Category: Design

#ADesignLibrary: Values of Design (2017)

How can we think about “design”? This catalogue for the “Values of Design” (2017) exhibition at Shenzhen’s Design Society offers an insightful introduction using the collection of the Victoria and Albert (V&A) museum. Seven aspects—Performance, Cost, Problem Solving, Materials, Identity, Communication and Wonder—are elaborated upon by a line-up of design thinkers who each tackle one using the eclectic design objects. From Chinese Manchu “Horse Hoof” shoes to the Apple iMac, its a brave attempt by lead curator and editor Brendan Cormier to encompass designs from East to West for this V&A initiative to establish an outpost in China.

#ADesignLibrary spotlights lesser known design books, and invites public access to my personal collection of titles that focuses on Singapore architecture and design, Asian design, everyday design, critical and speculative design as well as design theory and philosophy. I welcome inquiries and physical loans.

Thinking Beyond the Box

A cardboard box, a poly bag or a padded envelope – these generic pieces of packaging define the ubiquity of e-commerce today. Regardless which online retailer one patronises, it is probably impossible to tell the difference when the package arrives. While e-commerce boasts of designing all sorts of interactions, including predicting customers’ preferences and nudging more purchases, its delivery of an online purchase in real life remains unsophisticated and in need of better design.

➜ Read the full column in CUBES #96 (Jul/Aug/Sep 2019)

How Innovative Print Publishing Takes Creativity from Local to Global

Estonian indie publisher Lugemik on its last decade, and why it still takes forever to reply to emails 

When graphic designer Indrek Sirkel first conceived Lugemik, he planned to translate and publish important texts about design and art into Estonian. A decade on, his publishing initiative has become known for the opposite: translating art and design from the Baltic state and bringing it to the rest of the world.

The plan changed when a client of Sirkel, Mari Laanemets, wanted a catalog for a show she was curating but lacked the budget for a traditional publisher. Sirkel, a graduate of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, offered to design and publish Life Would Be Easy in 2010. This was quickly followed by several exhibition catalogs with other artists from Estonia, and Lugemik was born, co-founded with Anu Vahtra.

➜ Read the full story in AIGA’s Eye on Design