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
Keeping it natural
We meet celebrated architect Tom Kundig, co-owner and design principal of Seattle-based partnership Olson Kundig, to discuss how his enthusiasm for natural materials flows into his work. Plus: Maria Cheung of London-based architects and designers Squire and Partners joins us to discuss how to design workspaces that are creative, productive…
Extra: Game changers
Mattel have released a new braille edition of classic card game Uno. Games expert Dr Michael James Heron explains design choices encouraging wider accessibility for the visually impaired in board games and card games.
Bold futures
We head to Eindhoven to check out the best of Dutch Design Week. Plus: how the Cold War shaped Vienna’s architecture and Rob Dickins introduces The Architects Underground at the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Extra: Seeing double
We visit Baltimore’s Post Typography to learn how founders Nolen Strals and Bruce Willen grew a successful design and branding agency from their beginnings as collaborators in the city’s music scene.
The politics of pattern
We discuss the politics of pattern design with writer and curator Priya Khanchandani and architect Sam Jacob, whose exhibition at the Lisbon Architecture Triennale challenges established norms. Plus: staying in Portugal, we head to Modtissimo, the trade fair in Porto that shows off the nation’s best textiles.
Extra: Best seats in the house
We speak to Russell Pinch and Oona Bannon of London’s Pinch Design about how to create furniture that’s elegant yet homely.
Stanley Donwood
We speak to the artist, illustrator and designer about his new book, ‘There will be no Quiet’, collecting his designs for Radiohead album covers over the past three decades. Plus: production designer Anna Rhodes on making music videos for artists including Kanye West, Rufus Wainwright and Laura Marling.
Extra: ‘Sound in Mind’ with Yuri Suzuki
We speak to the sound designer and audio-branding specialist about his new showcase, currently at London’s Design Museum.
Heart of glass
A visit to Venice Glass Week to speak with makers and experts such as Rosa Barovier and Simone Cenedese, who discuss their delicate and highly skilled work. Plus: Czech sculptor, glass and product designer Rony Plesl.
Extra: The Antwerp Six
In the late 1980s a group of fashion graduates piled into a van with their collections, drove to London and took the British Designer Show by storm, forging the futures of the so-called Antwerp Six.
