2018 | 50 Books Selections

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AIGA Archives
2A.M. GUMBO: Age 23
2A.M. GUMBO: Age 23
AUTHOR: Jason Lin
PUBLISHER: Boose Studio
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Jason Lin
DESIGN FIRM: Boose Studio


44 Low-resolution Houses
44 Low-resolution Houses
AUTHOR: Michael Meredith
PUBLISHER: Princeton
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Michael Meredith, Alex Lin
ART DIRECTOR: Alex Lin
BOOK DESIGNER: Alex Lin
DESIGN FIRM: Studio Lin
OTHER CREDITS: Photography by Michael Vahrenwald


A Love Supreme
A Love Supreme
AUTHOR: Adalber Salas
PUBLISHER: Ediciones Letra Muerta
ART DIRECTOR: Faride Mereb
BOOK DESIGNER: Faride Mereb


An Unfinished Encyclopedia of Scale Figures without Architecture
An Unfinished Encyclopedia of Scale Figures without Architecture
AUTHOR: Michael Meredith, Hilary Sample & MOS
PUBLISHER: MIT
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Michael Meredith, Hilary Sample, Alex Lin
BOOK DESIGNER: Alex Lin, Paul Ruppert
DESIGN FIRM: Studio Lin


Álvaro Siza Viera: A Pool in the Sea
Álvaro Siza Viera: A Pool in the Sea
AUTHOR: Kenneth Frampton
PUBLISHER: Actar
BOOK DESIGNER: Edwin van Gelder and Michael Müller
DESIGN FIRM: Mainstudio
OTHER CREDITS: Editorial committee: Wiel Arets, Vedran Mimica, Lluís Ortega, Proofreading: Paul Hammond, Text supervision: Moisés Puente, Lithography: Hilko Visser


Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home
Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home
AUTHOR: Nora Krug (author, illustrator) / Liese Mayer (editor) / Kathryn Belden (editor)
PUBLISHER: Scribner
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: n/a
ART DIRECTOR: n/a
BOOK DESIGNER: n/a
DESIGN FIRM: n/a


Between. Monograph dedicated to the art of Kamil Kuskowski
Between. Monograph dedicated to the art of Kamil Kuskowski
AUTHOR: dr Łukasz Musielak, prof. dr hab. Kamil Kuskowski
PUBLISHER: Wydawnictwo Artystyczno-Naukowe Wydziału Malarstwa i Nowych Mediów Akademii Sztuki w Szczecinie
ART DIRECTOR: Ryszard Bienert
BOOK DESIGNER: Ryszard Bienert


Black Book
Black Book
AUTHOR: Hyung-Min Yoon
PUBLISHER: Information Office
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Hyung-Min Yoon
BOOK DESIGNER: Derek Barnett


Born Free and Equal:The Story of Loyal___________-Americans
Born Free and Equal:The Story of Loyal___________-Americans
AUTHOR: Joseph Maida; Ansel Adams
PUBLISHER: CONVOKE
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Isaac Haas
BOOK DESIGNER: Isaac Haas
DESIGN FIRM: Studio Hi, New York


Cabin Fever
Cabin Fever
AUTHOR: Bruce Grenville; Jennifer M. Volland; Stephanie Rebick (editors)
PUBLISHER: Information Office
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Derek Barnett
DESIGN FIRM: Information Office


Concrete Language
Concrete Language
AUTHOR: Ron Terada
PUBLISHER: Reider Group
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Ron Terada; Derek Barnett
BOOK DESIGNER: Derek Barnett
DESIGN FIRM: Information Office


David Goldblatt: Photographs 1948-2018
David Goldblatt: Photographs 1948-2018
AUTHOR: Rachel Kent
PUBLISHER: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Alex Torcutti
ART DIRECTOR: Alex Torcutti
BOOK DESIGNER: Alex Torcutti
DESIGN FIRM: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia


Davide Balliano – Building Body
Davide Balliano – Building Body
AUTHOR: Chrissie Iles / Luigi Fassi
PUBLISHER: CURA.BOOKS
BOOK DESIGNER: Jeff Albert
DESIGN FIRM: WHYWHATIF
OTHER CREDITS: All artworks by Davide Balliano; Translations by Flavio Erra, Ginevra Quadrio Curzio, Stephen Piccolo


ECHOS
ECHOS
AUTHOR: Mara Marcu
PUBLISHER: Actar Publishers
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Mara Marcu
ART DIRECTOR: Mara Marcu
BOOK DESIGNER: Mara Marcu (University of Cincinnati DAAP SAID)
DESIGN FIRM: Mara Marcu with Actar
OTHER CREDITS: Editor: Mara Marcu // Student Editors: Kyle Winston, Alan Alaniz, Chas Wiederhold, Christina Tefend, Jamie Kruer, John Meyer, Anjana Sivakumar, Erin Klein, Daham Marapane, Michael Sullivan, Brady Ginn, Seher Hashmi, Gael Perichon, Farshad Khalighinejad, Kristin Moreno, and Garcia Ghislaine // Editorial Board: Edward Mitchell, Udo Greinacher, Elizabeth Riorden, Edson Cabalfin // Graphic Design: Mara Marcu with Student Editors // Copy Editor: Gabriela Sarhos


Eva Castiel – Estrangeira (Foreign)
Eva Castiel – Estrangeira (Foreign)
AUTHOR: Eva Castiel
PUBLISHER: WMF Martins Fontes
ART DIRECTOR: Gabriela Castro, Gustavo Marchetti, Paulo André Chagas
DESIGN FIRM: Bloco Gráfico
OTHER CREDITS: Graphic Production: Lilia Góes


Fredrik Værslev as I Imagine Him
Fredrik Værslev as I Imagine Him
AUTHOR: Fredrik Værslev
PUBLISHER: JRP|Ringier with Astrup Fearnley Museet
ART DIRECTOR: Zak Kyes
BOOK DESIGNER: Julie Kim, Teo Furtado
DESIGN FIRM: Zak Group


Frida Escobedo Serpentine Pavilion 2018
Frida Escobedo Serpentine Pavilion 2018
AUTHOR: Rebecca Lewin and Joseph Constable
PUBLISHER: Serpentine Galleries and Koenig Books
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Maricris Herrera
ART DIRECTOR: Maricris Herrera
BOOK DESIGNER: Emilio Pérez
DESIGN FIRM: Estudio Herrera


Giedion and America: Repositioning the History of Modern Architecture
Giedion and America: Repositioning the History of Modern Architecture
AUTHOR: Reto Geiser
PUBLISHER: gta Verlag/ETH Zurich
BOOK DESIGNER: Maike Hamacher, Valentin Hindermann, Madeleine Stahel; with Christa Lanz
DESIGN FIRM: Büro 146


Go! My Adventure Journal
Go! My Adventure Journal
AUTHOR: Wee Society
PUBLISHER: Clarkson Potter
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Jill Robertson, Rob Alexander
BOOK DESIGNER: Rob Alexander
DESIGN FIRM: Office
OTHER CREDITS: Lindley Boegehold, Clarkson Potter, Editor // Writer: Jill Robertson (Office)


Grlz + Veils: Cheryl Donegan
Grlz + Veils: Cheryl Donegan
AUTHOR: Bill Arning, Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, Daniel Baumann, Robert Buck, Johanna Drucker, Wade Guyton, Rem Koolhaas, Heidi Zuckerman; Ed. Sarah Stephenson
PUBLISHER: Aspen Art Press, CAM Houston, Kunsthalle Zürich
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: David Wise
BOOK DESIGNER: David Wise
DESIGN FIRM: Aspen Art Museum


Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal …
Hank Willis Thomas: All Things Being Equal …
AUTHOR: Lesley A. Martin
PUBLISHER: Copublished by Aperture Foundation and Portland Art Museum
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Bobby C. Martin Jr.
BOOK DESIGNER: Bobby C. Martin Jr.; Michael McCaughley
DESIGN FIRM: The Original Champions of Design
OTHER CREDITS: Samantha Marlow, Associate Editor; Susan Ciccotti, Senior Text Editor; Sally Knapp, Copy Editor; Lauren Harper, Madison Reid, Marisa Sottos, Work Scholars.


Hayv Kahraman
Hayv Kahraman
AUTHOR: Edited by Rebecca McGrew
PUBLISHER: Pomona College Museum of Art
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Kimberly Varella
ART DIRECTOR: Kimberly Varella
BOOK DESIGNER: Kimberly Varella
DESIGN FIRM: Content Object


Henry N. Cobb: Words & Works 1948-2018
Henry N. Cobb: Words & Works 1948-2018
AUTHOR: Henry N. Cobb
PUBLISHER: The Monacelli Press
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Chris Grimley
BOOK DESIGNER: Chris Grimley, Shannon McLean, and Anna Driscoll
DESIGN FIRM: OverUnder
OTHER CREDITS: Edited by Emma Cobb, Mark Pasnik, and Alan Rapp


Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future
Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future
AUTHOR: Tracey Bashkoff with David Horowitz
PUBLISHER: Guggenheim Museum Publications
BOOK DESIGNER: Barbara Glauber, Heavy Meta
DESIGN FIRM: Barbara Glauber, Heavy Meta


How We See: Photobooks by Women
How We See: Photobooks by Women
AUTHOR: Russet Lederman, Olga Yatskevich, Michael Lang
PUBLISHER: 10x10 Photobooks
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Laura Coombs
ART DIRECTOR: Laura Coombs
BOOK DESIGNER: Laura Coombs
DESIGN FIRM: Laura Coombs


I Was Raised on the Internet
I Was Raised on the Internet
AUTHOR: Omar Kholeif
PUBLISHER: Delmonico Books | Prestel with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
BOOK DESIGNER: Dylan Fracareta


John Edmonds Higher
John Edmonds Higher
AUTHOR: Capricious
PUBLISHER: Capricious
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Alex Lin
ART DIRECTOR: Alex Lin, Jena Myung
BOOK DESIGNER: Alex Lin, Jena Myung
DESIGN FIRM: Studio Lin


John Mawurndjul: I am the old and the new
John Mawurndjul: I am the old and the new
AUTHOR: Natasha Bullock
PUBLISHER: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Alex Torcutti
ART DIRECTOR: Alex Torcutti
BOOK DESIGNER: Alex Torcutti
DESIGN FIRM: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia


Juliana Stein – Não está claro até que a noite caia (It is not clear until the night falls)
Juliana Stein – Não está claro até que a noite caia (It is not clear until the night falls)
AUTHOR: Juliana Stein
PUBLISHER: WMF Martins Fontes
ART DIRECTOR: Gabriela Castro, Gustavo Marchetti, Paulo André Chagas
DESIGN FIRM: Bloco Gráfico
OTHER CREDITS: Graphic Production: Lilia Góes


Learning to Read with John Baldessari
Learning to Read with John Baldessari
AUTHOR: Kit Hammonds
PUBLISHER: Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo and JRP Ringier
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Maricris Herrera
ART DIRECTOR: Maricris Herrera
BOOK DESIGNER: Santiago Martínez Alberú
DESIGN FIRM: Estudio Herrera


Marcia Hafif: A Place Apart
Marcia Hafif: A Place Apart
AUTHOR: Edited by Rebecca McGrew
PUBLISHER: Pomona College Museum of Art
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Kimberly Varella
ART DIRECTOR: Kimberly Varella
BOOK DESIGNER: Kimberly Varella
DESIGN FIRM: Content Object


New Farmers 2014/2018
New Farmers 2014/2018
AUTHOR: D. Bryon Darby, Tim Hossler, Paul V. Stock
PUBLISHER: P&T Committee
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Tim Hossler
DESIGN FIRM: Tim Hossler Design


Past/Forward: The LA Phil at 100
Past/Forward: The LA Phil at 100
AUTHOR: Julia Ward; Robin Rauzi; Derek Traub
PUBLISHER: Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Kimberly Varella
ART DIRECTOR: Kimberly Varella and Jessica Fleischmann (still room)
BOOK DESIGNER: Kimberly Varella and Jessica Fleischmann (still room)
DESIGN FIRM: Content Object
OTHER CREDITS: Visual Curator for Forward: Aandrea Stang; Interviews by Tim Page; Color Separations by Echelon Color, Santa Monica


Police: A Field Guide
Police: A Field Guide
AUTHOR: David Correia and Tyler Wall
PUBLISHER: Verso
ART DIRECTOR: Andy Pressman
BOOK DESIGNER: Matt Avery


Polish Dance Theatre 1973–2018
Polish Dance Theatre 1973–2018
AUTHOR: Iwona Pasińska, Joanna Targoń, Anna Koczorowska
PUBLISHER: Polish Dance Theatre
ART DIRECTOR: Ryszard Bienert
BOOK DESIGNER: Ryszard Bienert


PRIMER
PRIMER
AUTHOR: Artist: Matthew Craven; Editor: Mark Iosifescu
PUBLISHER: Anthology Editions
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Keith Abrahamsson
ART DIRECTOR: Bryan Cipolla
BOOK DESIGNER: Nicholas Law
DESIGN FIRM: N/A
OTHER CREDITS: Foreword: Leslie Jones; Sales director: Casey Whalen; Publishing coordinator: Grace Srinivasiah


Pulp II: A Visual Bibliography of the Banished Book
Pulp II: A Visual Bibliography of the Banished Book
AUTHOR: Shubigi Rao
PUBLISHER: Studio Swell, Rock Paper Fire
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Benson Chong, Felix Sng
BOOK DESIGNER: Benson Chong, Felix Sng
DESIGN FIRM: SWELL
OTHER CREDITS: Creative Concept: Shubigi Rao, Editor: Leena Teneja Rao


Sally Mann: A Thousand Crossings
Sally Mann: A Thousand Crossings
AUTHOR: Sarah Greenough et al.
PUBLISHER: National Gallery of Art, Washington
BOOK DESIGNER: Margaret Bauer
OTHER CREDITS: Image manager: Sara Sanders-Buell; Production assistant: Mariah Shay


São Paulo: A Graphic Biography
São Paulo: A Graphic Biography
AUTHOR: Felipe Correa
PUBLISHER: University of Texas Press
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Felipe Correa and Devin Dobrowolski
BOOK DESIGNER: Neil Donnelly and Ben Fehrman-Lee
DESIGN FIRM: Neil Donnelly Studio
OTHER CREDITS: Book photography by Kris Graves; pre-press and color separations by DZA.


Sixfold Symmetry: Pattern in Art and Science
Sixfold Symmetry: Pattern in Art and Science
AUTHOR: Rachel Seligman and Rachel Roe-Dale
PUBLISHER: Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Barbara Glauber
BOOK DESIGNER: Barbara Glauber & Grace Han
DESIGN FIRM: Heavy Meta


Songs for Sabotage: 2018 New Museum Triennial
Songs for Sabotage: 2018 New Museum Triennial
AUTHOR: Gary Carrion-Murayari, Alex Gartenfeld
PUBLISHER: Phaidon
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Mỹ Linh Triệu Nguyễn
ART DIRECTOR: Mỹ Linh Triệu Nguyễn
BOOK DESIGNER: Mỹ Linh Triệu Nguyễn, Eric Lee
DESIGN FIRM: STUDIO LHOOQ
OTHER CREDITS: Curatorial Assistant: Francesca Altamura


Soul of the Nilgiris: A Journey Through the Mountains
Soul of the Nilgiris: A Journey Through the Mountains
AUTHOR: Ramya Reddy
PUBLISHER: Ramya and Rajesh Reddy
ART DIRECTOR: Ramya Reddy and Cleber Rafael de Campos
BOOK DESIGNER: Cleber Rafael de Campos // email: [email protected] /
DESIGN FIRM: Self-published
OTHER CREDITS: Printing and Prepress: PRAGATI OFFSET, HYDERABAD, India


Spaces of Disappearance: The Architecture of Extraordinary Rendition
Spaces of Disappearance: The Architecture of Extraordinary Rendition
AUTHOR: Jordan H. Carver
PUBLISHER: UR | Urban Research
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Isaac Gertman
DESIGN FIRM: The Independent Group
OTHER CREDITS: Copy Editor: Stephen Hoban; Proofreader: Caitlin Blanchfield


Speculations on Anonymous Material, nature after nature, Inhuman
Speculations on Anonymous Material, nature after nature, Inhuman
AUTHOR: Susanne Pfeffer
PUBLISHER: Koenig Books
ART DIRECTOR: Zak Kyes
BOOK DESIGNER: Julie Kim
DESIGN FIRM: Zak Group


Takashi Murakami: Lineage of Eccentrics: A Collaboration with Nobuo Tsuji and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Takashi Murakami: Lineage of Eccentrics: A Collaboration with Nobuo Tsuji and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
AUTHOR: Edited and with an introduction by Anne Nishimura Morse
PUBLISHER: MFA Publications, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
BOOK DESIGNER: Takaya Goto, Lesley Chi, and Sho Momma, Goto Design, New York
DESIGN FIRM: Goto Design, New York
OTHER CREDITS: Edited by Anna Barnet; editorial assistance by Tomoko Nagakura; Translations by Martha McClintock, Ruth S. McCreery, Yuiko Kimura, Yuiko Hotta, and Yuko Sakata


The Senses: Design Beyond Vision
The Senses: Design Beyond Vision
AUTHOR: Ellen Lupton & Andrea Lipps
PUBLISHER: Princeton Architectural Press
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: David Genco
ART DIRECTOR: David Genco
BOOK DESIGNER: David Genco & Ellen Lupton
DESIGN FIRM: David Genco Inc.


Thomas Demand: The Complete Papers
Thomas Demand: The Complete Papers
AUTHOR: Christy Lange
PUBLISHER: MACK
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Naomi Mizusaki
BOOK DESIGNER: Naomi Mizusaki
DESIGN FIRM: Supermarket


Unboxing New York
Unboxing New York
AUTHOR: ODA
PUBLISHER: Actar
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Alex Lin, ODA
ART DIRECTOR: Alex Lin
BOOK DESIGNER: Alex Lin, Jena Myung
DESIGN FIRM: Studio Lin


Walls Turned Sideways: Artists Confront the Justice System
Walls Turned Sideways: Artists Confront the Justice System
AUTHOR: Risa Puleo
PUBLISHER: [NAME] Publications
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Aaron Sutherlen and Stacy Asher
ART DIRECTOR: Aaron Sutherlen and Stacy Asher
BOOK DESIGNER: Aaron Sutherlen and Stacy Asher
DESIGN FIRM: Aaron Sutherlen and Stacy Asher
OTHER CREDITS: Under the editorial direction of Natalia Zuluaga, Lucie Steinberg, and Gean Moreno; Co-Published by Contemporary Art Museum Houston





Observed


Design, as a professional field, feels broken to some practitioners. A new book, What Design Can’t Do: Essays on Design and Delusion by Lisbon-based designer and writer Silvio Lorusso, offers sanctuary. “What was once a promising field rooted in problem-solving has become a problem in itself,” he writes. “The skill set of designers appears shaky and insubstantial – their expertise is received with indifference, their know-how is trivialised by online services…If you see yourself as a designer without qualities; if you feel cheated, disappointed or betrayed by design, this book is for you.”

Designers are podcasting now! (We know, we know.)

Is it a car? Is it an art installation? Behold solar designer Marjan van Aubel's genre-bending sculptural interpretation of the Lexus Future Zero-emission Catalyst (LF-ZC) concept car.

Art Basel Miami Beach: ain’t nothing but a party

Mice, evidently, are now self-aware. (Which may explain why none are running for U.S. president.)

Leading us ever closer to a landfill-free circular economy, designers are turning to waste as an increasingly flexible material. Using fruit peel, orange seeds, and coffee ground waste collected from businesses in Italy, Krill, a Milan-based design firm, creates products that can be redistributed to the same businesses for use in their offices, instead of furniture made from common plastics. They've created (and patented) a plastic-like biomaterial they call Rekrill: it's fully organic, biodegradable, and can be used over and over again. (Spoiler: it's also expensive.)

Volkswagen, Volvo, Chrysler, BMW, Porsche, Bugatti, Audi, Ford, Kia, General Motors, and Mercedes-Benz all have male design heads, yet women buy more than 60 percent of all new cars sold in the Unted States. Will the rise in the design and production change all that? Debatable.

How Samuel Ross thinks about the design of a park bench as an opportunity to “house” the body.

Did you know that the humble graham cracker was once a symbol of dietary restraint? That chewing gum was once a substitute for rubber? That away from the bar cart, brandy has been used as a cardiac catalyst and a sedative? Design (and intentionality) in food and flavor profiles: a compendium!

The entirety of Logan Airport's candy apple red Terminal E was designed around the concept of efficiency, for travelers and airport workers alike. A curvy structure boasting floor to ceiling windows, ultra-high ceilings, and literally no right angles in sight, Spanish architect Luis Vidal has introduced an iconic structure painted a prismatic red and clad in more than 52,000 square feet of something called photovoltaic glass. (Which, as it turns out, generates its own electricity.) Internal innovations include a sensory room, a space for anxious fliers or neurodivergent travelers who might need a visual and auditory respite from a bustling terminal. “Airports are the cathedrals of the 21st century,” observes the architect. “They serve as the main gateway of countries, requiring a bold presence to leave a positive and lasting impression on the traveler. They must be design-focused because ultimately, everything in a well-designed airport revolves around the freedom of the passenger.”

Through December 16, The Italian Cultural Institute in Lima, Peru is exhibiting a series of posters designed by graphic designers and artists between 1923 and 2022, which collectively tell the story of the 23 editions of the Triennale Milano International Exhibition to date. (You can explore the posters online here.)

Nigerian designer Nifemi Marcus-Bello is an empath, an optimist, and an (aptly) self-described archivist. In addition to his own robust and increasingly global practice, his personal research project (entitled Africa – A Designer)  will be exhibited in Europe next summer. The project looks to document and archive unauthorized Indigenous designed objects that have found their way into our daily lives. 

Long-time Design Observer contributor (and self-professed "student of mall history") Alexandra Lange reviews The Well, a mixed-use space in Toronto. “The result,” Lange observes, “is a bit like adaptive reuse gone Vegas: bigger, smoother, and more mechanically “different” from building to building than a neighborhood that has grown organically.”

An overwhelming amount of media is disproportionately owned by a uniform, wealthy class of global industrialists. Which makes Nukhu—a model and forum for community minded cinema, based in New York—an etraordinary thing to behold. Founded in 2016 by Sanjay Singh, Nukhu's mission empowers independent BIPOC artists and in so doing, nurtures an enlightened artistic community. In an industry where financial backing and recognition remain formidable challenges for independent filmmakers, Nukhu emerges as a beacon of hope and empowerment, standing at the forefront of a movement dedicated to facilitating opportunities and reshaping the narrative for independent artists. (Read more about their Nukhu-powered celebration—called Nukhufest—here.)

Climate TRACE (Tracking Real-time Atmospheric Carbon Emissions) is a global coalition of nonprofits, tech companies, and universities working to make meaningful climate action faster and easier by independently tracking greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, harnessing satellite imagery and other forms of remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and data science expertise to identify human-caused GHG emissions when and where they happen. The website is fast, responsive and frankly, brilliant.

Also in Miami this week, the Japanese female wrestling league Sukeban will be taking over Miami’s Lot 11 Skatepark for one night only to crown its first-ever World Champion. (Stream it here.) In Japanese, Sukeban translates as “delinquent girl,” a nod to the female equivalent of the male banchō in Japanese culture. According to Olympia Le-Tan, a fashion designer and the league’s creative director, the importance of projecting each wrestler’s personality and character through their costume was crucial. (Don't miss the belts.)

Remember Tilly Talbot—billed as the world's first AI designer? She was first announced by our friends at Dezeen last spring, made an appearance at Milan Design Week and beginning today, is “in residence” at The Standard in Miami, for Miami Art Week. Tilly—a bot—was invented by Snoop Studio founder Amanda Talbot after “pondering the relationship between AI and human loneliness, programming her under the studio’s principles of human-centered design that prioritizes nature.” Adds the human Talbot: ”Tilly will challenge you on materials." 

Seventh-generation Diné (Navajo) designer, textile artist, and weaver (and according to her Instagram, part time skater and model) Naiomi Glasses is the inaugural artist in residence … at Ralph Lauren.

The 22nd annual ArtReview 100 is here — click through for an eclectic and inspiring array of artists, many of whom use their platforms to speak truth to power. Photographer Nan Goldin tops the list; her most recent work has been dedicated to exposing the art world’s complicity in the opioid epidemic by accepting money from the Sackler family.  

Love Odih Kumuyi offers an excellent blueprint for designing meetings for inclusion and innovation. It’s all about the psychological safety. “Based on current dynamics or past experiences, individuals have a generalized sense of whether their voices will be received with respect or silenced and dismissed. Leaders asking for individuals to vulnerably share ideas must carefully curate an environment where the rules of engagement are in alignment with principles of psychological safety.” 

The controversial president of the COP28 climate summit, Sultan Al Jaber, does not seem to be on board with fossil fuel targets. “[P]lease, help me, show me a roadmap for a phase-out of fossil fuels that will allow for sustainable socio-economic development, unless you want to take the world back into caves,” he said at last month's She Changes Climate summit. 

London-based designer Brendan Callaghan obscures typography through a series of imagined destinations in his project, Untold Roads—an exquisite site for adventurers—or, frankly, for anyone who appreciates a beautifully articulated demonstration of what happens when form reinforces content. See the case study here.

In Boston, Northeastern University is looking for a full-time Professor in Design, Civic/Social Values and Democracy. Details here.

Minnesota flag finalists' entries into a statewide competition all reflect common themes and elements: all of them have a star, a nod to the state's motto "L'Etoile du Nord," and some shade of blue (for the land of 10,000 lakes). FairVote Minnesota—an organization which advocates for implementing ranked choice voting—conducted the election, and more than 12,000 people cast their vote. Here's the winner.

The first graphic appeared on a Kansas plate in 1942, with sunflowers on the lower left and right sides. Since then it's been a wild ride. (If you're late to the Plategate party, here's a primer.)

“This is her fifth long-form visual project,”writes Wesley Morris in his review of Renaissance, Beyoncé’s newest movie, out now in theatres. “We’re now talking about an auteur.” Morris doesn’t stop there. “Simply at the presentation level, coherence and visual imagination are in the house.” Observes Vanderbilt Professor Michael Eric Dyson—who calls Beyoncé a process theologian—"her secular sites have offered spiritual nourishment, providing a venue for uplifting holy praise in thanks for the vibrant variety of life."

Did you know that the Institute for Scrap Recycling sponsors a design award? And that it has done so for more than three decades? Friends, you have until February 12 to submit your game-changing ideas. Get cracking.

Legendary architect William McDonough—who was one of the first proponents of “circular” design—thinks we’re talking about the issue all wrong. And on that same topic, this year's Business of Design summit brings together policymakers, business executives, and creative leaders to identify critical challenges, innovative ideas, and smart design processes driving circular design. (More here.)

Thanks to a number of new collective projects in Paris, Ukrainian design is becoming a fully-fledged part of the global creative industry.

This just in from the Department of Dystopian Prognostications! A new AI tool— called COLE, named in honor of Henry Cole (the creator of the first graphical Christmas card in 1843) lets you type in a graphic design project idea and have an AI generate not only the image, but the text to support it baked in. 



Jobs | December 08