Product Design

Krista Donaldson|Essays

The Real Cost of Free

Do you give the poor farmer a pump if you know it will transform her crops and move her family from just scraping by into the middle class? It’s hard to say no, isn’t it? But you should.

Ernest Beck|Reviews

New Meaning at ICFF

A review of the 2010 International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

Alexandra Lange|Essays

On Fast Company: Why Do Designer Toys Suck?

Spare me the good-looking trophy toys. I’ll take an operational plastic garbage truck any day.

Alexandra Lange|Opinions

Why do Most Designer Toys Suck so Badly?

Though they exude an organized playfullness, designer toys are rarely as practical as they look.

Alexandra Lange|Essays

On Archpaper: Saccharine Design

My review of Marcel Wanders’ exhibition Daydreams at the Philadelphia Museum of Art for The Architect’s Newspaper just went online and let’s just say I was not impressed.

Alexandra Lange|Essays

Please Stop Coloring

I was exasperated when I saw the new citrus Hans Wegner wishbone chairs.

Alexandra Lange|Essays

Fischer Price Airport

I bought this from Ebay for my son for Christmas — the toy my friend had that I always wanted to take home with me.

Amanda Hurley|Collections

Hold Your Sawhorses!

Brazilian architecture firm StudioMK27 creates a controversial furniture collection based on the designs of construction workers.

Jonathan Schultz|Projects

One World Futbol

Report on One World Futbol produced by Hope Is a Game-Changer.

Phil Patton|Projects

One Car Per Family

Report on Yves Béhar's design for a new "people's car."

Julie Lasky|Essays

Superbeauty

Essay on the revival of beauty in 21st-century design.

Alexandra Lange|Essays

The Mysteries of Retail

I don’t spend more than $100 easily and certainly not for something breakable, without function, or something for my kid that costs more than anything I own.