contemporary design

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Float
What IS that? And more at Design Miami/…
Float. Designed by Snarkitecture, 2012. Volume Gallery. As a curator focused on contemporary design, one of the things I seek out is trends. At this year’s Design Miami/, opening December 5th, one of many trends I’m already spotting is the unexpected. Designers are challenging our eye, whether through their material choices, forms, or program, confounding...
Ellen Lupton
Meet the Staff: Ellen Lupton
Can you explain a little bit about the type of work you do here at Cooper-Hewitt? As Senior Curator of Contemporary Design, I organize exhibitions and contribute to the museum's publications and public programs. Sometimes I come up with ideas for new exhibitions, and sometimes I'm asked to work with a team of other curators...
Design and Food Journal 02: Pop-ups
M25 Luncheon. (Image credit: The Back Room by Faye Toogood.) The London Design Festival has since passed (it was held September 14 – 23, 2012), but one trend has held my attention: the design and food pop-up. This is by no means a new phenomenon at international contemporary design festivals, but it continues to be...
Design and Food Journal 01: Planting the Flag
(Reversed Volumes. Image credit: Mischer'Traxler, http://www.mischertraxler.com/projects_reversed_volumes.html) Welcome to the Design and Food journal! In this Research-in-Progress blog series, I’ll be testing ideas and sharing what piques my interest around design and food, part of early ongoing research I’m undertaking here at Cooper-Hewitt in preparation for an exhibition. I view this space as an important part of...
4 Questions 4: Anab Jain
Anab Jain, founding partner of Superflux, discusses the influence of fantastical beliefs on her work, the structure of her business, and the designer's shifting role in 21st century "architectures of collaboration."
DesignBoost NYC: Ellen Lupton
DesignBoost NYC was a two-day design conference held at Cooper-Hewitt in June 2011. Thirteen speakers specializing in everything from biomechanics to filmmaking addressed the conference’s theme, “Design Beyond Design” in this series of short talks.
National Design Awards 2008 Winners’ Panel
Michael Bierut, this year’s winner of the Design Mind award, discusses the state of contemporary design with our National Design Awards winners: Tom Kundig, FAIA; Scott Stowell (OPEN); Ralph Rucci; Lucinda Sanders (OLIN); and Charles Harrison.
How and Why Things Work – Keynote, Ellen Lupton
Curator Ellen Lupton uses concrete examples to discuss how designed objects and environments affect human behavior. Through objects from the past and present, she demonstrates how good design can solve everyday problems.
Groundbreaking – The Past as Inspiration
Giovanni Battista Piranesi, an eighteenth-century designer of architecture, elaborate Interiors and exquisite furnishings, boldly combined historical elements to create innovative designs that still resonate today. Cooper-Hewitt invites a panel of designers to discuss how, like Piranesi, their imaginative and often irreverent use of historical motifs invigorates contemporary design. This panel features: Anna Sui, Fashion Designer;...