Design History: Charles Rennie Mackintosh - A Modern Man

Easily one of the most inspiring designers of the early 20th century, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, along with his wife Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, produced beautiful architecture, interiors, graphics and furnishings that referenced the movements of their generation: Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau. But the couple's work pushed beyond the traditions of 19th century conventions to give life to a truly wholistic view of modern living.

Design History: The Allure of Art Nouveau -BBC Videos

This BBC series of videos capture the context and power of the design movement Art Nouveau at the turn of the turn of the 20th century.

Digital Design: Sha Hwang

Sha Hwang discusses his experience as member of the surge team brought together to save the healthcare.gov website and other opportunities he has had as a designer.

Bloomberg Article and Video

30 Most Inflential Designers by Complex Magazine

 

These designers have forged products that have been seamlessly integrated into our lives. Their objects and images have become so much a part of our visual vocabulary that we forget that there was once someone there to plan, edit and create them. The innumerable logos, book covers, typefaces, chairs, buildings, shoes, and furniture featured in this list have gone on to not only outlive their creators, but take on a personality and life of their own.   

The List of Influential Designers

Type Design: The Final Interview with Designers Hoefler & Frere-Jones

The Font Men, a short documentary highlighting what made Hoefler and Frere-Jones unique during their 10-year partnership.

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Interview with Jonathan Ive

In a rare chance to understand this generations most influential designers the following interview reveals Jonathan Ive's views on design an the future of Apple.


Time Article: Apple Designer...Talks...

Shoe Design 1850 and 2014

Well heeled feet over the years.

Half-boots (ankle boots) were popular for men from the 1830s right up to the Depression in the 1930s. Most were made of leather, though softer materials were popular for informal wear. The elastic-sided boot was patented in 1837 by J. Sparkes Hall of 308 Regent Street, London, as a result of experiments made with India rubber cloth. The elasticated side gussets eliminated the need for laces and button fastenings. Instead, the boots could simply be pulled on with the help of the fabric loop positioned at the back of the ankle. Victoria and Albert Museum

Nike's new Kobe Bryant shoe makes use of a new manufacturing technology that reduces the cost of making its Flyknit shoes compared to their traditional methods. What is the chance that the savings will result in an affordably price shoe? Businessweek Article: Nike's Flyknit the Swoosh of the Future?

Audio:The Convergence of Digital and Industrial Design

As the digital and physical interfaces converge, often described as the "internet of things", makes real ideals made popular in cartoons decades ago. How will this all play out for designers and their training in the years to come.

The Digital Life Discussion

Urban Planning: Protected Intersections For Bicyclists

Designing an intersection to better protect cyclist. This proposal for the George Mason University 2014 Cameron Rian Hays Outside the Box Competition presents a vision for a safe, clear intersection design that improves conditions for all users. Proper design of refuge islands, crossing position and signal timing can create a safe intersection that people of all ages and abilities would feel safe in.

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Design Historian: Pat Kirkham's Lecture on Charles and Ray Eames

The distinguished historian Pat Kirkham spoke at the National Building Museum on the enduring legacy of Charles and Ray Eames.

Program: Portraits in Design

Architecture and Design Film Festival

The Film Festival of Architecture and Design will be in Los Angeles,
Chicago and New York in 2014. Check the link below to find out when.
Architecture and Design Film Festival Website

Exhibition: Black Dress: Ten Contemporary Fashion Designers

Pratt Institute Exhibition: Black Dress Press Release

Metropolis Article: Key Black Fashion Designers

Design Planning: Consumers in 2030?

How does a waterless washing machine sound or a mirror that can provide you health information as you shave? A group imagined the future based on historical analysis consumer trends from the 1950's to the present, to model those trends forward to 2030, see their insights....

historical analysis of consumer trends from the mid-1950s to the present, modelling these trends forwards to 2030. - See more at: http://www.forumforthefuture.org/project/which-consumers-2030/overview#sthash.6eKUDNmJ.dpuf

historical analysis of consumer trends from the mid-1950s to the present, modelling these trends forwards to 2030. - See more at: http://www.forumforthefuture.org/project/which-consumers-2030/overview#sthash.6eKUDNmJ.dpuf

historical analysis of consumer trends from the mid-1950s to the present, modelling these trends forwards to 2030. - See more at: http://www.forumforthefuture.org/project/which-consumers-2030/overview#sthash.6eKUDNmJ.dpuf

Forum for the Future Report

Tenth Year Anniversary of Social Media Gaint, Facebook

In February 2004 Mark Zuckerburg launched thefacebook.com hoping to connect college students, little did he know the site would be part of the wave to help to connect the world.

Washington Post Article: Social Media

World Design Capitol 2014: Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town's reign as World Design Capitol for 2014 focuses on the problem-solving potential of design: an approach that's more gritty than pretty. As South Africa celebrates 20 years of independence, the city has adopted a design-for-social change agenda.

Video: Live Design. Transform Life

ICSID IDA

WDC Cape Town Website

Communication Design: A Better Boarding Pass

The opportunity to improve the users experience is a powerful example of how a designer can add value to an industry.

Designer Peter Smart tackled rethinking the boarding pass with much success. If it will be adopted would be a reflection on what is important to the airlines the system or the customer?

Peter Smart's Case Study on Redesigning the Boarding Pass

Architect David Adjaye: Geography, Culture and Place

David Adjaye INDABA 2013 Presentation

Social Design: Designers Bringing Design to Rural Places

Fast Company Article: The Heart of Hale County

Auburn University's Rural Studio program, is blazing a new trail in thinking about what today might be called social design--pushing architects to figure out how to use their talents to serve a greater good.

The Revolution was Digitized: 30 Years of the Mac Computer

The 30th anniversary of the introduction of the Mackintosh computer, which would be the world’s first mass-market personal computer that had a graphical user interface and a mouse, is being celebrate this weekend.



Apples in-house video: Thirty Years of Mac

NYtimes Article: ...A Lost Converstion with Steve Jobs

Type Design Partnership Dissolves

The talented team of  Hoefler and Frere-Jones are now in a legal battle that will surely alter their influential partnership.  The company's body of almost 800 fonts includes the architecture-inspired Gotham and the eponymous Hoefler Text, a font developed for Apple to demonstrate advanced type technologies.

Article: The Beatles Of The Type World, Are Breaking Up

Article: Typography Partners Part ways....

AIGA Profile:Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Fere-Jones

Digital Design: Changing Government and Culture

Ben Terrett, head of design at the Government Digital Service, Cabinet Office for United Kingdom, touches on a few key ideas he learned in changing the governments website.

Video interview: Ben Terrett

Design INDABA 2013 Presentation: Changing Culture Through Digital Design

Film: If You Build It

Designer/activists Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller take Design Thinking to North Carolina community and produces life shifting results. If You Build It is a documentary about their experience teaching ten students the power of design and what a community-focused effort can do to the moral of the area.

Film Screening Schedule

Design Thinking at Stanford University

Stanford's D. School is show results in terms of products solving real world problems.

NY Times Article: Solving Problems for Real World





Other examples: Link to NY Times Article

Kanye Goes to Harvard's Design School

Odd as it may seem, Mr. West is one of the loudest promoters of design role in popular culture. He appears to honestly value design and is on a journey to harness its creative power to change if not "save the world".

Blog Post:grist
 

Marc Newson and Jonathan Ive Team Up

Vanity Fair Article: Designing Men

Charlie Rose Interview
Sotheby's Auction Items
Hulu Video

Do You Know Where Product Design is Headed?

Frog Design's Chief Creative Officer, Mark Rolston reflects on the changing landscape of product design.



Product Experiences


Article: Design and the Coming Iceberg

Industrial Designer: Niels Different (b. 1928-2013)

The father of human factors passed away at his home this week.

New Director of the Smithsonian's Copper Hewitt Design Musuem

A new director for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City. Caroline Baumann was named to the post Thursday.

Sensors for Diapers to Alert Parents its Diaper Changing Time...

Huggies TweetPee sends tweet when baby's diaper is wet. This little product should be a favorite baby shower gift. Time's Article: Huggies Device

Video: The History of Typography

A short video on the history of Typography by Ben Barrett-Forrest.

Graphic Design: Google Celebrates Saul Bass

Google makes use of its Google Doodle to celebrate the career of Saul Bass with an elaborate animation. The Guardian Article: Saul Bass

Fashion: G-STAR

I have long stated that fashion design is problematic for me when considered beside the other design professions like architecture, industrial and graphic design. The challenge I have with fashion is that is overwhelmingly driven by stylist in search of fads and less about problem solving as I believe drives the other design practitioners. But on occasion I have gladly given props to Nike for changing athletic apparel category through design. Now I gladly acknowledge G-Star for its progressive and innovative approach to fashion, specifically its RAW 3D denim jean designs. Article: Best G Star Jeans

Its Been Awhile Since Ive Posted....

