Branding
Be convincing: focus on the fantasy behind every idea
Looking at what’s the best way to convince others by appealing to what your interlocutor truly wants at a deeper level, rather than staying on the surface
Architecture
How Athens’ modernist polikatoika came to define its mixed social fabric
Adapted from one of Le Corbusier’s frameworks, the Dom-Ino system, the polikatoikia are Athens’ ubiquitous apartment blocks, built from the 1950s to the1980s. Simple principles for good living Remarkably, they helped the Greek capital to achieve high levels of social mixing thanks to a few key decisions: solid overall construction Read more…
Product
The origins of “cool” in product design: Loewy’s MAYA approach
Notes on this excellent piece from The Atlantic via Pocket. What do people like?What makes them prefer things over other? Industrial designer Raymond Loewy pioneered the modern era of industrial design. The French-born American is a figure-head, from aviation and train geeks to design buffs, thanks to his widespread practice Read more…
Branding
Milton Glaser, pioneer of modern travel branding (I ♥ NY)
Milton Glaser, the New-York-based graphic design legend, has had a long and incredibly successful career, during which he launched New York Magazine, designed a Trump Vodka (in the 80s) and created the iconic “I <3 NY” campaign for the state’s tourism board in 1977. A pioneer of modern tourism, the Read more…
Branding
DOPA: Japanese café branding in Sydney informed by 起死回生 (kishi kaisei)
The team at The Colour Club was tasked with creating the identity of this new café in Sydney’s Darling Square. One of the starting point for this Japanese-inspired outpost of the cult coffee chain Devon was the idea of kishi kaisei, meaning ‘wake from death, return to life’. Uncovered in Read more…
Branding
Rebranding of Spain’s national postal service, Correos (2019)
Spain’s national mail service, Correos, has a long history and continues to serve millions daily. Its rebranding by summa: in 2019 brought a fair amount of controversy, as it often does in such a high-profile work. Looking closely at the sizeable brief including a full-blown visual identity with logo redesign, Read more…
Communications
16 rules to craft & present better decks
In this seminal post, Jilles Oldenbeuving presents some his 16 rules to craft and present decks better. They’re, quite frankly, a must-read for anyone who needs to convey information, not just for those of us making decks, as they can easily be transposed to other mediums. In fact, they aren’t Read more…
Branding
Restaurant branding – Re| Heritage by Madison
The excellent Re Agency has finished the branding for the newest Shanghai restaurant from Chef Austin Hu, Heritage by Madison, a concept mixing traditional Chinese roots with his international experience.
Thinking
The 4 principles of Epicurean philosophy in the Tetrapharmakos
The 4 core principles of Epicurean philosophy as laid out in the Tetrapharmakos: 1. A happy and eternal being has no trouble himself and brings no trouble upon any other being; hence he is exempt from movements of anger and partiality, for every such movement implies weakness 2. Death is Read more…