design talks

SORT BY:
Store Stories: Exploring the History & Design of Retail
The 19th-century department store and its successor, the modern mall, have continually evolved to attract and keep consumer attention for decades. Critic Alexandra Lange and Cooper Hewitt curator Emily Orr examine design’s leading role in the development and cultural impact of some of America’s most impressive shopping complexes. Sharing stories from their recent books on...
A screenshot of a data visualization of Wuhan China. Teal blue dots radiate out from a central point
Visualizing the Pandemic
Parsons School of Design/Cooper Hewitt Master’s Program in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies During the COVID-19 pandemic, designers, cartographers, and visual journalists visualized the invisible contours of an unfolding crisis. Organizations like The New York Times and Policy Map as well as individual artists and designers tracked the spread of the virus and...
Judge a Book by its Cover
Do you judge books by their covers? What makes you pick up a book or magazine? A successful cover design might allude to the content within its pages, invoke feelings, or communicate a powerful message. Designers make distinct choices to create this dynamic first impression and invite people to open the book. Join us for...
Fashion, Culture, Futures Symposium
Fashion, Culture, Futures: African American Ingenuity, Activism, and Storytelling is a two-part symposium co-organized by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Presented virtually Thursday, June 17, and Thursday, Oct. 21, both programs bring together academics, designers, critics, models, artists, activists and others to share new...
Side, front, and 45 degree angle views of an ornately carved dark wood chair with green fabric cushion
Behind the Design | Take a Seat
How did road trips and X-rays lead to acquiring an exceptional eighteenth-century armchair originally made in Mexico? Journey with us to discover the design history of this fascinating object that responds to Englishman Thomas Chippendale’s influential pattern book Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director, published in 1750. While artisans from across the Atlantic adapted Chippendale’s patterns to...
One half of the image shows a wooden toy shaped like a giraffe. The other half shows Cas Holman playing on the floor with a young child.
Cas Holman: Design for Play
Cas Holman, designer and founder of Heroes Will Rise, and Cynthia Trope, Associate Curator of Product Design and Decorative Arts, discuss Holman’s work, education, creativity, and childhood. ABOUT CAS HOLMAN Cas Holman has spent the last fifteen years immersed in play, education, and imagination. Through her company Heroes Will Rise, she designs and manufactures tools...
Image of Sarah Vezina, who is pointing at a textile on a table. She has a red flower print dress, dark curly hair to her shoulders, and dark glasses
Design Talk | Trude Guermonprez and Lanette Scheeline: Breaking Boundaries with Design
In mid-twentieth century San Francisco, two women explored new directions in weaving and the design of fabrics and wallcoverings. Join us to discover the works of émigré Trude Guermonprez (1910-1976), an inventive and inspiring weaver, textile designer, and teacher, and her contemporary Lanette Scheeline (1910-2001), a Bay Area native who operated a successful textile and...
Image of Kate Irvin, who stands in the center of the frame. Brightly colored textiles hang behind her. She wears a bright blue flower print dress, has a short brown bob haircut and wears dark rimmed glasses
Design Talk | Dorothy Liebes: Unorthodox Textiles
Cooper Hewitt hosts RISD Museum Curator of Costume and Textiles Kate Irvin in a design talk exploring the experimental materials, novelty textures, and “vibrating” color palette in textiles generated by designer and entrepreneur Dorothy Wright Liebes (1897-1972), nationally recognized in her own time as America’s “First Lady of the looms.” Read more about Doroty Liebes....
Image of Karl Frisch- a bald white man, wearing a grey sweater and black t-shit, on the right side of the photo. He gestures with his right hand towards a projected image of the Sex Pistols' album cover for God Save the Queen. In his left hand he hold a microphone to his mouth.
Design Talk | Karl Fritsch: Jewelry on the Edge
Cooper Hewitt welcomed Wellington, New Zealand-based artist Karl Fritsch. Playful and tough, intricate and coarse, Fritsch’s avant-garde pieces challenge the concept of what jewelry, and sculpture, can be. Joined by Fritsch Jeanne Greenberg Rohaytn, owner of Salon 94 and Alexandra Cunningham Cameron, Curator of Contemporary Design.       SPEAKERS Karl Fritsch began his education...