Obituaries

Julie Lasky|Gallery

Protect Me from What I Want

Photo in memory of Tobias Wong.

Rick Poynor|Essays

The Writings of William Drenttel

Essays from the Design Observer archive show the wide scope of William Drenttel's interests and concerns.

Marvin Heiferman|Essays

Mary Ellen Mark, 1940–2015

Remembering the noted photojournalist

The Editors|Essays

In Memory of William Drenttel

It is with great sorrow that we announce that William Drenttel, who co-founded Design Observer ten years ago and was its mastermind, conscience, and animating spirit, died on December 21, after a year-and-a-half struggle with …

Owen Edwards|Essays

Irving Penn, 1917-2009

Irving Penn, who died on October 7th at the age of 92, marks the end of the great age of glamour in magazines, a remarkable period when brilliant photographers who happened to make their livings in fashion and advertising were finally …

Michael Bierut|Essays

Spoiler Alert! Or, Happy Father's Day

Dad couldn't help it. He was a natural born spoiler.

Michael Bierut|Essays

The Four Lessons of Lou Dorfsman

For over 40 years, Lou Dorfsman designed everything at CBS from its advertising to the paper cups in its cafeteria. Getting great work done in giant institution is supposed to be hard. How did he make it look easy?

Adam Harrison Levy|Essays

The Inventor of the Cowboy Shirt

Jack A. Weil. Photo by Rick Wilking, 2006A few years ago, I found myself lost inside a shopping mall with the man who, in 1946, invented the snap-buttoned cowboy shirt. Jack A. Weil, better known as Jack A, was one hundred and one years …

Gong Szeto|Essays

Lehman's Bankruptcy Statement

I'm just a designer, but it doesn't take a genius to read a bankruptcy statement. Take a look at the Lehman Brothers statement dated Sunday, September 14, 2008. Read the whole thing down to Exhibit A and the list of creditors — this is …

Michael Bierut|Essays

David Foster Wallace, Branding Theorist, 1962-2008

Glen Cummings|Essays

Athos Bulcão, The Artist of Brasilia

Concrete relief, Teatro Nacional, Brasilia, 1966In 1956, Brazilian President Juscelino Kubitschek was sworn into office, boasting a campaign promise to deliver half a century of progress in the space of five short years. In an effort to …

Jessica Helfand|Essays

Reflections on The Ephemeral World, Part One: Ink

Half-size manila blank paper notebooks with "makeready" covers by Trip Print Press, TorontoI was on a press check recently, deliriously inhaling the pervasive aroma of ink (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it) whereupon, feeling very …