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
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.
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.
‘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.
Extra: ‘Across the Spooniverse’
In San Diego the Mingei International Museum’s latest exhibition explores how the humble spoon is a vessel for human creativity across the world.
London Design Biennale, Finnish Glass Biennale, Art Deco in Shanghai
The London Design Biennale’s director, Victoria Broackes, and experiential designer and author Rachel Botsman discuss this year’s event and the latter’s “Roots of Trust” installation, which reimagines a historical design artefact.
Extra: Mariana Ralo
As part of this year’s Lisbon Design Week, artist Mariana Ralo produced a vast tapestry crafted from nautical rope and rubber for the courtyard at Locke da Santa Joanna hotel.
Marina Tabassum, Lisbon Design Week, Dan Thawley
Architect Marina Tabassum discusses her inspiration for this year’s Serpentine Pavilion. Then: a report from the third edition of Lisbon Design Week. Plus: we meet Dan Thawley, artistic director of Matter and Shape.
