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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Read more…
Urbanism
Paris Mayor pledges a greener 15-minute city
(via Paris Mayor Pledges a Greener ‘15-Minute City’ – CityLab) Just reelected Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo has pledged in her manifesto to make the densest metropolis in Europe a “15-minute city” – or, in French, the ‘quart d’heure’. What Read more…
Urbanism
The OG zero-emission glasshouse: the 16th-century fruit wall
Urban farming is all the rage at the moment, with many looking at new options to transform suffocating cities into greener, more liveable homes. As we’re looking for options, turning to Renaissance innovations could give us a few ideas. Among Read more…
Architecture
Neri Oxman on the fundamentals of her practice at MIT Media Lab
It’s in the second season of Netflix’s documentary on design practitioners, Abstract, that Neri Oxman appears. In the episode, she tells the story of her practice mixing fundamental school of thoughts, from art and science to design and engineering, and Read more…
Branding
Controversial visual identity of the World Chess Championship 2018
Who knew chess could be so controversial? The reimagined visual identity of the World Chess Championship 2018 got a rather heated press coverage. Designed by Moscow-based Shuka Design, it was a significant departure from rather traditional designs of years past, Read more…
