Fabric Direction – Shout Out on Denims

Fabric Direction - Shout Out on Denims

SHOUT OUT • BOLD SLOGANS + HUMOUR • LARGE ‘MARKER PEN’ STATEMENTS • SMALL SCALE EMBROIDERIES • LASERED-OUT • PATCHED ON • SAY IT LOUD / SAY IT PROUD! EMBELLISH • DIRECT EMBROIDERIES • PATCHED ON BADGES • ASIAN INFLUENCES • PLAYFUL PLACEMENTS OVER SEAMS, COLLAR EDGES, PEEKING OUT OF TURN-UPS • DECORATIVE BORDERS • […]

Culture and People in Margate, UK

The Handsome Freaks crew (clockwise from back left): Evie, 14, sales assistant, Becky, 17, sales assistant, Ally Blackgrove, 29, owner, Rebecca, 18, sales assistant

With ever-increasing house prices pushing ‘creatives’ out of London, seaside towns like Margate (laboriously labeled Shoreditch-on-Sea) in Kent are seeing an influx of Londoners drawn to its plentiful period properties, affordable rent, amazing sea views and sense of freedom. Add a contemporary art gallery into the mix and creative hubs are bound to thrive – and Margate […]

Alessandra Kila – Photography

Alessandra Kila - Photography

Alessandra Kila, who describes herself as an ‘explorer of the metaphysical, theoretical and the fantastical’, pushes the boundaries of still-life photography with her strangely juxtaposed compositions, which contextualize her other-worldly take on even the most mundane objects. Kila graduated from the University of Westminster with a master’s degree in photographic studies, and went on to […]

Convivial Studio – THE EXPERIENTIAL TECHNOLOGISTS

THE PROBABLE UNIVERSE. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERT KLEBENOW

Convivial Studio is an experimental design studio focused on creating ‘emotionally engaging experiences with an element of wonder.’ Co-founded by creative technologist Paul Ferragut and designer Ann-Kristin Abel, the London-based studio works across the platforms of design, technology, fashion, and art. Much of the work that comes out of the studio deals with the ‘phygital’ […]

Kia Utzon-Frank The Idea Sculptor

Kia Utzon-Frank The Idea Sculptor

It seems as though there’s no limit to what Kia Utzon-Frank’s KUFStudio can create. One project that has gained the studio much attention is the production of small, geometric shapes that resemble desk ornaments but are in fact cakes. Utzon-Frank originally trained as a goldsmith and has now brought her eye for sleek modern design […]

Atelier Biagetti – The Redesigners

Atelier Biagetti - The Redesigners

Alberto Biagetti and Laura Baldassari, the duo behind Milan-based design team Atelier Biagetti, focus on creating objects and experiences that decontextualize what we tend to take for granted in societal settings. The 2015 show Body Building, curated by Maria Cristina Didero, deconstructed our social obsession with body image by re-imagining gym equipment as a luscious, […]

Reusing Human Hair : Extraordinary Resource

Reusing Human Hair Extraordinary Resource

Earth Overshoot Day 2016, the date when humanity exhausted nature’s budget for the year, fell on 8 August. As the Earth’s finite resources become further depleted, designers are reinventing our abundance of waste, using it to create precious artifacts and useful new products. One readily available material that could prove an extraordinary resource is a […]

Augmented Empathy Through Design Can Connect Profoundly

Clouds over Sidra by Within, a VR experience that tells the story of a 12-year-old girl living in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan

We are now able to engage empathy through design, allowing us to literally walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. The design is being used as a tool to connect us profoundly, in a way that no other form of media can achieve. Both visually and through sensorial distortion, new devices are able to temporarily […]

Gradient Colour System – Transformative Effect of Colour to Manipulate Perceptions

Gradient Colour System - Transformative Effect of Colour to Manipulate Perceptions

Designers are using the transformative effect of colour to manipulate perceptions of shape and form. Ombré effects applied to solid objects give them an ethereal quality while subtle gradients serve to enhance angles and form. 1. OFFROUND HUE BY SABINE MARCELIS AND BRIT VAN NERVEN FOR ETAGE PROJECTS Offround Hue is the latest addition to the Seeing Glass […]

Designers Challenge Perception of Surface, Texture & Weight

Designers Challenge Perception of Surface, Texture & Weight

THE FORM – SOFT Classic Art is revisited with rounded edges and deceptively soft materials. Perceptions of surface, texture and weight are challenged by designers creating furniture and interiors that juxtapose contradictory material form and colour qualities. Monolithic geometric forms are combined in palettes of warm greys, flesh-toned nudes and beige. 1. ROLY POLY: ASSEMBLAGE […]