I guess there are moments when life is full and blogging takes a back seat, but I will now get back to the task of posting interesting design stuff.

Bringing a Low Cost Light to the Developing World

Little Sun website

The New Industrial Revolution

In a nutshell, the term “Maker” refers to a new category of builders who are using open-source methods and the latest technology to bring manufacturing out of its traditional factory context, and into the realm of the personal desktop computer. “Until recently, the ability to manufacture was reserved for those who owned factories,” Anderson says. “What’s happened over the last five years is that we’ve brought the Web’s democratizing power to manufacturing. Today, you can manufacture with the push of a button.” Read more: http://business.time.com/2012/10/01/how-the-maker-movement-plans-to-transform-the-u-s-economy/#ixzz2GppAe6OQ How the ‘Maker’ Movement Plans to Transform the U.S. Economy Book Review: Maker: The New Industrial Revolution

Google is Going Though a Redesign

The iconic simple search homepage is being updated. The changes are subtile but can have a tremendous impact on the user experience. Fast Company Article

The Creator of the Barcode: Norman Joseph Woodland Dies

the guardian article Wired Article

Oscar Niemeyer, the Brazilian architect who did so much to shape his nation's capital, died last week, aged 104. photos of his work

Auto Design: Why Do Electric Cars have Grills?

I thought this was a great question(see the attached article). The opportunity to replace this once useful requirement for air intake needed for the internal combustion engine.

Something to watch for is how auto manufactures handle this. Come to think of it rear engine car like the Porsche 911, did not have front facing grills in the past but now they do...hmm .Article: Why Do All These Electric Cars Have Grills

Surpreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer Talks Design

Prior to being nominated to the high court, Justice Breyer served as an appeals judge in Boston and played a leading role in the architect selection process for the courthouse (the eventual winner, Pei Cobb Freed).

Inside the 'NYT' Graphics Department

Lessons from the leading graphic design team. The New York Times graphics department discuss how they operate and how to they create powerful work.

Wearable Gadgets a New Frontier

Smart phones are here, so what's coming next? Gadgets that you wear and that provide personalized information. (i.e. Nike's Fuelband shown below)

Fast Company Article

UP by Jawbone

Designers and Book Fair 2012

This looks like an interesting gathering of designers and great books. So if you find yourself in NYC the last weekend of October check it out.

Designers and Book Fair 2012

Panel Discussion with Cooper Hewitt 2012 Design Winners

A great discussion among design professionals, sharing their life and design stories.

The Prophetic Words of Steve Jobs (1983)

Steve Jobs in a presentation about 30 years before the introduction of the personal computer shared is vision for Apple and much of life as we experience it today. The “Lost” Steve Jobs Speech from 1983; Foreshadowing Wireless Networking, the iPad, and the App Store

The Computer History Museum

Computer History Museum, billed as “the world’s largest museum for the preservation and presentation of the computer revolution and its impact.”

Computer History Museum Online Exhibition: Revolution Computing Timeline NYTimes Article: Computer History Museum...

The Making of the Eames LCW Chair

For the most part, these processes are virtually identical to those developed by Charles and Ray Eames over 65 years ago.

But in very quiet but telling ways, is still guided by humans simply because the materials are natural and don’t lend themselves to automation.

Movie Scene: Fight Club

A short commentary on consumerism's psychological influence on how Ed Norton's character, Jack, reflects on  the objects in his apartment as a mirror into his identity. Spoiler alert: He was not successful.

But what do the objects that we acquire say about who we are?

Design Icon: Thonet Chair No. 14

The world's best selling chair when introduced in 1859 by Michael Thonet, a cabinet maker, was innovative in that it was made from machine-made and hand-made parts. Still in production 150 years later No. 14's consist of only six components. This first ready to assembly chair could cheaply and easily be shipped around the world. More than 50 million of these chairs have been sold.

Article: World Most Popular Chair

A Brief Interview with Architect David Adjaye

The international renown architect David Adjaye sits down for a Q and A with Time magazine. His work can be seen in the DC area, two recently opened public libraries and the planned Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (2015).