Monocle on Design
Your essential guide to design, covering furniture, craft, and architecture. Discover fresh stories, rising talents, and the latest from top studios.
Latest Episodes
Extra: Bora
We head to Portugal to meet João Xará, one of the co-founders of this design collective, to discuss why the group formed and the power of experimentation.
‘More Than Human’, Marco Sousa Santos and Bolaji Teniola
The Design Museum in London explores how we might design beyond human needs in its latest exhibition. Then we visit the showroom of Portuguese furniture brand Branca and sit down with interdisciplinary designer Bolaji…
Extra: On performing good taste
Monocle’s associate editor of design and fashion, Grace Charlton, muses on the importance of enjoying good design rather than the performance of merely owning it.
Karimoku furniture, Austrian concrete and ‘Slop Magazine’
We’re in Japan to visit furniture manufacturer Karimoku. Then we consider the use of concrete in Austrian architecture and the team behind ‘Slop Magazine’ discuss graphic design and client relationships.
Extra: 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.
