Designer Massimo Vignelli was known for the sense of sophistication and refinement he brought to the product, graphic, and furniture design that he produced first in Italy, and later in the U.S. working with his wife Lella, also a designer. While a student at the School of Architecture in Venice, Vignelli learned about glass from architect and glass...
Saara Hopea (later Saara Hopea-Untracht) began her career as a furniture and lamp designer, but started designing glassware in about 1952, at a time when Finnish design was gaining prominence on the world stage for its strong attention to materials and sense of organic form in a modern idiom. Kaj Frank, Hopea’s former teacher at...
This coffee maker was devised by chemist and inventor, Dr. Peter Schlumbohm, for the Chemex® Corporation. It is made of heat-resistant non-porous borosilicate glass, and surrounded by a wood collar tied with a leather thong, that serves as an insulated handle with which to pour the hot beverage. The ingenious use of glass allows the...
Dieter Rams, the co-designer of this alarm clock, said that good design should “omit the unimportant in order to emphasize the important.” This travel alarm clock embodies his philosophy and design aesthetic—one which became iconic for Braun in the 1970s. The clock features an economic use of color and Akzidenz Grotesk, an easy-to-read sans serif...
A discussion of American architecture cannot be complete until Frank Lloyd Wright enters the conversation. One of the most prolific and renowned architects of the 20th century, he was a radical designer and intellectual who embraced new technologies and materials. Largely focusing on organic architecture, he believed that structures should be in harmony with humanity...
The softseating stool is a collapsible form made of white, paper-thin honeycombed polyethylene sheets joined between two white cardboard panels that connect with magnets to form a cylindrical shape. When fanned outward and secured, the polyethylene sheets are sturdy enough to support weight, yet remain comfortable to the user. The stool is portable, lightweight, and...
This simple plate is part of a large collection of disposable tableware designed by Shinichiro Ogata and produced by Wasara in Japan, with sustainability in mind. Made from a pulp consisting of biodegradable and compostable reed, bamboo and bagasse (a byproduct of sugarcane processing), these delicate looking yet durable wares take myriad forms, which allow...
The Alfi chair is the product of a 2015 collaboration between British furniture-maker Jasper Morrison and American manufacturer Emeco. The chair’s simplicity expresses Morrison’s concept of “Super Normal” design, whereby objects are significant because of their everyday usefulness. The chair’s sturdy stance is in line with Emeco’s history as a manufacturer that prides itself in...
The Austrian architect Adolf Loos (1870-1933) designed a set of drinking glasses in 1931 to be shown at the Exhibition of Interiors in Cologne. His intention was to display to the public how an updated table setting should look. Loos, who was known to have a simplified, rectangular and rectilinear design aesthetic chose the well-known...
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.
This is the second interview in Chapter 2 in my new book, Designing Media Craig Newmark, December 2008 Who hasn’t heard of Craigslist, the Web site that has dramatically altered the classified advertising universe with its largely free want ads and for-sale postings? At the end of 2008, the site operated in 55 countries and...
Exhibition Catalog, designed by Michael Bierut and Yve Ludwig of Pentagram Sunday January 9th was the last day of our National Design Triennial, open since May 14th. How can almost nine months go so fast? The show answered the question “Why Design Now?” with 134 examples, assembled from around the world by our curatorial team,...
An energy-efficient straw bale house is being built on the Mall, across the street from the US Capitol. Natural builders from around the country converged on Washington DC to construct the straw shelter and a bamboo shade structure. Rose Morin, a green builder from New Mexico and one of the over dozen volunteers with Builders...
The show was conceived to begin a conversation and provoke discussion about the broad range of ways various organizations and individuals are addressing the underpinnings of poverty through design innovations. The selected objects tell a story and are windows into the numerous ways these groups are providing direct solutions. This blog will allow the discussion...
