Weekly Wrap-Up + Preview: January 18, 2014

This was a week of beginnings and endings on Design Observer.

We launched our new series “The Academy”, a new series of essays written by undergraduate college students on topics that seek to address more rigorous academic aspects of design scholarship. Our first essay came from Tarpley Hewitt who wrote about El Lissitzky in “Speaking Typography: Letter as Image as Sound“.

Bonnie Siegler answered her first question of the year from Bullied in Brighton. Dear Bonnie responded: “Sadly, you are working in what is called a hostile work environment and you have two choices. The bad news is both may lead to the end of your job.”

Rick Poynor created a Pinterest account last week and he showed us his boards. 

Our final episode of this season Design Matters with Debbie Millman, Debbie talked to Amanda Michel & Amy Webb, co-founders of Spark Camp about how they’ve redesigned the traditional conference, and about their methods for having a lasting effect on participants.

Alexandra Lange intodcued us to another designer to add to that pantheon of designers making winning, sculptural objects for children: Fredun Shapur.

Places brought us Belmont Freeman on the heyday, the demise and the legacy of the Institute for Architecture & Urban Studies, 1967 – 1984. “The moment for something to happen.”

We presented a gallery of Native American design, curated by John Foster.

John Thackara enlightened us to two radically opposed models of development being born in Ethiopia at the same time. One is small, local, socially fair, and ecologically respectful. The other takes the globalisation of fashion to a new and more destructive level.

We blogged about vintage body-shaming advertisements geared toward women and some trippy collages that blur the lines of reality.

Next week Adam Harrison Levy’s Desginer/Artist Cookbook series returns, Places is working on a long, rich essay on the phenomenon of the TED Talk, and its effects on contemporary thinking and education, Rob Walker revisits Hale County, we’ll start the week offf with John Foster’s newest gallery of embroidered photographs, and more.