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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
Made in North Korea
We examine how product and package design evolves free from exposure to the outside world with Nicholas Bonner’s new book, ‘Made in North Korea’. Plus: ditching the digital with Polaroid’s new instant camera and how Kohler’s flush new idea is helping people build better bathrooms.
On Design 63: The throwaway brilliance of Bic
How a French company specialising in stationery, lighters and razors became one of the most commercially successful design brands in the world.
Watch closely
Product designer and consultant Jared Mankelow on why launching a watch kept business ticking. Plus: exploring Amman Design Week and a turn at the British Ceramics Biennial.
On Design 62: Munich’s Olympic legacy
This week Monocle’s Mikaela Aitken tells us about the cocooned arenas and tasteful typography of Munich’s Olympiapark.
Past, present and Neutra
Architect Tim Campbell reveals what his restoration of Richard Neutra’s Singleton House can teach us about designs – and when renovation means leaving well alone. Plus we’re in Ljubljana to hear from the Future Architecture Festival and how the city’s Design Biennial is rethinking troubled Tito-era architecture.
On Design 61: The minarets of Istanbul
We take a closer look at the architectural history of Istanbul’s skyline-defining minarets.
It’s a sign
How much can swish signage improve the fortunes of a high street business? We’re pointed in the right direction by Vienna’s traditional sign-painters and check in with London’s Luminor Sign Co. Plus: we tour Squire and Partners, a masterfully renovated department-store-turned-office, and talk cork with Portuguese designer Hugo Passos.
On Design 60: Greece’s kaikia boats – a maritime design icon
The typically short-mast, colourful fishing boats known as “kaikia” that dot Greece’s coastline are descendents of a boat-building tradition that dates back to the Bronze Age. Under threat from modernity, the kaikia’s admirers are pushing back.
London Design Festival
We explore the London Design Fair with the man in charge, Jimmy MacDonald. Plus: we get crafty at a week of activities organised by Portuguese Makers and meet the well-heeled gents at Italy’s Micam footwear fair.
On Design 59: A brief history
Men’s briefs have become a firm fixture in the underwear department. But it wasn’t always so. Ben Rylan tracks their evolution.
