PLACES : DAVID HEYMANN

The Eastward-Moving House

Earlier this week we republished J.B. Jackson's classic essay "The Westward-Moving House: Three American Houses and the People Who Lived in Them." Jackson traced three generations of a fictional American family, starting in colonial Massachusetts and then moving westward, first to the Midwest in the 19th century, then to Texas in the 1950s. Here we are pleased to feature David Heymann's contemporary continuation of this imaginative analysis of American homesteading — of the relationship between what we build and what we value.
READ MORE

CHANGE OBSERVER : PHIL PATTON

Boosting the Urban IQ

The National Building Museum, Time magazine and the Rockefeller Foundation have teamed up to look at urban design in a new way. “Intelligent Cities” explores how information and the new devices that communicate it can improve the places where we live. The multi-year program includes a symposium, book and Time-hosted website. The public is invited to contribute ideas via polls and online suggestions. Some of the results will be offered up in a publication this fall.
READ MORE

FROM OUR SPONSORS

Almost one billion people on the planet don't have safe and clean drinking water. Mohawk has partnered with charity: water to help bring clean water to developing nations. You can help contribute by visiting our Drop in the Bucket campaign
Mohawk & charity: water >>
Drop in the Bucket >>
Mohawk Fine Papers >>

Being sustainable has never been so profitable. See how the country's most innovative companies are improving their bottom line by staying the course on sustainability. Look into Sappi's paper mills that are setting a new standard for environmental responsibility.
Find out more about Sappi here >>
Order a copy of eQ003 >>
Download a PDF copy >>

OBSERVATORY : ADAM HARRISON LEVY

Jump Cut: Thoughts on Editing

To be a top-notch film editor you need to have the eye of a painter, the ear of a composer and the story sense of a writer. You also need the ruthlessness of a commodities trader. What can designers, architects and writers learn from the art of film editing?
READ MORE

OBSERVERS ROOM : ALEXANDRA LANGE

Would You Like Words With That?

If an educated consumer is the best consumer, why don't social shopping sites have room for words?
READ MORE

OBSERVERS ROOM : RICK POYNOR

The Dictionary as Art Concept

How important is originality when it comes to book design? A while back I wrote an article about the prevalence now, particularly within the art world, of books based on the editorial structure of the dictionary. The device has turned up again in a new Magritte exhibition catalogue. Far from finding this an obvious or overused conceit, it strikes me as a perfect device for exploring the painter’s brand of Surrealism.
READ MORE

PLACES : J.B. JACKSON

The Westward-Moving House: Three American Houses and the People Who Lived in Them

J.B. Jackson's "The Westward-Moving House," which explores the relationship of house building to cultural values over three centuries and across the American continent, was first published in 1953 in Landscape, the journal Jackson founded and edited for many years. Over the decades the iconoclastic Jackson, who died in 1996, attracted a wide following, inspiring "several generations of designers to see the environment with fresh eyes," in the words of Herbert Muschamp. In collaboration with colleagues at the University of Nevada, we are pleased to republish Jackson's classic essay.
READ MORE

OBSERVERS ROOM : JOHN THACKARA

Knife Sharpening

Last week I was taught how to sharpen our kitchen knives by a wood carver, Howard Raybould, who's been honing his technique for 30 years. It's the most useful skill I've acquired since learning how to ride a bike.
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY : JESSICA HELFAND

The Look of Freedom

It was the American novelist William Faulkner who once observed that we must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. So who am I to take issue with more contemporary interpretations of commemorative form?

A design critic, that's who.
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY : JOHN FOSTER

Accidental Mysteries, 07.03.11

Accidental Mysteries, a weekly cabinet of visual curiosities curated by John Foster, highlights images of design, art, architecture and ephemera brought to light by the magic of the digital age.
READ MORE

PLACES : D.H. TRACY

To England

A poem for Independence Day: "A Bronx cheer, sparklers, a bottle of root beer in each hand, to England, Salut."
READ MORE

OBSERVERS ROOM : JOHN THACKARA

Shoe Town to Brew Town

When Jimmy Carbone, co-creator of The Good Beer Seal, was considering running for mayor of his old hometown in Haverhill, Massachusetts, he began to ponder possible new uses for industrial buildings that had fallen into disuse.
READ MORE


