The Observatory Newsletter
Come for the inspiration, stay for the joy. Curated by Design Observer editors and contributors for our community of more than 20,000 makers, thinkers, leaders, and wayfinders, this weekly roundup features essays, news, opinion, global insights, and pithy observations on design and life. It’s guaranteed to stir the creative spirit.
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Ellen McGirt|Books
No mandates, only opportunities: IBM's Phil Gilbert on rethinking change
Ellen McGirt interviews Phil Gilbert on IBM’s design-led transformation and why treating change as a product—not a skill—shapes the future of AI and creative work.
Lee Moreau|Critique
The Wizards of AI are sad and lonely men
Lee Moreau on AI, the loneliness of power, the danger of wizards, and the designer’s role in keeping hope alive.
Ellen McGirt|Fresh Ink
What happens when the social safety net disappears?
Exploring how fear, design, and the loss of safety nets shape our ability to survive—and to care.
Ellen McGirt|Recommended Books
Booked and Blessed
Erik Carter’s new book, Design Harder, takes aim at the state of graphic design, critiquing capitalism, sameness, and creative complacency with humor and heart.
Rachel Paese|Cinema
Dread for dinner
Class anxiety is best served at the formal dining table
Delaney Rebernik|Moving Pictures
Fear is a design problem
This October, we explore the aesthetics of horror, and the horrors of design itself.
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