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Michael Bierut, Jessica Helfand|Audio

February 3, 2016

Guys and Dolls

Michael and Jessica talk about the proliferation of Barbie dolls in all shapes and shades, announced in Time magazine. They questioned “the decisions of the American toymaking industrial complex,” which (as seen in the lack of Rey action figures from the new Star Wars film) haven’t evolved much since Michael interned for Kenner’s ad agency back in Cincinnati.

Also mentioned:

  • The Daily Mail on Diet Barbie
  • “Math class is tough!”
  • More vintage Barbie Commercials. Some we didn’t mention but worth mentioning: Surprising Barbie; Malibu Barbie; Cool Shavin’ Ken; Potty Training Kelly; Barbie Dentiste (French)
  • The Barbie Dream Wiki
  • Popular Mechanics’ oral history of the Challenger disaste
  • Richard Feynman on the O ring

    Join Design Observer for Taste, a symposium on food and visual culture at the Los Angeles Theater Center on February 12.

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    By Michael Bierut & Jessica Helfand

    Jessica Helfand is an artist and writer based in New England. A former critic at Yale School of Art and one of the founding editors of Design Observer, she is the author of several books on visual culture including Self Reliance, Design: The Invention of Desire, and Face: A Visual Odyssey. jessicahelfand.com

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    View more from Michael Bierut

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