Tag Archives: design

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Judge All The Things

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JUDGE THIS (PART OF TED BOOKS)
Chip Kidd
Simon & Schuster, June 2015, RRP $16.99

Design surrounds our day-to-day lives; from the clothes we wear, to the tools we use, to the advertising that tries to sell us more clothes to wear and tools to use. As I type this article, I use a computer that has included stages of design for hardware, operating system and word processing software, all to allow the simple task of writing a review while sitting on the couch in my tracksuit pants (an important part of the writing process).

However, while design surrounds us, it can still be quite flawed, as anyone who has tried to use a modern can opener without instructions can attest. Of course, Chip Kidd, renowned book designer and author of Judge This, wouldn’t have you passively accept the good and bad of design in the world. Instead, he advocates that we do exactly what the title of his book suggests, and judge, with a critical eye, those objects we experience every day. Continue reading

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A Hopeful View Of Our Architectural Future

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FutureOfArchitectureTHE FUTURE OF ARCHITECTURE IN 100 BUILDINGS (PART OF TED BOOKS)
Marc Kushner
Simon & Schuster, March 2015, RRP $16.99

When you think about it, buildings are a little like clothes, but the kind of clothes you would need if thousands of people stood on each other to create a giant. Buildings reveal the personality of a place. Melbourne wears laneways and fractured architecture like a woman in an upcycled suit and prism necklace; a little pretentious perhaps, but also a fierce seeker of new ideas. We’re drawn to cities as an extension of self, and when the city is transformed by a new construction, we also feel the tug of change.

What we can’t know is what change will be like ahead of time. With advances in building technology and innovations in design occurring at increasing speed, we can only imagine, like the dreams of futuristic cities in science fiction, where we will find ourselves living and how we will fit within those spaces. All we see now is the current playing ground of experimental architecture and creative thinking that might lead to our tantalising future. The Future of Architecture in 100 Buildings provides a glimpse into that possible world.

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