing Profession/Future

This discussion of a product is timely for me as I plot a path to actual practice in 2023.

A Product Designer Skill Set for Success

The video below identities the levels at which a product design can operate and the skills at each level: Doer/Executer, Thinker/Stategy and Leader.

Design Futures Symposium: Agency for the Future - Design and the Quest for a Better World

Auto Designer for Telsa

Digital Design: Computational Textiles

Felecia Davis' work using computational textiles

Smithsonian cooper Hewitt Design Awards

National Design Awards 2022

Cooper Hewitt Design Awards 2022

Design Podcasts

The Best of Design Podcast

Video: What is the Fourth Dimension of Product Design?