Blog — Page 197 of 279

Ten Principles for Good Design: Dieter Rams

Cees W. de Jong (Editor)

Prestel Publishing / Random House

Familiar with the German brand Braun?

Ever wondered what made it the successful brand it came to be?

Braun’s designs are renowned the world over and Dieter Rams has been the driver and architect behind it all, as well as the designs behind the brand Vitsoe. In this book he boils down his approach to design and distils it down to ten principles. What is great about the principles is that they can be applied to creative process in general and are not merely limited to product design.

However, the illustrations accompanying his guidelines mainly depict products he has designed, with emphasis put on the merits that made them usable independently from cultural and other demarcation lines.

Apart from Rams own elaborations on design, his speeches and other publications, he is placed in the bigger context in the world of design and light is shed not only on his personal philosophy but also on the immense influence he has exerted ever since with the breadth of his oeuvre beautifully illustrated via the accompaniment of photo galleries depicting Rams’ and his design team’s emissions.

Good design matters and this tome is a vital source of inspiration and ode to one of the great designers of our day and age, whose influence reverberates through ubiquitous products through all facets of our daily routine – be it coffee grinders, shelving systems or cigarette lighters.

Anselm Kiefer

Notebooks, Volume 1, 1998-99

Seagull Books

Now truth be told – I am in awe of Anselm Kiefer. I have traveled far and wide to see his artworks in person and his emissions have yet to disappoint. While art critics have their way of putting into words what Kiefer accomplishes, I prefer to no reduce it to labels as it has a profound effect on me that transcends stylistic categories. Kiefer works with a myriad of materials and media and often incorporates texts and words into his artworks. While this is common practice, him writing per se is not a common occurrence as he focuses more on literally carving out poetry in physical manifestations.

The nearly 400 pages of his Notebooks (Volume 1: 1998-1999), offer unique, personal insights on Anselm’s thoughts, reflections, work processes but also mundane day-today occurrences in an open form stream-of-consciousness manner, peppered with digressive interludes galore and coloured by Kiefer’s faible for contradictions and alienation as he prefers to write in the second person to create distance for himself and the reader.

Kiefer’s notes are pervaded by honesty and openness, which creates a sense of intimacy and serves as an antipode to the Unnahbarkeit of his art.

While translating personal notes into a foreign language always bears the risk of meaning getting lost in the transition, the translator Tess Davies aligns with Kiefer’s style and the result is masterfully annotated which culminates in a cohesive whole rather than fractioned entries.

I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in Anselm Kiefer as it is a meaningful extension and addition that adds a new dimension to his oeuvre and creative process and the way Kiefer values and uses language as a medium.

Lodestars Anthology

Issue 9 – France

Traveling is never without an appeal. For the downtime between my excursions when time allows, I indulge in paper and ink. While literature on travel is not necessarily high on the agenda, Lodestars Anthology travel magazine is a welcome exception. Beautifully illustrated and crafted, with a myriad of subtle details, the magazine, named after a direction giving star for travelers, Lodestars Anthology sets its focus on countries and fills its pages with observations, stories, interviews, photos, essays and recommendations.

What Lodestars Anthology does is bringing more than the mere listings of sights and places to be – it endeavours to give the reader a feel of the place and conveys its charms and splendors well, putting oil onto the embers of your wanderlust.

Established in 2014, the current issue features France, a country I have recently spent some time in. The fact that after perusing this issue of Lodestars Anthology, I feel like turning on the heel and returning is testament to its quality – it not only covers the stereotypical French selling points but zeros in on places off the beaten track, finding often overlooked relicts of the past as well as contemporary marvels, while accommodating a wide range of readers not limited to the well heeled ones.

A creative and information publication of beauty that is worth getting swept up in.

Print is not dead long live Lodestars Anthology!

Juan Montoya

The Monacelli Press

Juan Montoya made a name for himself by pushing boundaries and exerting a dominant influence on design in the contemporary world– a feat that he achieved with attention to details and his idiosyncratic play with abutment and the use of seemingly opposite or adverse components from the realms of proportion, chromaticity and the use of materials whose significance find themselves firmly ingrained in cultural contexts, e.g. combining open spaces with neatly designed entryways which adds dimension to the way they unfold and greet the visitor.

The tome is testament to Montoya’s flexibility and versatility, and while his background in architecture certainly helps, he is not subscribed to a particular style that is informed by a thorough understanding of how to use spaces and the aimful placement of objects therein.

A beautiful book that illustrates Montoya’s interior design across a range of contexts, from the usual houses and apartments via floating devices to commercial projects in the United States and Europe.
 
No matter if you are an expert when it comes to interior design, it is hard to argue that his carefully calibrated emissions and custom designs are inspirational and lend themselves perfectly to either live or work in them a major contributing factor to his work is the use of geometry and how he can make it work for the project he is working on.

What makes Montoya’s work exciting is that he does not seem to discriminate between commercial and residential projects and his approach to start each from scratch, not accepting any given circumstances.

A beautiful book for anyone with a general interest in design.

High Adventure in the Great Outdoors - Nopeet

Suomi.

Finland.

Nokia.

Plywood.

Free people.

Free education.

A region where you can drive for hours without encountering a signle soul.

A national mentality that resonates with me.

Outworn stereotypical approaches to the country label its people as reserved and taciturn lot – which is immensely appealing as the Finnish DNA seems to be diametrically opposed to the light, meaningless chit-chat folks in the new world are accustomed to.

I was lucky enough to recently spend some time in Helsinki with some gracious hosts who led me the Artek HQ.

Being a bona fide Bauhaus aficionado it was a welcome excursion as Artek’s focus rests firmly on the quality of materials and technology rather than indulging in frivolous ornamentation, which could be seen as the epitome of the Finnish national character. The fact that they proffered spruce resin ice cream—created to capture the taste of their architecture—only enhanced the experience.

Another highlight was the visit of the Steven Holl-designed Kiasma museum, where we  felt particularly safe under the watchful gaze of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, who rested on a horse ready to attack.

Another Finnish creation that appeared on my radar is nopeet – maybe because of the fact that it sticks out of the Finnish design landscape.

Nopeet is a Finnish venture that focuses on shades.

Shades from the cold and dark neither regions of Finland?

Yes, sire, you heard right. Get with the program,

Rumour has that nopeet’s shades were originally inspired by the emissions of over-the-top South African sunglasses that were being sold at local markets.

Not a stretch by any means as the exotic inspiration is something one can see manifested in nopeet’s futuristic designs.

With their sassy and snappy marketing, nopeet has proved to be an intriguing brand whose shades are designed to fit both and non-binary genders no matter the size or shape of their heads with the length of the temples being adjustable.

I mainly use my nopeets for running or riding my bike as the soft padding for the nose and forehead assures there will be no chafing and with the lenses being made from PC material available and with the 100% UVA/UVB protection, they prove to be ideal for exercise beneath Australian’s harsh sun.

The shades come accompanied by a 666XYZ microfibre pouch and ship in a technical print 150g paper boxes.

While they intentionally look futuristic and not unlike something Ion Tiriac would have dreamed up courtside to distract himself from Boris Becker trying to give cohesive interviews, they are surprisingly comfortable and practical.

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Photos from Nopeet website