'abstract - the art of design'

I've been watching Abstract - The Art of Design on netflix. Thus far (2 episodes in), it's about mainstream pop culture design. Celebrity designers, consumer culture. Being suspicious of such things, but also enjoying them, I have found the show surprisingly insightful. The format pairs a story of the designer's career thus far, with the story of an immediate design challenge - illustrator Christoph Niemann looks back on his studies, arrival in NYC, and moving to Berlin, while designing an 'augmented reality' cover for The New Yorker.

What I particularly enjoy is the view inside the work day and work space. Looking at the books, the pencils, what kind of desks other people like. And the small observations on working methods. There are also moments of vulnerability, failure, and uncertainty - and brief discussions of how these were overcome. 

Bjarke Ingels has an episode coming up; will be interesting to see what kind of narrative is presented there.

The usual feeding of designer myths occurs - it's a slick production, but not entirely without nuance. A pretty easy watch for the end of a day.

image: http://nfgraphics.com/una-serie-de-netflix-para-disenadores-abstract-the-art-of-design/

Postcard: Berlin

This is the postcard I bought from the Bauhaus-Archiv Museum of Design in Berlin.

Herbert Bayer
design for a newspaper stand, 1924

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Postcard: Sheffield

Sheffield is:
hills (Wadsley, Stannington, Fulwood, Ecclesall, Meadowhead, Manor Top, Wincobank)
trees (6000 acres of woodland, at least 35 ancient woods)
rivers (Don, Sheaf, Loxley, Rivelin, Brook)

Postcard: Newcastle

These are the first postcards that I bought, in Newcastle from the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. They were done by an illustrator called Jonathan Wilkinson who has a website called We Live Here - "we create art prints and products of buildings and places that people love about where they live." They usually come with a lovely blue background but my scanner was not fond of this so I have posted them in b&w instead.

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art - as seen on We Live Here website

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art

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Postcard: London Court

Found this lovely drawing of London Court on the Pigeonhole blog.

I'm really fond of postcards that have drawings of buildings on them, because I like seeing how people have interpreted them. Really must get around to showing you some of the postcards I collected while I was away! (Yes I collect postcards rather than post postcards...)

Sketches from Spain

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Barcelona Pavilion

The sculpture is a bronze reproduction of the piece entitled Alba (Dawn) by Georg Kolbe

Toledo

Figueres

Dali Museum, exterior sculpture holding a bright gold breadstick

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