Social Good

Michael Bierut|Essays

Four Years After

After four years of ambiguity and contention and the World Trade Center site, Ellsworth Kelly's 2003 proposal seems wiser than ever.

William Drenttel|Essays

Small Town Meetings

Zoning regulations are how a town designs its future. They determine what kind of development is encouraged, and what kind is discouraged. In Meetings, Paul Shambroom visited 150 local government meetings in 32 states. The photographs are …

Rick Poynor|Essays

Vladimir’s House and Garden of Earthly Delights

Spending two weeks in Vladimir Beck's house on the island of Vrnik in Croatia made me question, yet again, rigid distinctions between artist and designer. Here, it's impossible to separate the two. Beck has designed every feature with a …

Debbie Millman|Audio

Andrew Geller, Alastair Gordon + Jake Gorst

Andrew Geller, Alastair Gordon and Jake Gorst talk about Gorst's new documentary Leisurama.

Rick Poynor|Essays

Getting Louder: Chinese Design on the March

The “Get it Lounder” design exhibition in Shenzhen, billed as the first of its kind in China, reflected the lifestyle aspirations of its participants. Will Chinese design be able to confront social reality in more overtly …

Lorraine Wild|Essays

The Faux-Tuscan Invasion: How LA’s Regional Architecture Is Being Erased

Where whole new neighborhoods are still being constructed Tuscan is the style du jour.

Rick Poynor|Essays

Wisconsin Death Trip: A Psychic History

Michael Lesy’s book Wisconsin Death Trip documented awful events in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, using a town photographer’s pictures. Years later, it remains a spellbinding piece of literary and photographic alchemy.

William Drenttel|Essays

Moving the Axum Obelisk

In the mid-1990s, I saw an exhibition at the New York Public Library of the greatest illustrated books of the 19th century. One book stood out for me: a massive tome by Henry H. Gorringe, titled Egyptian Obelisks and dated 1882. It’s …

William Drenttel|Essays

Stop The Plant: The Failure of Rendering

There is no single rendering ominous enough to create public fear; no image so compelling as to create political momentum; and no symbol so memorable as to unite the opposition. Whether through artistic renderings or compelling information …

Kenneth Krushel|Essays

The Gates

Much has been written about Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "Gates" project in Central Park in New York City, including an outstanding Guest Observer essay by Julie Lasky here at Design Observer. In the past few days, though, we have received …

Kenneth Krushel|Essays

The Gates

Much has been written about Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "Gates" project in Central Park in New York City, including an outstanding Guest Observer essay by Julie Lasky here at Design Observer. In the past few days, though, we have received …

Julie Lasky|Essays

Christo's Agent Orange

Christo, The Gates, Central Park, New York 1979-2005, Drawing #047. Photo: Wolfgang Volz. ©2004 Christo.Swaying like 7,500 Hare Krishna in a can-can line, the saffron-colored fabric panels of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Central Park …