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: What makes an album’s artwork a hit?
Album covers can be as coveted as the discs they serve as packaging for. But what does it take to achieve iconic status?
Meeting Stefan Sagmeister
We visit New York-based graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister to talk about growing up in Austria, his big break in album art and why taking sabbaticals is so important.
Extra: Right on time: Vienna’s Silver Arrow
The Silver Arrow, the first generation of Vienna’s U-Bahn trains, was awarded the state design prize in 1981. Today the train is approaching its final destination but the design is not yet scheduled for departure.
Meeting Irma Boom
We sit down with Dutch graphic designer Irma Boom to ask why she considers book design to be a feat of architecture, the future of inkless printing and why we should judge books by their cover. Plus: Josh Fehnert runs through the design headlines with the V&A’s Rory Hyde.
Extra: Terry Farrell’s Comyn Ching Triangle
A tour of Sir Terry Farrell’s Comyn Ching Triangle in London’s Seven Dials. Dr David Knight of the Royal College of Art decodes the maestro’s masterwork in an episode to accompany our feature-length interview with Sir Terry.
Meeting Sir Terry Farrell
Architect Sir Terry Farrell’s playful pastiche of styles can be seen from the MI6 building to the Breakfast Television Centre in London. His six-decade career has veered from masterplanning city blocks to building train stations in China. Josh Fehnert sits down with the postmodern master.
Extra: Stockholm’s Beauty Council
Pushing architectural boundaries can be a challenge in Stockholm. It’s a historic, low-rise, waterfront city and any new developments are policed by a unique state-funded body called the ‘skönhetsrådet’ or Beauty Council. We find out more.
Will design books survive?
Has the world of digital turned the page on design book publishing? We ask Phaidon’s new editor at large, Spencer Bailey. Plus: we shed some light on Stockholm’s design week.
Extra: Remembering Florence Knoll
Florence Knoll’s influence on design in the workplace has been immeasurable, but how will the brand continue her work in a new age?
The robots are coming
Why an architecture team is turning to a robotic arm for a helping hand. Plus: we ask a UCL professor for help understanding the ramifications of robots in design and ‘Disegno’ editor in chief Oli Stratford joins Josh Fehnert for a flick through his magazine picks for the month.