WEEKLY EMAIL: JULY 07, 2011
FEATURED THIS WEEK : ADVERTISEMENT For Sale: The Earliest Modern Studio in America In 1931, a young American artist designed and built himself a modern studio on a mountaintop in the Berkshires in Northwest Connecticut: it would be one of the first modern houses in America, pre-dating Frank Lloyd’s Fallingwater by five years. It has been the home of Winterhouse since 1998, and is now for sale. READ MORE
PLACES : DAVID HEYMANN The Eastward-Moving House Earlier this week we republished J.B. Jackson's classic essay "The Westward-Moving House: Three American Houses and the People Who Lived in Them." Jackson traced three generations of a fictional American family, starting in colonial Massachusetts and then moving westward, first to the Midwest in the 19th century, then to Texas in the 1950s. Here we are pleased to feature David Heymann's contemporary continuation of this imaginative analysis of American homesteading — of the relationship between what we build and what we value. READ MORE CHANGE OBSERVER : PHIL PATTON Boosting the Urban IQ The National Building Museum, Time magazine and the Rockefeller Foundation have teamed up to look at urban design in a new way. “Intelligent Cities” explores how information and the new devices that communicate it can improve the places where we live. The multi-year program includes a symposium, book and Time-hosted website. The public is invited to contribute ideas via polls and online suggestions. Some of the results will be offered up in a publication this fall. READ MORE FROM OUR SPONSORS Almost one billion people on the planet don't have safe and clean drinking water. Mohawk has partnered with charity: water to help bring clean water to developing nations. You can help contribute by visiting our Drop in the Bucket campaign Mohawk & charity: water >> Drop in the Bucket >> Mohawk Fine Papers >> Being sustainable has never been so profitable. See how the country's most innovative companies are improving their bottom line by staying the course on sustainability. Look into Sappi's paper mills that are setting a new standard for environmental responsibility. Find out more about Sappi here >> Order a copy of eQ003 >> Download a PDF copy >> OBSERVATORY : ADAM HARRISON LEVY Jump Cut: Thoughts on Editing To be a top-notch film editor you need to have the eye of a painter, the ear of a composer and the story sense of a writer. You also need the ruthlessness of a commodities trader. What can designers, architects and writers learn from the art of film editing? READ MORE OBSERVERS ROOM : ALEXANDRA LANGE Would You Like Words With That? If an educated consumer is the best consumer, why don't social shopping sites have room for words? READ MORE OBSERVERS ROOM : RICK POYNOR The Dictionary as Art Concept How important is originality when it comes to book design? A while back I wrote an article about the prevalence now, particularly within the art world, of books based on the editorial structure of the dictionary. The device has turned up again in a new Magritte exhibition catalogue. Far from finding this an obvious or overused conceit, it strikes me as a perfect device for exploring the painter’s brand of Surrealism. READ MORE CHANGE OBSERVER : LAURA WEISS Structured for Creativity Can we design nonprofits for efficiency as well as creativity? READ MORE PLACES : J.B. JACKSON The Westward-Moving House: Three American Houses and the People Who Lived in Them J.B. Jackson's "The Westward-Moving House," which explores the relationship of house building to cultural values over three centuries and across the American continent, was first published in 1953 in Landscape, the journal Jackson founded and edited for many years. Over the decades the iconoclastic Jackson, who died in 1996, attracted a wide following, inspiring "several generations of designers to see the environment with fresh eyes," in the words of Herbert Muschamp. In collaboration with colleagues at the University of Nevada, we are pleased to republish Jackson's classic essay. READ MORE OBSERVERS ROOM : JOHN THACKARA Knife Sharpening Last week I was taught how to sharpen our kitchen knives by a wood carver, Howard Raybould, who's been honing his technique for 30 years. It's the most useful skill I've acquired since learning how to ride a bike. READ MORE OBSERVATORY : JESSICA HELFAND The Look of Freedom It was the American novelist William Faulkner who once observed that we must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. So who am I to take issue with more contemporary interpretations of commemorative form? A design critic, that's who. READ MORE OBSERVATORY : JOHN FOSTER Accidental Mysteries, 07.03.11 Accidental Mysteries, a weekly cabinet of visual curiosities curated by John Foster, highlights images of design, art, architecture and ephemera brought to light by the magic of the digital age. READ MORE PLACES : D.H. TRACY To England A poem for Independence Day: "A Bronx cheer, sparklers, a bottle of root beer in each hand, to England, Salut." READ MORE OBSERVERS ROOM : JOHN THACKARA Shoe Town to Brew Town When Jimmy Carbone, co-creator of The Good Beer Seal, was considering running for mayor of his old hometown in Haverhill, Massachusetts, he began to ponder possible new uses for industrial buildings that had fallen into disuse. READ MORE		BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK \| FOLLOW US ON TWITTER Learn more now. Visit MPS/Branding site today >> Good design can influence positive change! Learn more Ideas that Matter >> Almost one billion people don't have safe and clean drinking water Mohawk & charity: water. Helping to bring clean water to developing nations >> Register by the early deadline and save up to . Pivot the AIGA Design Conference >> AUDIO: DESIGN MATTERS ARCHIVE Laurie Rosenwald Laurie Rosenwald is a graphic designer, artist, illustrator, writer, television actress and author. Listen >> More Design Matters Archive >> CHANGE OBSERVER: PROJECT ARCHIVE Project Mwana A new effort to diagnosis and treat infant HIV/AIDS in remote African regions. READ MORE OBSERVATORY ARCHIVE BART's Makeover No Bugs on TV Emotional Design PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 1989 Western Civic Art: Works in Progress In 1989 Phoenix, Arizona, commissioned one of the first public art master plans. The city now has one of the strongest public art programs in the country. READ MORE CHANGE OBSERVER: RESOURCES Academic Programs >> Competitions >> Conferences & Events >> Fellowships & Prizes >> Organizations >> Programs & Initiatives >> Publications & Websites >> Social Networks >> RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED Furniture with Soul: Master Woodworkers and Their Craft David Savage This is Service Design Thinking Marc Stickdorn & Jakob Schneider Ethical Marketing and The New Consumer Chris Arnold
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WEEKLY EMAIL: JULY 07, 2011

FEATURED THIS WEEK : ADVERTISEMENT

PLACES : DAVID HEYMANN

CHANGE OBSERVER : PHIL PATTON

FROM OUR SPONSORS

OBSERVATORY : ADAM HARRISON LEVY

OBSERVERS ROOM : ALEXANDRA LANGE

OBSERVERS ROOM : RICK POYNOR

CHANGE OBSERVER : LAURA WEISS

PLACES : J.B. JACKSON

OBSERVERS ROOM : JOHN THACKARA

OBSERVATORY : JESSICA HELFAND

OBSERVATORY : JOHN FOSTER

PLACES : D.H. TRACY

OBSERVERS ROOM : JOHN THACKARA

AUDIO: DESIGN MATTERS ARCHIVE

CHANGE OBSERVER: PROJECT ARCHIVE

OBSERVATORY ARCHIVE

PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 1989

CHANGE OBSERVER: RESOURCES

RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED