Spotlight: American Look
By Thomas Wagner. A fairy tale of the stylish life. Americans love the freedom of personal choice. The 1958 promotional film „American Look“ is all about the highly stylish life […]
Not of this world
By Thomas Wagner. An analysis of a goddess: Roland Barthes saw a magical object in the Citroën DS; others saw a profane yet well-designed vehicle. Swiss architect Christian Sumi explores […]
Spotlight: Gary Hustwit – Objectified
By Thomas Wagner. Why is it like that and not like this? Gary Hustwit is a popular documentary director in the design community, a status cemented with Rams in 2018. […]
The 100-year washing machine
By Thomas Wagner. Are our technical appliances intentionally made to have a short life? The notion of planned obsolescence alleges that developers and manufacturers deliberately shorten the life of a […]
Spotlight: We do not thirst after scenography. The long story of Alvar Aalto’s church in Riola
By Thomas Wagner. The wonder of Riola The documentary film rediscovers a jewel of modern architecture and tells the fantastical story of its creation. At its heart is Cardinal Lercaro, […]
Spotlight: The Ulm School of Design: Design for millions
By Thomas Wagner. A monastery for people seeking to build a world. Filmed for the 50th anniversary of the Ulm School of Design, this film by Günther Hörmann and Martin […]
Spotlight: Christian Dior – designer of dreams
By Thomas Wagner. Rediscovering the magic The “Christian Dior. Couturier du Rêve” exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris inspired the fashion world and the public in equal […]
Apple design in the era of Jobs and Ive: a thousand no’s for every yes
By Thomas Wagner. In his book Apple Design: Eine Analyse (Apple Design: an Analysis), Felix Torkar looks at the company’s creative development since 1998 and outlines how the design has […]
Design from the Alps: how to make a lot out of just a little
By Thomas Wagner. A world away from alpine wood carvings: „Design from the Alps“ is a book founded on extensive research which offers an enthralling overview of 100 years of […]
Using strategy to achieve a strong brand: Branded interactions and personal branding
Strategic brand management is a key success factor for companies. But there is also an increasing trend for individuals to present themselves as brands – as artists, consultants and/or influencers. […]
Design Patents – Protecting Designs
By Jan Rasmus Ludwig. When did the protection of designs originate? And what factors are considered in a design patent? The publication “Designpatente der Moderne 1840-1970” (“Design Patents of the […]
AI Superpowers: Without a cultural shift, AI will divide society
By Bernd Müller. In his book “AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley and the New World Order”, Kai-Fu Lee writes about the global impact of AI and digitalisation, from the loss […]
A Power Couple of Modern Times
By Thomas Wagner. Sigfried Giedion and Carola Giedion-Welcker write about architecture and design, art and literature. The base from which they conduct their rather unorthodox style of research is their […]
The most wonderful Time of the Year
Recommendations and tips for the Christmas season It’s here again: Christmas is almost upon us, and many people are racking their brains about what presents to buy. Or wondering how […]
Moby Dick and Creativity
By Thomas Wagner. When compiling “100 Books All Designers Should Know” (Original title: “100 Bücher, die alle Designer kennen sollten”), René Spitz and Marcel Trauzenberg had no intention of simply […]