Conversations About Beauty and the Role it Plays in Our Lives

Designers as shapers of the human environment would benefit from considering ideas of what beauty is...

Dennis Dutton talk on "A Darwin Theory of Beauty"

Richard Seymour talk on " How Beauty Feels"

Other talks...
TED Talks on Beauty

Article: America's Humanitarian Architect

Phil Freelon, of Perkins and Will, is one of the few architect of color operating at the highest levels of the profession.



In Their Own Words: Phil Freelon, A Personal History from Perkins+Will on Vimeo.

Google Maps and AI as a Demographic Tool

A brave new world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be closer than ever before, the question is just what impact it will have on our lives and the opportunity for designers.

Article Is Google Street View the Next Census Tool

AI What's Coming in 2018 for Designers

Nine Design Trends Shaping the Future

The next massive role of industrial design and design in general is going to be the creation of an entirely new design practice: AID, Artificial Intelligence Design.

Article: Future Design Trends

3D Printed Designs in the Digital Age

Joris Laarman, a pioneering force at the frontier of design, art, and engineering, the 37-year-old Dutch designer makes 3-D-printed bridges, tables constructed with the aid of industrial robots, and chairs that can be downloaded from the internet. “Joris Laarman Lab: Design in the Digital Age”—the first U.S. museum exhibition of his work, opening September 27 (through January 14, 2018) at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, in New York—affords us a closer look at his haute-cerebral brand of futurism. 

Article: Furniture's Design Brave new Present

Joris Laarman Website

Cooper Hewitt Museum Exhibition

Tesla Continues to Push the Auto Industry in the Future

The transformation of the transportation industry is being driven single handedly by Telsa's Elon Musk and Designer Franz von Holzhausen.

Article: How Telsa Designs Cars...

This Generations Most Influential Product Designer - Jonathan Ive

In 1997, Steve Jobs discovered a scruffy British designer toiling away at Apple’s headquarters, surrounded by hundreds of sketches and prototypes. Jony Ive’s collaboration with Jobs would produce some of the world’s most iconic technology products, including the iMac, iPod, iPad, and iPhone.

Smithsonian Article: Why Jony Ive Is Apple’s Design Genius

Exhibit: Making Rooms - Housing for a Changing America

The National Building Museum's (DC) new exhibit explores housing that suits the needs of the living spaces where spaces are being shared with roommates, extended family and empty nesters.

Designed by architect Pierluigi Colombo, a new concept home, illustrates how to accommodate three increasingly common household types: retired couples, extended families, and roommates. 

Each arrangement includes two distinct living areas that can be joined or used separately and a smaller, more independent private space.

Exhibit Looks for Ways to Combat the US Housing Crisis

Article: Furniture from MIT Moves

A new museum has opened in Cape Town South Africa showcasing the continents art.

Article: A Provocative Museum Places African Art on a Global Stage

Architect Thomas Heatherwick Molder to Master Builder

The Zeitz Museum of Modern Contemporary African Art (Zeitz MOCAA), which has opened in Cape Town, is the  world's largest museum solely dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. It includes 100 galleries, a rooftop sculpture garden, state of the art storage and conservation areas, a bookshop, a restaurant and bar, and various reading rooms. 

Smithsonian Copper Hewitt's National Design 2017 Award Winners

The list of 2017 National Design Award winners are listed in the link below:
Copper Hewitt Design Award Winners

The Best Architecture Projects of 21 Century

Where is architecture heading in the 21st century? A peek at one list of best architecture projects since 2000 gives some insight.

Article: The 16 Best Architecture Projects

14 Stunning Examples of 21st Century Architecture

How Nike Design for the NBA

Nike design process as captured in NYTimes video.

Grahic Design: Honoring Artchitecture

The USPS honors the newest Smithsonian Museum constructed on the national mall with a stamp.

