Monocle on Design
Your essential guide to design, covering fashion, furniture, craft, and architecture. Discover fresh stories, rising talents, and the latest from top studios.
Latest Episodes
Temitayo Ogunbiyi
The Lagos-based artist’s exhibition, ‘You will wonder if we would have been friends’, is on at The Noguchi Museum in New York. Ogunbiyi’s artworks playfully blur the line between functional design and art.
The Ralph Saltzman Prize 2025, ‘Xisto’ and Bogdan Ciocodeica
Lulu Harrison, winner of The Ralph Saltzman Prize 2025, discusses her ‘Thames Glass’ project. We also head to Lisbon’s Made in Situ gallery to see its ‘Xisto’ collection. Plus: Romanian designer Bogdan Ciocodeica.
Extra: Norman Foster
The celebrated architect discusses the future of mobility and his project, ‘Gateway to Venice’s Waterways’, at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition.
IKAT Indonesia, Nordic design news and Hamrei
Didiet Maulana, founder of Ikat Indonesia, discusses bringing historical textile techniques to a contemporary audience. Plus: Nordic design news and we hear from the founder of collectible design brand Hamrei.
Extra: How cars shaped modern architecture
Writer Christopher Beanland considers the cultural and architectural impact of cars in shaping our built environment.
Timber: Darren Appiagyei, Material Cultures and Oregon lumber
We visit the studio of wood artist Darren Appiagyei, find out why Portland, Oregon, has become a mass-timber hub and design organisation Material Cultures shares why timber isn’t the only vital woodland resource.
Extra: Lahti International Poster Triennial
First held in 1975, the event has grown into one of the world’s most respected poster-design competitions, drawing submissions from top talent across the globe. Petri Burtsoff reports.
3 Days of Design: Area Luce, Nau, Forma and ‘Home from Home’
We hear from a global cohort of creatives at Copenhagen’s de facto design week, 3 Days of Design.
Extra: ‘Eastern Blocks II: Concrete Landscapes of the Former Eastern Bloc’
The second photographic survey from independent publishing house Zupagrafika considers the building style that dominates much of Eastern Europe. Architectural historian Kateryna Malaia tells us more.
‘The Shakers: A World in the Making’, Falé and the Hannah Ryggen Triennale
The Vitra Design Museum considers how Shakers have inspired designers. Then: we head to Senegal to meet the co-founder of Falé, a brand focusing on hand-spun cotton. Finally, the Hannah Ryggen Triennale in Norway.
