1. What are your favorite contemporary art / design / craft / interior magazines? (name at least five)
2. Why do you read these particular publications? Comment on content and writing style.
Urbis – The content ranges from interiors, places, to culture and travel. The magazine is beautifully laid out and writing style is chatty and flatters the reader by making them feel part of the cognoscenti. I like the fact that it is NZ based and that there is a focus on the designers as well as the design.
Elle Decoration – UK edition - The focus is on contemporary interiors and products, including information about upcoming design fairs and exhibitions. It is very up-to-the-minute and funky. There is not a lot of text, the magazine is more eye candy.
The World of Interiors – The magazine focuses on exotic and period interiors that you would not normally get to see. There are also details about sourcing antiques, upcoming trade fairs and book reviews. The writing style is formal and academic and there are a lot of historical and architectural details discussed.
Wallpaper – The content ranges from architecture and interiors, to “boy’s toys” – cars and technology. The writing style is non-technical although there is a sense that it is directed to the “in crowd”. I have not read this for a while but I used to like the way that they showed design from out of the way places like North Korea and Romania and that they found a sense of beauty in a very unexpected way. They were often the first to draw attention to up-and-coming locations for design.
Vogue Living – Australia – I especially like the Before and After editions. The writing in these editions is very practically focused, they give floor plans, costs and details of materials used. They also discuss the inspiration for the design and practical difficulties in the execution. The writing style is accessible to a wide audience.
Home New Zealand – The focus of the magazine is on NZ residential interiors and products for them, with an emphasis on NZ made products. There is also a section on sustainability issues. The writing style is non-technical and addressed to home buyers as well as the design industry.
3. Who are your favorite designers? Why?
Architects
IM Pei – the man is amazing in the way that he has designed in very different styles of different clients, from the Miho Museum in Japan to Four Seasons in New York, to the pyramids at the Louvre and the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar. I saw a beautiful movie about the latter in the film festival a couple of years ago. I love the way that the building exudes a sense of calm. Check out the Utube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBMqIB6ijKQ
Frank Gehry – I particularly like the Guggenheim in Bilbao and the Walt Disney concert hall in LA. I saw a movie Sketches of Frank Gehry a couple of years ago, it was great because it showed a lot about the creative process. The more I looked at the designs the more I could see that the seemingly randomly placed metal panels were designed to welcome people into the buildings. See Utube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu9orvtStdY
Interior and Furniture Designer
Christian Liaigre
I like the way that he combines Asian or African art with contemporary Italian style furniture. The interiors he designs have a wonderful sense of repose.
Product and Textile Designers
Konstantin Grcic – I love his ultra modern furniture design with an industrial aesthetic, especially his chairs.
Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec – I like a lot of the products they have designed for Vitra, especially the new very squashy sofa designs and Algue, which can be used as a room divider.
Tord Boontje – I especially like the delicacy of his nature inspired lighting design.
Orla Kiely – I love the color palette of her textiles, which is retro and modern at the same time and takes me back to the textiles designed for the 1950s Festival of Britain.
4. If you were on a desert island, what five design objects would you take with you, and why? (This does not include boats, flares, gps devices or other rescue devices!)
For my desert island choices, I am assuming that I have built myself some sort of building to live in. The bright blue sky and the tropical flowers of the island would mean that I could be liberated in my design selections and choose the bright colours I love.
Bed – I love this rattan bed design by Kenneth Cobonpue (a designer from the Phillipines). I think it will look great on my desert island and it would permit cooling ventilation. Image Source: http://www.kennethcobonpue.com/
Daybed - For somewhere for visitors to chill out during the day I like this daybed from Neoteric Luxury. Image Source: http://www.luxist.com/tag/outdoor+furniture/
Daybed - For somewhere for visitors to chill out during the day I like this daybed from Neoteric Luxury. Image Source: http://www.luxist.com/tag/outdoor+furniture/
Quilt - For cool nights this tivaevae quilt designed in the Cook Islands would come in handy. I am sure that Te Papa wouldn't mind lending it to me. Image Source: http://tpo.tepapa.govt.nz/ViewImageFileDetail.asp?ImageFileID=00575831&
Washbasin – The plumbing might be a bit tricky to arrange, but I would have a hose with me. This washbasin would be a stylish edition to my bathroom. It is designed by an Indonesian company - Bati.
Image Source:
Bath - For the odd day when I felt like having a hot bath, I could light a fire under this bath from Bati.
Works Cited
You Tube, “New Islamic Museum in Doha, Qatar"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBMqIB6ijKQ Web 7th August 2011
You Tube “Sketches of Frank Gehry Trailer”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu9orvtStdY Web 7th August 2011
Christian Liaigre www.christian-liaigre.fr/?lang=en_US Web 7th August 2011
Konstantin Grcic http://konstantin-grcic.com/ Web 7th August 2011
Bouroullec www.bouroullec.com/ Web 7th August 2011
Tord Boontje http://tordboontje.com/ Web 7th August 2011
Orla Kieley www.orlakiely.com Web 10th August 2011
Kenneth Cobonpue http://www.kennethcobonpue.com/ Web 10th August 2011
Luxist
http://www.luxist.com/tag/outdoor+furniture/ Web 12th August 2011
Te Papapa http://tpo.tepapa.govt.nz/ViewImageFileDetail.asp?ImageFileID=00575831& Web 14th August 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment