Beyond the Ability to Respond
What if designers cannot really perceive the effects of their production in the world as political until they abandon preconceived ideas about right causes?… Read more…
On Design and Action
Ironically, in an age of hegemonic technology and capitalism, the practice of design has itself become subject to functional direction… Read more…
Moving Cities & Immobile Mentalities
One of the largest challenges is moving at-risk cities. What this actually means is still unclear. Certainly, it means moving people, although moving social structure and communities is another matter. It might mean moving the economy, or creating a new one. It could mean moving a lot of the material fabric of a city, or none… Read more…
Auspicious Reasoning
As voters and consumers we are merely invited to choose, never to dream. …. it should be every citizen’s duty to envision beneficial ways of living. This would require a radical overhaul of the education system and an alternative to the political and economic discourse that has led us to the brink of disaster… Read more…
Change Me
As an exhibition title Sustain me: contemporary design has an alternative reading: the desperate cry of a practice searching for relevance amidst a crisis of its own making… Read more…
Design in the Divided City, or, the Myrtle Avenue Style
Regulated by airport-style retractable tape barriers, the line at the Myrtle Avenue post office snakes around the room to the door, so there is ample time to stand and contemplate the space. It is what you might term “functional”, though perhaps not in the sense that modernist architects had in mind… Read more…
Shredded Junk Mail, scan by Mikaul. See 'Eliminate ... Graphic Junk'
Design Away
One of the problems with the ‘greener gadgets’ version of sustainable design is that the result is mostly still more stuff – hopefully less harmful stuff, but rarely just less stuff. Is it possible to use the practice of designing to eliminate stuff?… Read more…
Graphic Junk: re-evaluating what we make
The communication vehicle that most of America truthfully refer to as “junk mail” encourages every year (in the USA) the felling of 100 million trees to produce printed communication asking you to apply for a new credit card or shop at a big box store… Read more…
Chair Memories (an aesthetic education of sorts)
So this is my chair at rest – it is relaxing at the moment. Time off, for a while, before it has to cope with the distribution of my weight – before it has to work as a delegated agent or actant (as Bruno Latour would put it) supporting me in a reclined position… Read more…
The Cut
by June Emerson
“Why don’t you clean up your desk?”
“I will, after this newsletter’s done,” said Pat, her eyes glued to columns of words on the screen.
“Look at all this crap.” Alan picked up a cup crammed with pencils and junk. He fished out a snap cutter.
“You don’t need this. All your work’s done on computer… Read more…