OBSERVATORY : MARK LAMSTER

Lebbeus Woods & John Johansen: Memories of Architecture's Lost Visionaries

In the span of a few cataclysmic days, architecture has lost two of its greatest visionaries. Lebbeus Woods died this past Tuesday, just as the flood waters of Hurricane Sandy were beginning to retreat from New York. Woods's death was preceded by that of John Johansen, the modernist pioneer and relentless searcher, who passed away at 96 a week earlier. The two shared a deep sense of humanism and a commitment to the practice of architecture as a social art.
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PLACES : KATE BERNHEIMER & ANDREW BERNHEIMER WITH VERA LEUNG

Fairy Tale Architecture: The Halloween Edition

In this Halloween installment of an ongoing series on architectural fairy tales, fabulist Kate Bernheimer and her architect brother, Andrew, investigate the shape of fear itself. Re-imagining a Brothers Grimm fairy tale at the site of a World War II bombing, Andrew Bernheimer and Vera Leung design and fabricate a model for the unsettling tale “The Boy Who Set Forth to Learn What Fear Was.”
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NEWS FROM DESIGN OBSERVER GROUP SPONSORS

For 15 years, the gold standard remains Sappi McCoy. McCoy boasts a remarkably rich, tactile feel that captures fine details, cool crisp blue tones and provides unparalleled readability and clarity.
More about McCoy >>
Sappi's paper selector tool >>
More about Sappi >>

SVA's MFA in Interaction Design program trains students to research, analyze, prototype, and design concepts in their business, social, and cultural contexts. They are holding an open house November 10 for prospective students.
Open House Information >>
MFA Ineraction Design Program >>
SVA Website >>

OBSERVATORY : ALEXANDRA LANGE

Dot Supreme

In Leo Lionni’s 1959 children’s book Little Blue and Little Yellow, two dots of color are best friends. In school they sit in neat rows with Little Brown, Orange, Olive and White. After school they run and jump. One day they hug each other … until they are green. In assembling his tale Lionni was just doing what came naturally, particularly to a graphic designer at mid-century: creating relationships between shapes, creating a cloud of connotations, making an indelible mark by leaving things out.
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY : MICHAEL BIERUT

Style: An Inventory

Style was never discussed when I was a student. There was a vague sense that genuine style emerged unconsciously in its own time, like breasts or facial hair. Trying too hard would derail the process and result in something less than authentic. What a wonderful promise: within each of us is a unique voice that will reveal itself, but only through patience and practice. But where does style come from? Put more broadly, why do people do what they do? And what does it mean?
READ MORE

OBSERVATORY : JOHN FOSTER

Accidental Mysteries, 10.28.12

Change happens. It’s been happening for millions of years, and it’s happening now. Sometimes things are altered intentionally and sometimes without notice or warning. Today, I share with you a few things that have been altered or changed by man from the original form. I have avoided the changes that occur from nature and focus on the ways people alter themselves, the earth, or objects.
READ MORE

OBSERVER MEDIA : DEBBIE MILLMAN

Scott Stowell

In this audio interview with Debbie Millman, Scott Stowell discusses using color separation in elementary school, interning at M&Co, Colors magazine, starting his own studio and the importance of language in design.
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OBSERVATORY : ROB WALKER

System As Photographer

Technology not only affects photography these days, it increasingly serves as the photographer. Here are some recent examples following the lead of Street View, security cameras, and drones. As these image-making systems become more familiar, many people increasingly seem to follow their lead: photograph constantly, upload it all, expect that only a fraction will be seen more than once (if that).
READ MORE

PLACES : TERRY EVANS & ALAN THOMAS

Heartland

For four decades Terry Evans has been photographing the landscapes of her native American Midwest. Her recent work has focused on the aerial view as a way to grasp the ecological complexity of a prairie that is increasingly “disturbed, cultivated, militarized." "From the vantage of a Cessna," writes Alan Thomas, "Evans could tell different stories of the prairie — stories of irrigation and extraction, flooded fields and drained wetlands, feedlots and bomb targets." In coordination with a retrospective at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, we are pleased to present a selection of Evans's work.
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WEEKLY EMAIL: NOVEMBER 02, 2012
FEATURED THIS WEEK : JESSICA HELFAND Ezra Winter Project: Chapter Ten In 1932 Ezra Winter marries for the second time and buys a farm in the berkshires that he names Juniper Hill, sitting as it does on a massive parcel of land covered in multiple variations of low-growing conifers. In Latin, the word juniperus combines junio (which means young) with parere (a verb meaning “to produce”). And how perfect a setting this is for the painter, who has now concluded the painting about — but not necessarily his own quest for — the Fountain of Youth. And for his ambitious Bride, who will transform this property into a working farm where she will grow acres upon acres of fresh herbs. READ MORE
OBSERVATORY : MARK LAMSTER Lebbeus Woods & John Johansen: Memories of Architecture's Lost Visionaries In the span of a few cataclysmic days, architecture has lost two of its greatest visionaries. Lebbeus Woods died this past Tuesday, just as the flood waters of Hurricane Sandy were beginning to retreat from New York. Woods's death was preceded by that of John Johansen, the modernist pioneer and relentless searcher, who passed away at 96 a week earlier. The two shared a deep sense of humanism and a commitment to the practice of architecture as a social art. READ MORE PLACES : KATE BERNHEIMER & ANDREW BERNHEIMER WITH VERA LEUNG Fairy Tale Architecture: The Halloween Edition In this Halloween installment of an ongoing series on architectural fairy tales, fabulist Kate Bernheimer and her architect brother, Andrew, investigate the shape of fear itself. Re-imagining a Brothers Grimm fairy tale at the site of a World War II bombing, Andrew Bernheimer and Vera Leung design and fabricate a model for the unsettling tale “The Boy Who Set Forth to Learn What Fear Was.” READ MORE NEWS FROM DESIGN OBSERVER GROUP SPONSORS For 15 years, the gold standard remains Sappi McCoy. McCoy boasts a remarkably rich, tactile feel that captures fine details, cool crisp blue tones and provides unparalleled readability and clarity. More about McCoy >> Sappi's paper selector tool >> More about Sappi >> SVA's MFA in Interaction Design program trains students to research, analyze, prototype, and design concepts in their business, social, and cultural contexts. They are holding an open house November 10 for prospective students. Open House Information >> MFA Ineraction Design Program >> SVA Website >> OBSERVATORY : ALEXANDRA LANGE Dot Supreme In Leo Lionni’s 1959 children’s book Little Blue and Little Yellow, two dots of color are best friends. In school they sit in neat rows with Little Brown, Orange, Olive and White. After school they run and jump. One day they hug each other … until they are green. In assembling his tale Lionni was just doing what came naturally, particularly to a graphic designer at mid-century: creating relationships between shapes, creating a cloud of connotations, making an indelible mark by leaving things out. READ MORE OBSERVATORY : MICHAEL BIERUT Style: An Inventory Style was never discussed when I was a student. There was a vague sense that genuine style emerged unconsciously in its own time, like breasts or facial hair. Trying too hard would derail the process and result in something less than authentic. What a wonderful promise: within each of us is a unique voice that will reveal itself, but only through patience and practice. But where does style come from? Put more broadly, why do people do what they do? And what does it mean? READ MORE OBSERVATORY : JOHN FOSTER Accidental Mysteries, 10.28.12 Change happens. It’s been happening for millions of years, and it’s happening now. Sometimes things are altered intentionally and sometimes without notice or warning. Today, I share with you a few things that have been altered or changed by man from the original form. I have avoided the changes that occur from nature and focus on the ways people alter themselves, the earth, or objects. READ MORE OBSERVER MEDIA : DEBBIE MILLMAN Scott Stowell In this audio interview with Debbie Millman, Scott Stowell discusses using color separation in elementary school, interning at M&Co, Colors magazine, starting his own studio and the importance of language in design. READ MORE OBSERVATORY : ROB WALKER System As Photographer Technology not only affects photography these days, it increasingly serves as the photographer. Here are some recent examples following the lead of Street View, security cameras, and drones. As these image-making systems become more familiar, many people increasingly seem to follow their lead: photograph constantly, upload it all, expect that only a fraction will be seen more than once (if that). READ MORE PLACES : TERRY EVANS & ALAN THOMAS Heartland For four decades Terry Evans has been photographing the landscapes of her native American Midwest. Her recent work has focused on the aerial view as a way to grasp the ecological complexity of a prairie that is increasingly “disturbed, cultivated, militarized." "From the vantage of a Cessna," writes Alan Thomas, "Evans could tell different stories of the prairie — stories of irrigation and extraction, flooded fields and drained wetlands, feedlots and bomb targets." In coordination with a retrospective at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, we are pleased to present a selection of Evans's work. READ MORE		BECOME A FAN ON FACEBOOK \| FOLLOW US ON TWITTER More from Sappi >> Learn more now. Visit MPS/Branding site today >> Learn more during live online sessions from UNICEF's Innovation Lab in Kampala, Uganda >> OmniFocus >> AUDIO: DESIGN MATTERS ARCHIVE Ed Fella Ed Fella, artist and graphic designer whose work has influenced contemporary typography and art. Listen >> More Design Matters Archive >> CHANGE OBSERVER: PROJECT ARCHIVE One World Futbol Report on One World Futbol produced by Hope Is a Game-Changer. READ MORE OBSERVATORY ARCHIVE Scrapbooking DIY Figure/Ground PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 2005 Campus Design as Critical Practice How to turn a lackluster midwestern campus into an international cultural destination. READ MORE RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED Guaranteed to Last: L.L. Bean's Century of Outfitting America Jim Gorman A Wilderness of Error: The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald Errol Morris Collage Culture: Examining the 21st Century's Identity Crisis Aaron Rose and Mandy Kahn
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WEEKLY EMAIL: NOVEMBER 02, 2012

FEATURED THIS WEEK : JESSICA HELFAND

OBSERVATORY : MARK LAMSTER

PLACES : KATE BERNHEIMER & ANDREW BERNHEIMER WITH VERA LEUNG

NEWS FROM DESIGN OBSERVER GROUP SPONSORS

OBSERVATORY : ALEXANDRA LANGE

OBSERVATORY : MICHAEL BIERUT

OBSERVATORY : JOHN FOSTER

OBSERVER MEDIA : DEBBIE MILLMAN

OBSERVATORY : ROB WALKER

PLACES : TERRY EVANS & ALAN THOMAS

AUDIO: DESIGN MATTERS ARCHIVE

CHANGE OBSERVER: PROJECT ARCHIVE

OBSERVATORY ARCHIVE

PLACES ARCHIVE: WINTER 2005

RECENT BOOKS RECEIVED