The Observatory
In a now fascinating archive of rich material, Design Observer co-founders Michael Beirut and Jessica Helfand talk business, design, the world around them, and the enthusiasms that inform their lives.
More in this series

Ellen McGirt
Parable of the Redesigner

Ellen McGirt|Essays
The Design Observer annual gift guide!
The winter holidays are already a tricky time for so many people, though this year feels uniquely fraught.

Alexis Haut|Cinema
‘The creativity just blooms’: “Sing Sing” production designer Ruta Kiskyte on making art with formerly incarcerated cast in a decommissioned prison
Sing Sing is a movie that takes place in a prison, but it’s not a prison movie.

Alexis Haut|Analysis
Black balled and white walled: Interiority in Coralie Fargeat's “The Substance”
You know what they say: Women take forever in the bathroom.

Brian Collins|Opinions
Design sinking
Add to the mix a blinkered “human-centered” focus, and brace for a reductionist disaster.

Michael Bierut|Audio
Episode 135: Home for the Holidays
2020:dinner at home, Zoom fatigue, new rules of design, watching television
Observed
View all
Observed
Recent Posts
Beauty queenpin: ‘Deli Boys’ makeup head Nesrin Ismail on cosmetics as masks and mirrors Compassionate Design, Career Advice and Leaving 18F with Designer Ethan Marcotte Mine the $3.1T gap: Workplace gender equity is a growth imperative in an era of uncertainty A new alphabet for a shared lived experience