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/
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Design Observer
@designobserver.com
· Sep 12
Authoritarian by design - DesignObserver
The "America by Design" initiative, issued by the Trump administration, pushes a harmful narrative with questionable visuals
designobserver.com
When bad design isn’t a mistake, it’s the strategy. The “America by Design” initiative isn’t just a messy website. It redefines design itself, away from accessibility and toward exclusion, erasure, and control. Latest essay by @emcg.bsky.social
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
Design is a practice of reckoning with the past as much as it is of designing for the future.” In the season finale of DBBD, Lee Moreau joins @emcg.bsky.social to talk about rebuilding hope in uncertain times.
The Past, Present and Future of Design with Lee Moreau, DB|BD Season 12 Finale - DesignObserver
Designer and educator Lee Moreau joins Ellen McGirt on the season finale of The Design of Business to reflect on the past, present, and future of design — and how uncertainty can be a catalyst for cre...
designobserver.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Design is a practice of reckoning with the past as much as it is of designing for the future.” In the season finale of DBBD, Lee Moreau joins @emcg.bsky.social to talk about rebuilding hope in uncertain times.
Production designer Grace Yun on building fear, memory, and longing: from the unsettling domestic spaces of Hereditary to the quiet hauntings of Past Lives. Read the full conversation w @ahaut.bsky.social on Design Observer.
How production designer Grace Yun turned domestic spaces into horror in 'Hereditary' and heartache in 'Past Lives' - DesignObserver
Production designer Grace Yun discusses her work on Hereditary and Past Lives, revealing how she transforms everyday spaces into emotional landscapes that embody grief, memory, and the unseen forces t...
designobserver.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Production designer Grace Yun on building fear, memory, and longing: from the unsettling domestic spaces of Hereditary to the quiet hauntings of Past Lives. Read the full conversation w @ahaut.bsky.social on Design Observer.
The dapper “fedora man” snapped by photogs at the scene of the Louvre heist turned out to be a 15-year-old who is not affiliated with law enforcement, and has been dressing like that for a while. 🕵️♂️ #Observed
Louvre ‘fedora man’ revealed: Meet the stylish teen dresser snapped at scene of heist | CNN
As all eyes turned to the Louvre after the shocking theft of the French crown jewels, one especially dapper figure stood out. Now identified as a French teenager, he’s spoken to CNN about his style.
www.cnn.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:48 PM
The dapper “fedora man” snapped by photogs at the scene of the Louvre heist turned out to be a 15-year-old who is not affiliated with law enforcement, and has been dressing like that for a while. 🕵️♂️ #Observed
The Studio Museum in Harlem is back after an eight-year renovation. The new seven-story institution reopens to the public on November 15. “This building says to the world, Harlem matters. Black art matters. Black institutions matter…" #Observed
adjaye-designed studio museum in harlem opens as new home for black art and culture
www.designboom.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:44 PM
The Studio Museum in Harlem is back after an eight-year renovation. The new seven-story institution reopens to the public on November 15. “This building says to the world, Harlem matters. Black art matters. Black institutions matter…" #Observed
The moka pot has been redesigned, this time for energy efficiency. Thoughts? #Observed
turbo moka's helical spiral design reinvents the iconic coffee pot for energy efficiency
www.designboom.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:42 PM
The moka pot has been redesigned, this time for energy efficiency. Thoughts? #Observed
From 90s horrorcore to Lil Nas X’s hellish visuals, rap has long used horror and occult imagery to explore trauma, challenge norms, and shock audiences. John Morrison traces the genre’s dark visual history in his new Design Observer essay.
‘6 Feet Deep:’ the hidden history of horror and occult imagery in rap music - DesignObserver
From the satanic imagery of Memphis mixtapes in the 90s to the devilish aesthetic of contemporary acts like Doja Cat and Lil Nas X, rap artists have long used horror iconography to expose society’s se...
designobserver.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:25 PM
From 90s horrorcore to Lil Nas X’s hellish visuals, rap has long used horror and occult imagery to explore trauma, challenge norms, and shock audiences. John Morrison traces the genre’s dark visual history in his new Design Observer essay.
How to rebuild Jamaica? The destruction is mind-boggling, and the assessment work has barely begun. #Observed
‘How do you rebuild all this?’ Black River residents assess damage after Hurricane Melissa
People of Jamaican coastal town described as storm’s ground zero are traumatised and desperate for help
www.theguardian.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:49 AM
How to rebuild Jamaica? The destruction is mind-boggling, and the assessment work has barely begun. #Observed
Looking for your next role? See who's hiring and apply via our job board designobserver.com/jobs
November 6, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Looking for your next role? See who's hiring and apply via our job board designobserver.com/jobs
While we work to expand access to design for the next generation, we’re also helping today’s designers find their next role. Explore the Design Observer Job Board designobserver.com/jobs
Jobs - DesignObserver
designobserver.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:53 PM
While we work to expand access to design for the next generation, we’re also helping today’s designers find their next role. Explore the Design Observer Job Board designobserver.com/jobs
When despair silenced his creativity, designer @satorunihei.bsky.social turned to daily acts of making, transforming failure into a path back to himself.
On Darkness, Doubt, and Design: Finding Light in the Act of Making - DesignObserver
A designer confronts depression through a year of “bad” posters—proving that persistence, not perfection, can keep us alive to our work.
designobserver.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:11 PM
When despair silenced his creativity, designer @satorunihei.bsky.social turned to daily acts of making, transforming failure into a path back to himself.
Reposted by Design Observer
The NYC mayoral primary “hot take” you didn’t know you needed: the bodega-inspired aesthetic of the Zohran Mamdani campaign’s visual identity. Meet Forge, a tiny design co-op, co-led by designer Aneesh Bhoopathy, with locations in Queens and Philly. #Observed
Zohran Mamdani’s Campaign Logo Looked Nothing Like a Campaign Logo
The bodega-influenced visual language of an outsider campaign.
www.curbed.com
June 26, 2025 at 1:41 PM
The NYC mayoral primary “hot take” you didn’t know you needed: the bodega-inspired aesthetic of the Zohran Mamdani campaign’s visual identity. Meet Forge, a tiny design co-op, co-led by designer Aneesh Bhoopathy, with locations in Queens and Philly. #Observed
Happy Halloween! The scary-good reads curated by the contributors to Design Observer’s horror month. 📖
Your October reading list: The Design of Horror | The Horror of Design - DesignObserver
Design Observer's curated reading list from the October contributors on the intersections of horror and design
designobserver.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Happy Halloween! The scary-good reads curated by the contributors to Design Observer’s horror month. 📖
In Design Harder, Erik Carter dismantles modern graphic design with sharp wit, righteous fury, and a 10-point plan for creating work that actually matters.
Booked and Blessed - DesignObserver
Erik Carter’s new book, Design Harder, takes aim at the state of graphic design, critiquing capitalism, sameness, and creative complacency with humor and heart.
designobserver.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM
In Design Harder, Erik Carter dismantles modern graphic design with sharp wit, righteous fury, and a 10-point plan for creating work that actually matters.
On the heels of this month’s Louvre heist, a poet reflects on his own hellish, and oddly heartening, encounter at a famed museum.
‘The museum-going cannibal:’ On Francis Bacon - DesignObserver
On the heels of this month’s Louvre heist, a poet reflects on his own hellish — and oddly heartening — encounter at a famed museum.
designobserver.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:36 PM
On the heels of this month’s Louvre heist, a poet reflects on his own hellish, and oddly heartening, encounter at a famed museum.
