Design Observer
@designobserver.com
The best conversations in design — expert-led, multidisciplinary, and for the curious mind. Essays, podcasts, and events that inspire and connect. https://designobserver.com/
Reposted by Design Observer
Do you ever just stop and think about how great Charles Yu's writing is?
Anyway the first chapter of THE EDGE OF SPACE-TIME is called "How to Live Safely in a Science Factual Universe" -- iykyk
Preorder here:
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746817...
Anyway the first chapter of THE EDGE OF SPACE-TIME is called "How to Live Safely in a Science Factual Universe" -- iykyk
Preorder here:
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746817...
The Edge of Space-Time by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein: 9780593701683 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
A fresh, charming, socially conscious tour of the mysteries of space-time, from the award-winning author of The Disordered Cosmos In her highly acclaimed debut, distinguished cosmologist and particle...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Do you ever just stop and think about how great Charles Yu's writing is?
Anyway the first chapter of THE EDGE OF SPACE-TIME is called "How to Live Safely in a Science Factual Universe" -- iykyk
Preorder here:
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746817...
Anyway the first chapter of THE EDGE OF SPACE-TIME is called "How to Live Safely in a Science Factual Universe" -- iykyk
Preorder here:
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746817...
When machines can imitate style, what still makes art human?
As AI enters creative fields, the real question isn’t automation, it’s value. Story, experience, context, and intention still matter.
As AI enters creative fields, the real question isn’t automation, it’s value. Story, experience, context, and intention still matter.
AI actress Tilly Norwood ignites Hollywood debate on automation vs. authenticity - DesignObserver
The world's first AI actress, Tilly Norwood, is bringing up a familiar debate: Is it good AI or bad AI? The answer is nuanced.
designobserver.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:49 PM
When machines can imitate style, what still makes art human?
As AI enters creative fields, the real question isn’t automation, it’s value. Story, experience, context, and intention still matter.
As AI enters creative fields, the real question isn’t automation, it’s value. Story, experience, context, and intention still matter.
New year. New job? Brooklyn Public Library is looking for a Junior Designer to help bring a beloved public institution to life. See this opening and more at DesignObserver.com/jobs
January 5, 2026 at 10:51 PM
New year. New job? Brooklyn Public Library is looking for a Junior Designer to help bring a beloved public institution to life. See this opening and more at DesignObserver.com/jobs
Design Observer reflects on a year of growth, creativity, and design’s expanding relevance. We also share a holiday gift guide of inspiring books.
Visions of sugar-plums - DesignObserver
A year-end reflection on design’s evolving role—plus a thoughtful holiday gift guide featuring books to inspire curiosity, craft, and creative leadership.
designobserver.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Design Observer reflects on a year of growth, creativity, and design’s expanding relevance. We also share a holiday gift guide of inspiring books.
New on Design Observer: a look at the long, strange history of coloring our food for beauty, even when the dyes were toxic. From arsenic-green desserts to coal-tar butter, it’s a story about appetite, design, and risk.
‘Adulterations Detected:’ on the human impulse to prettify our food with poison - DesignObserver
A history of prettifying food with poisonous dyes, and the science behind how powerfully the eye governs the tongue.
designobserver.com
December 12, 2025 at 4:24 PM
New on Design Observer: a look at the long, strange history of coloring our food for beauty, even when the dyes were toxic. From arsenic-green desserts to coal-tar butter, it’s a story about appetite, design, and risk.
Designers shaped the modern web. Now they have the chance to shape the foundation of AI. Openness is becoming the new creative advantage. New essay on Design Observer.
Open systems, open futures - DesignObserver
What designers can learn from WordPress's open-source approach, and their role in shaping the next generation of AI
designobserver.com
December 11, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Designers shaped the modern web. Now they have the chance to shape the foundation of AI. Openness is becoming the new creative advantage. New essay on Design Observer.
What happens when a nation responds to school shootings not with policy, but with products? In an exclusive interview, the filmmakers behind HBO’s Thoughts & Prayers discuss the strange, chilling world of America’s active-shooter preparedness industry.
‘Thoughts & Prayers’ & bulletproof desks: Jessica Dimmock and Zackary Canepari on filming the active shooter preparedness industry - DesignObserver
HBO’s new documentary, helmed by two lauded photographers-turned-parents, excavates the $3B market born from America’s school shooting problem.
designobserver.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:06 PM
What happens when a nation responds to school shootings not with policy, but with products? In an exclusive interview, the filmmakers behind HBO’s Thoughts & Prayers discuss the strange, chilling world of America’s active-shooter preparedness industry.
Hello, Sans Flex, Google’s new open-source font. It was released under the SIL Open Font License, and designed by type designer and Font Bureau co-founder David Berlow. #Observed
SIL Open Font License Official Text
The website of the SIL Open Font License
openfontlicense.org
December 1, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Hello, Sans Flex, Google’s new open-source font. It was released under the SIL Open Font License, and designed by type designer and Font Bureau co-founder David Berlow. #Observed
A mostly optimistic indie game end-of-year wrap-up: “In the spirit of the season, one thing I’m thankful for is indie studios being able to make the games they want despite external pressures,” says Engadget’s Kris Holt. #Observed
AI horror, a dinosaur platformer and other new indie games worth checking out
Plus, an early version of a co-op life sim set on Jupiter.
www.engadget.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:23 PM
A mostly optimistic indie game end-of-year wrap-up: “In the spirit of the season, one thing I’m thankful for is indie studios being able to make the games they want despite external pressures,” says Engadget’s Kris Holt. #Observed
Chatbots reveal AI’s most exciting application to date: “AI helps drive record $11.8 billion in Black Friday online spending.” #Observed
AI helps drive record $11.8 billion in Black Friday online spending
Although U.S. consumers spent more this Black Friday compared to last year, price increases hampered online demand, according to Salesforce.
www.reuters.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Chatbots reveal AI’s most exciting application to date: “AI helps drive record $11.8 billion in Black Friday online spending.” #Observed
Looking for inspiration? Give the gift of insight. Discover the best books for designing a better life. Explore our bookshop today!
Editor Picks: The best books for designing a better life
From vision to voice.
bookshop.org
November 25, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Looking for inspiration? Give the gift of insight. Discover the best books for designing a better life. Explore our bookshop today!
Meet OpenAI’s other CEO. Fidji Simo, the former CEO of Instacart, manages everything else that Sam Altman doesn’t…which turns out to be quite a bit. #Observed
OpenAI's Fidji Simo Plans to Make ChatGPT Way More Useful—and Have You Pay For It
As OpenAI expands in every direction, the new CEO of Applications is on a mission to make ChatGPT indispensable and lucrative.
www.wired.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Meet OpenAI’s other CEO. Fidji Simo, the former CEO of Instacart, manages everything else that Sam Altman doesn’t…which turns out to be quite a bit. #Observed
I left my font in San Francisco. A new font inspired by an old San Francisco municipal streetcar was discovered and resurrected by visiting Australian designer Emily Sneddon who saw “poetic beauty” on the recently retired Breda trains. Meet: Frans Sans. #Observed
San Francisco has a new font. It was inspired by an old Muni streetcar
A San Francisco designer fell in love with the typeface on an old Muni streetcar. She tracked down the man who created it to build the city’s newest font.
www.sfchronicle.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:24 PM
I left my font in San Francisco. A new font inspired by an old San Francisco municipal streetcar was discovered and resurrected by visiting Australian designer Emily Sneddon who saw “poetic beauty” on the recently retired Breda trains. Meet: Frans Sans. #Observed
A wicked good start. Wicked: For Good opened to $150M domestic, and $226M around the world, besting Wicked‘s $112.5M domestic, and $164M global start. #Observed
‘Wicked: For Good’ – All The Box Office Records Broken
A list of all the box office records that 'Wicked: For Good' broke.
deadline.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:22 PM
A wicked good start. Wicked: For Good opened to $150M domestic, and $226M around the world, besting Wicked‘s $112.5M domestic, and $164M global start. #Observed
Aesthetically specific film director Wes Anderson is opening an exhibition at the Design Museum in London spanning his 30-year career. His films require an extraordinary amount of objects, paintings, puppets, and singular artifacts found nowhere else. #Observed
Wes Anderson: This exhibition is like rediscovering pieces of my past
From pink hotels to handmade puppets, the director’s films have an aesthetic like no other. Shelley Rubenstein speaks to Anderson ahead of a blockbuster show in London
www.thetimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Aesthetically specific film director Wes Anderson is opening an exhibition at the Design Museum in London spanning his 30-year career. His films require an extraordinary amount of objects, paintings, puppets, and singular artifacts found nowhere else. #Observed
Goodbye “Glass House.” Ford has opened its new global HQ in Dearborn, designed by Snøhetta. The 2.1M sq ft building brings engineering, design, and fabrication together under one roof, built for collaboration. Come for the natural light, stay for the rotisserie chickens. #Observed
Ford gets a huge new headquarters for an ambitious new era
Take a look inside the design of Ford's new global headquarters building, and how it could change the way the company works.
www.fastcompany.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Goodbye “Glass House.” Ford has opened its new global HQ in Dearborn, designed by Snøhetta. The 2.1M sq ft building brings engineering, design, and fabrication together under one roof, built for collaboration. Come for the natural light, stay for the rotisserie chickens. #Observed
Adobe is expanding its design-tool ecosystem with agentic AI, positioning itself as more than a tool maker. Its new AI systems help brands and design teams, from Kate Spade to Coca-Cola and Barbie, manage creative supply chains more efficiently. #Observed
From Barbie to Coach: Adobe is reinventing design with AI
Adobe’s agentic AI tools are turbocharging brand creativity, leading to fast, collaborative, and deeply human campaigns.
www.fastcompany.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Adobe is expanding its design-tool ecosystem with agentic AI, positioning itself as more than a tool maker. Its new AI systems help brands and design teams, from Kate Spade to Coca-Cola and Barbie, manage creative supply chains more efficiently. #Observed
In her first essay for Design Observer, Kim Devall argues that as the industry leans into automation, our real advantage is the human touch, craft, struggle, and the years it takes to build true taste.
The most disruptive thing a brand can do is be human - DesignObserver
Creative director Kim Devall argues that in an era of automation, human craft, taste, and imperfection remain a brand’s most disruptive advantage.
designobserver.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:01 AM
In her first essay for Design Observer, Kim Devall argues that as the industry leans into automation, our real advantage is the human touch, craft, struggle, and the years it takes to build true taste.
The Met Gala gets a party room. The Costume Institute’s annual show gets a permanent home off the Met’s Grand Hall, thanks to Anna Wintour’s efforts to get “out of the basement.” #Observed
With New Condé Nast Galleries, the Met Museum Gets Fashion Forward
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:06 PM
The Met Gala gets a party room. The Costume Institute’s annual show gets a permanent home off the Met’s Grand Hall, thanks to Anna Wintour’s efforts to get “out of the basement.” #Observed
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at Solæ, the latest typeface from Paris-based graphic designer and art director Gwennina Moigne. #Observed
Curves plot planetary orbits and ligatures trace shooting stars in Gwennina Moigne’s astrological typeface
To launch the Solæ letterset with Blaze Type, this designer invited twelve different studios and designers to craft a poster that shows off the font in all its forms.
www.itsnicethat.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:05 PM
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at Solæ, the latest typeface from Paris-based graphic designer and art director Gwennina Moigne. #Observed
A former Japanese toy designer has created a transformer-inspired scooter. The all-electric Icoma Tatamel Bike folds down to the size of a rolling carry-on, and based on the photos, also works as a fashion accessory. #Observed www.core77.com/posts/139327...
November 17, 2025 at 4:03 PM
A former Japanese toy designer has created a transformer-inspired scooter. The all-electric Icoma Tatamel Bike folds down to the size of a rolling carry-on, and based on the photos, also works as a fashion accessory. #Observed www.core77.com/posts/139327...
Behind the $90 billion souvenir industry are artisans whose work carries lineage, labor, and economic survival. Design Observer examines how so-called kitsch objects function as cultural endurance across shifting markets.
The afterlife of souvenirs: what survives between culture and commerce? - DesignObserver
From carved masks to clay birds, the global souvenir trade tells a deeper story of adaptation, resilience, and cultural survival.
designobserver.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Behind the $90 billion souvenir industry are artisans whose work carries lineage, labor, and economic survival. Design Observer examines how so-called kitsch objects function as cultural endurance across shifting markets.
In his latest essay for Design Observer, Lee Moreau draws a parallel between The Wizard of Oz and today’s AI era, exploring how power, isolation, and illusion shape our creative and moral choices as designers.
The Wizards of AI are sad and lonely men - DesignObserver
Lee Moreau on AI, the loneliness of power, the danger of wizards, and the designer’s role in keeping hope alive.
designobserver.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:39 PM
In his latest essay for Design Observer, Lee Moreau draws a parallel between The Wizard of Oz and today’s AI era, exploring how power, isolation, and illusion shape our creative and moral choices as designers.
Netflix House Philadelphia opens this week, making its fandom physical with a first-of-its-kind venue. Inside, you’ll find a full-service restaurant (Netflix Bites), themed photo-ops, plus VR adventures tied to shows like Squid Game and Stranger Things. #Observed
Netflix House Philadelphia - Netflix House
Netflix House is your chance to step into Netflix. Visit our Philadelphia location to explore, taste, and shop your favorite shows and movies in real life.
www.netflix.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Netflix House Philadelphia opens this week, making its fandom physical with a first-of-its-kind venue. Inside, you’ll find a full-service restaurant (Netflix Bites), themed photo-ops, plus VR adventures tied to shows like Squid Game and Stranger Things. #Observed
Costume designer Kate Hawley unpacks the visual clues that bring Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to life. “I’ve done three films now with Guillermo, but every time we are exploring the same language in a very different way,” she says. #Observed
How “Frankenstein” Costume Designer Kate Hawley on Dressing Men, Monsters, & Their Mothers
Costume designer Kate Hawley drew on Art Nouveau influences, Tiffany archives, and David Bowie's Thin White Duke era .
www.motionpictures.org
November 11, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Costume designer Kate Hawley unpacks the visual clues that bring Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to life. “I’ve done three films now with Guillermo, but every time we are exploring the same language in a very different way,” she says. #Observed