Article: One of the Best Buildings of the Century

Article: David Adjaye Told The Story of A People with a Building

Painters Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley Selected to Paint the Obama's

Painters foreshadow the aesthetic of the society, consider Picasso, Warhol or Basquit as reflections of Modern, Post-Modern and Contemporary aesthetics.

The painters selected to paint the Obama's portraits for the Smithsonian are apart of the current generation shaping the aesthetics of early 21st century.

Smithsonian Selects Artists to Paint Portraits of the Obama's

Article: Who is Amy Sherald?

Article: What are Kehinde Wiley's Thoughts?

Article: painting the Powerless and the President

Fast Company 2017 Design Innovation Winners

The athletic shoe has arrived as a dominate cultural item, holding the changes over the past forty years in its designs. Since the Chuck Taylor "All Star" the sneaker has continually grown to where it could be argued that it is the singular product that maps the post-modern attitude of the destruction following the rules and a move toward to a less formal more causal approach to living.

Both Nike and Adidas were awarded innovation awards by Fast Company Magazine.

2017 Innovation Award Winners

Architect David Adjaye Designs Another Museum

After having successfully completed one year of operation, the Smithsonian Museum of  African American History and Culture designed by David Adjaye.

The Studio Museum of Harlem's new building is the latest commission for Adjaye Associates.

Article Studio Museum of Harlem New Building

Article: New Spy Museum

MOMA Exhibit - Items: Is Fashion Modern?

This looks to be an interesting look at fashion from a design perspective.

Article: Paola Antonelli Interview

The exhibition, which uses a design lens to explore fashion's many functional, aesthetic, and social dimensions, will run from October 01, 2017 to January 28, 2018.

Article: High Tech Couture

Iris van Herpen, a Dutch fashion designer, combines 3-D printing and hand stitching to reimagine the possibilities of the human body.

Article: Review

"Because “Items” focusses mostly on types, not dream clothes, everyday women’s concerns and how women actually get dressed are placed front and center". 

Article: Garments that Changed Modern Fashion

Design Indaba's Conference Talks

Check out the video talks at the annual international design conference:

Design Indaba Talks

Ekene Ijeoma combines data and design to tackle pressing global issues. In the video below he presents his work at the 2017 Design Indaba Conference held annually in South Africa.

Ekene Ijeoma combines data and design to tackle pressing global issues from Design Indaba

Design Activism

A New Orleans designer responses to the debate around public spaces being used to promote racism.

Aritcle: How One Designer Fights Racism with Architecture

Happy 10th Bday iPhone

The most influential product of the last decade was introduced by Apple ten years ago today.

Wired Article: iPhone Turns 10

American Politics Hits the Fashion Runway

The Italian fashion house of Dolce and Gabana has generated controversy for their embrace of political positions.

GQ Article: Raury Protest Fashion Design House

Magazine Cover Design

The New Yorker magazine riffs on a classic film to draw a parallel with the current political administration.

Article

Charlie Chaplin's film Modern Times one of the last silent movies depicts a protagonist who constantly undermines himself by not grasping the mechanisms that frames his environment.

Obama Library Center Plans Revealed

This is the first look at the plans in the works for the 44st President's library. It is described as transformational for the south side of Chicago neighborhood where it will be located.

Up and Coming Designers: Virgil Abloh and Dozie Kanu

A creative voice that you may not know, Virgil Abloh...
video link



Off White website: Off White

What will be the moniker that will be assigned to this era of design where an urban aesthetic is formalized into a language embraced by the "high society" taste makers?


Virgil talks about his retail store and collaborations with Levis..



Virgil discusses his design inspirations and philosophy:




Another Up and Coming Designer - Dozie Kanu

Matrixx the Movie: A Metaphor for the Virtual World of the 21st Century

The decision to know the truth, the blue pill or the red pill...



Is what you think is real, real or a construct of your imagination...



The Matrix is the system...

Design Ethics -Tristan Harris

Design in the digital era is focused on attracting the human mind and holding its attention, this manipulation of people is the goal of many social media companies.

Tristan Harris points out that this is not in the best interest of the user, but the advertisers.

Tristan Harris website

Art is NOT Design but There is a Connection

The highest price paid for the work of an American artist happened last week when Jean Micheal Basquiat's untitled painting sold for $110 million. Two other artist, Picasso and Andy Warhol 20th century artist captured and defined here times.

Picasso reflected the birth of Modernism, Warhol mirrored the Post-Modern era's break with the past, and Basquiat's aesthetic expresses the graffiti/hip hop/urban inspired aesthetic of the 21st century.

Music that Shaped Basquit

Basquiat Breaks Record...

Basquait Sells for $110 Million

Book: A Quick Kiling in Art

A Look at Tax Forms on Tax Day

Unfortunately, many U.S. government agency's forms can benefit from a design update.

Article: Why Are American's Tax Forms Still so Poorly Designed

Movies to Watch on Netflix Designers Should Watch

The Art of Design Movie Trailer




Co Design Article: Movie's List

Design's Next Opportunity: Solving Real Life Challenges

Will Design solve some of this generations greatest challenges?

Book - By the People: Designing a Better America

By the People: Designing a Better America

The Institute of Design Selects a New Dean

Dennis Weil (MDes 2001), the newly selected dean of the Institute of Design (ID) at the Illinois Institute of Technology, has embarked on a five city listening tour soliciting feedback from alumni on the future direction of the school.

During his stop in NYC, alumni living on the east coast met at Doblin to share their thoughts on design and ID's future.

Website: Institute of Design

Hair and Beard Trimmers Updated

What does it mean when you pay three times the price for a new product but what it delivers is an experience valued less than another lower priced competitor?

It means a customer experience that translates into disappointment. The newly introduced Bevel Trimmer is the product that has left this consumer underwhelmed.

As a designer I would say the product comes up short to provide the most important element for a premium priced product, the feeling of quality in the way the trimmer sounds and feels when in use.

When products are sold as premium I expect to feel the weight of a solidly built piece of equipment.

In contrast, The Andis BLACKOUT trimmer is classic piece of a tried and true product that delivers where it counts with its update. At half the price, this solidly made smooth running trimmer with power to spare.

An Update on the Ceiling Fan

It is great to see product designers continue to improve the items we use in function and aesthetics.

Article:The Modern Fan Company - Brazilian designer Guto Indio da Costa Edition

A Welcomed Alternative to the Smart Phone

The time has arrived to look back to the value of the simple mobile phone to fill a new need created by the ubiquitous up scale phones and the disappearing land line phones.

The Wisdom of Nokia's Dumbphone

Internationally Renown Stararchitect Zara Hadid

Hadid rose to become one of the world’s most famous architects with her brand of mathematically inspired curving buildings. She died aged 65 after suffering suspected heart failure while on holiday in Miami following an earlier bout of bronchitis.

Video: Architect Zaha Hadid

A More Versatile Wheel Chair

There is certainly opportunity to improve on the traditional wheel chair, the Zeen is designed to help people sit, stand, and walk without assistance.

Article: Hybird Wheel Chair

Fashion Design: Pharrell Williams Presents his 1st Line with G-Star

Another musician make a big move into the fashion business, Pharrell follows other artist working with major fashion houses to carry their creativity and brand to apparel. Part owner of G-Star as of February 2016 Mr. Williams has the potential to reshape the aesthetic of the company.

Hyperbeat Article: Pharrell Presents his First Collection

Urban Park Design is a Powerful Way to Improve the Quality of Life and Economies of Cities When Done Well

Washington DC has a unique opportunity to develop one of the few open parcels of land, 190 acres, into a useable space for its residents. Will the needs of the community be met or sacrifice for interest of profits.

Landscape Architect Thomas Woltz

Four Parks that are Making Cities More Beautiful

Article: The High Line Effect

2016 Co-Design Innovation Design Awards

There were only 15 winners anointed in the entire competition. Each of those projects represents what's best about design today: big ideas, meticulously thought-out details, and a clear viewpoint about how we live now—and how it could be better. We hope that you'll dig in and be inspired.