Pepsi’s Mauro Porcini has signed on as Samsung’s first-ever design chief. “He’s got a hell of a job ahead of him,” says Wired’s Verity Burns. #Observed
The Pepsi Man Is Coming to Save Samsung From Boring Design
Mauro Porcini is, amazingly, Samsung’s first ever chief design officer. He’s got a hell of a job ahead of him.
www.wired.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Pepsi’s Mauro Porcini has signed on as Samsung’s first-ever design chief. “He’s got a hell of a job ahead of him,” says Wired’s Verity Burns. #Observed
Fortune Brainstorm Design Conference, December 2, 2025, in Macau. Fortune’s premiere event exploring the intersection of business, technology, and design. This year’s theme is Future Tense: Prototyping Tomorrow. #Observed
Fortune Brainstorm Design 2025.
Join leading executives, designers, and innovators at Fortune Brainstorm Design 2025—Dec 2 in Macau. A premier gathering on creativity, AI, and design’s power to pro
conferences.fortune.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Fortune Brainstorm Design Conference, December 2, 2025, in Macau. Fortune’s premiere event exploring the intersection of business, technology, and design. This year’s theme is Future Tense: Prototyping Tomorrow. #Observed
“Increasingly, designers don’t just want to choose typefaces. They want to make their own. Big type, weird type, emotional type – they want it all." #Observed
Elizabeth Goodspeed on why design studios are making fonts
Custom type has become branding’s newest obsession, promising control, originality, and ownership – but its rapid rise is reshaping the culture and economy of type design itself.
www.itsnicethat.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:27 PM
“Increasingly, designers don’t just want to choose typefaces. They want to make their own. Big type, weird type, emotional type – they want it all." #Observed
Reposted by Design Observer
Hi, John, not yet BUT @designobserver.com was at our #ShapeshiftSummit and has some related content on their podcast this season. Check out this DesignAs episode for more from Ryan Powell and other speakers: designobserver.com/design-as-tr...
Design as Trust | Design as Doubt - DesignObserver
Explore how designers build trust, confront doubt, and center equity and empathy in the age of AI with leaders from Adobe, Waymo, RUSH, and SAP
designobserver.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Hi, John, not yet BUT @designobserver.com was at our #ShapeshiftSummit and has some related content on their podcast this season. Check out this DesignAs episode for more from Ryan Powell and other speakers: designobserver.com/design-as-tr...
Reposted by Design Observer
With #Halloween around the bend, a reflection on #FrancisBacon’s haunted #art — how horror, seen honestly, can still contain a form of grace:
designobserver.com/the-museum-g...
Thank you, @designobserver.com for this opportunity and presenting the piece with such care and imagination.
designobserver.com/the-museum-g...
Thank you, @designobserver.com for this opportunity and presenting the piece with such care and imagination.
October 28, 2025 at 9:43 PM
With #Halloween around the bend, a reflection on #FrancisBacon’s haunted #art — how horror, seen honestly, can still contain a form of grace:
designobserver.com/the-museum-g...
Thank you, @designobserver.com for this opportunity and presenting the piece with such care and imagination.
designobserver.com/the-museum-g...
Thank you, @designobserver.com for this opportunity and presenting the piece with such care and imagination.
What does progress in design really look like? In the season finale of Design As, Patrick Whitney joins Lee Moreau to reflect on how design education and practice must evolve to meet the challenges of AI, climate change, and the future ahead.
Patrick Whitney on Designing for What’s Next | Design As Season Finale - DesignObserver
Design icon Patrick Whitney joins Lee Moreau to explore how design must evolve to meet the challenges of AI, climate change, and global progress.
designobserver.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:52 PM
What does progress in design really look like? In the season finale of Design As, Patrick Whitney joins Lee Moreau to reflect on how design education and practice must evolve to meet the challenges of AI, climate change, and the future ahead.
“Horror is an excellent rejection of docility.” @delaneyrebernik.com This month, we explored what happens when fear, form, and femininity collide, and what our darkest aesthetics reveal about us.
The Design of Horror | The Horror of Design: a series - DesignObserver
This October, we plumb the depths of horrific design and designed horrors. Welcome to Hell.
designobserver.com
October 27, 2025 at 7:20 PM
“Horror is an excellent rejection of docility.” @delaneyrebernik.com This month, we explored what happens when fear, form, and femininity collide, and what our darkest aesthetics reveal about us.