Arts + Culture

Susan Morris|Essays

Observed at Hot Docs 2021

The Hot Docs Film Festival from Canada is the largest documentary festival in North America screening over 200 international films.

Susan Yelavich|Books

Beings: Unruly Things, Golems, Cyborgs

Stories of the supranatural would seem to be among those childish things it is long time we put away. But somehow we never do.

Connect 4|Audio

Victor Newman and Ana Amaro: Becoming an Animator

In this episode, hear student Ana Amaro and her mentor, creative director Victor Newman talk about how they each found their calling and first encountered their animated favorites.

Mike Meyers|Books

Sign Painting

In the last ten years or so we have truly witnessed a resurgence of the sign painter’s craft.

Debbie Millman|Audio

Futura

Across 50 years in the art scene, Futura has undergone a brilliant evolution from graffiti prodigy to design master.

Adrian Shaughnessy|Terms of Service

Pan Afrikan Design Institute

In this month’s Terms of Service, Adrian Shaughnessy explores contemporary African graphic design.

Jason Hill|Books

Artist as Reporter

In the 1940s the New York daily newspaper PM’s experimented with the then already "lost art" of sketch reporting.

Susan Morris|Essays

Design+ at Sundance, Slamdance, and the NYFF

One of the conveniences of the pandemic has been the ability to watch film festivals from the comfort of home — no waiting in queues, no schlepping in the snow, no talking in the audience.

Debbie Millman|Audio

Design Matters From the Archive: Marilyn Minter

Sex, power, feminism—Marilyn Minter reflects on her rise, being banished from the art world, and her return and personal revolution.

Susan Morris|Essays

Utopias at the Architecture & Design Film Festival

The surprising trend in this year’s Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF) was Utopias.

Richard Baird|Books

Akogare 憧れ

Akogare, like many Japanese words, is loaded with nuance, and is difficult to translate directly to English.

George Aye|Essays

How We Shook Up the World’s Oldest Student Design Competition

A story in Design Observer started a life-changing collaboration between the RSA in London and a small design studio in Chicago, Illinois.