Co-Design Innovation Awards

Architecture: A Unique History of a People Reflected in a Building

The unveiling of the newest Smithsonian museum will be celebrated this week with a series of events including a ribbon cutting by President Barka Obama. 

The building rises — bronze and "brooding," in the words of architect David Adjaye — floating in a sea of white marble and limestone on the sprawling National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The mission of the National Museum of African American History and Culture — set to open to the public next week after a 100-year journey into existence — is to tell the story of America through the lens of black history and culture.

That mission is reflected in the exhibits and encapsulated in a Langston Hughes quote featured inside the museum: "I, too, am America."

It's also reflected in the location and design of the building itself.

The decision to eschew the light-colored materials of the other "palaces of culture" on the Mall is one element of this narrative — and it also matched the philosophy of Lonnie Bunch III, the museum's founding director.

"He really embraced and really loved this idea of a dark presence on the Mall," Adjaye recalled. "In a way, the museum for him is about the way in which the African-American community is absolutely integral to understanding the American identity but somehow has been always in the back room. So this is a kind of coming to the front, sitting on the front lawn, with all the other monuments."

The museum doesn't try to hide or blend into the classical forms and perpendicular lines that surround it. It wears with pride an exterior that celebrates both Africa and America.

Take its striking silhouette — a triple inverted pyramid form, each tier angled up and out. The shape mimics that of the crowns atop the figures of the caryatids, or carved pillars, of the Yoruba, an African people with origins in Benin and Nigeria. It's an easily recognizable form from African art — akin to a Corinthian column in Western art — that denotes "very sacred, special and commemorative spaces."

"It is really a way of trying to speak to the narrative of where the African-American community originates from," Adjaye says.

Article: Mission of African-American Museum..

NY times:The National Museum of African American History...

Article: How Davis Adjaye Told The Story of the African American Experience

Architect David Adjaye's Associates Website

A Virtual Tour of the Museum

David Adjaye on designing a Museum that Speaks a Different Language

Fashion Design: Is It Design or Something Else?

New York's 2016 fall fashion week is wrapping up, which raise a nagging question for me...Is this version of Fashion Design...Design?

In considering the shows of Tom Ford and Kanye West put in to perspective what fashion design presented is really about.

"Though the results were not in any way alike, they shared a similar guiding principle: It’s not enough for any designer just to offer clothes anymore. Now it’s all about the experience.

But here’s the thing about experiences: Some of them are good, and some of them are bad. And while they can create an exciting aura around clothes, making the garments seem even more relevant and desirable, they can also cast a pall."

NYTimes Articles: Glam vs Sham..

Logo Design: Why So Many Wordless Logos?

Making logo's simple is thought to enhance their appeal.

Some marketers believe that debranding can make global brands appear “less corporate” and “more personal” to consumers. Nameless logos can evoke more personal and immediate reactions—which is important in a media environment with plenty of possible distractions and diversions.

Article: Why are so many of today's logos wordless

President Obama Announces White House Frontiers Conference

The White House will host the first-ever White House Frontiers Conference in Pittsburgh, PA to explore the future of innovation in America and around the world, this October 13th.

Frontier Conference Details

The President will serve as guest editor for Wired magazine November issue.

The President Wired Magazine's Guest Editor

The Future of Fashion Design

The fashion industry has been slow to design for special populations. MIT students have step into the gap to consider how to include different sizes, persons with different abilities and older people an how fashion design could be more inclusive.

Fast Company Article: Fashion for Everyone

Modernist American Architecture in Pictures

Lake Shore Drive Apartments by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Chicago, Illinois, 1963

Guardian Article: Machines for Living

Design in Election Season

Its that season again for political posturing and selling of candidates, design can help...

Article: The Real Impact of Campaign Design

Article: Buttons Design for Hillary