Hasta La Ideas

Designer Elliot Jay Stocks and editor Samantha Stocks have launched a new quarterly magazine, Lagom, showcasing creative people, places and past times.

Lagom is described as a publication “about people who make a living from their passions, and past time activities that offer inspiration.” Each issue is divided into three sections: Spaces & Places, which features studios and creative social and work spaces; Craft & Create, which features creative side projects and hobbies; and a more lifestyle-focussed Escape & Recharge, which combines food and drink recipes with articles on ways to unwind outside of work.

The inaugural issue features articles on creative agencies which have taken up beekeeping, Erik Spiekermann’s new Berlin letterpress workshop, 98a, and a photo essay on Facebook designer Cameron Ewing’s love of surfing, as well as an interview with illustrator Joanna Basford.

There’s also a piece by Jamie Clarke on why he sold his design agency to take up screenprinting, another by Offscreen editor Kai Brach on his favourite Melbourne coffee shop, and a look inside the Michelberger hotel in Berlin and a paper goods shop set up as a side project by the founders of design studio Something Good.

Lagom was founded by Samantha and Elliot Jay Stocks, who previously ran typography magazine 8 Faces. The pair say they were inspired by a rise in the number of high quality independent titles being published in the UK and further afield.

“In addition, a lot of the focus [in 8 Faces] was on designers and creatives telling their own stories. The reaction to that was really positive, and we found people really wanted to hear about other people’s stories and backgrounds, and why and how they do what they do,” explains Samantha. “[With Lagom], we wanted to take that idea, but focus more on lifestyle.”

“It was also inspired by a lot of our friends,” adds Elliot. “We’ve found ourselves mixing with a lot of other creative professionals doing interesting work and side projects, and we wanted to show the different journeys people have taken and what they do for everyday inspiration.”

As Samantha and Elliot explain in the magazine, the word Lagom is Swedish and refers to the idea of having the perfect balance – a semi literal translation is ‘not too much, not too little.’

“We wanted it to be something different and memorable, and then Elliot came across this. When we found out what it meant, about finding the right balance, it really reflected what we wanted to discuss – people making a living from their passion and maintaining a good balance between their life and work,” says Samantha.

“It also sums up our approach – a lot of magazines can be aspirational to a fault, I think, and we’ve tried to ground some of that aspirational, lifestyle content with some down to earth past time stories,” says Elliott. “That sense of balance applies to the mix of subjects – there’s a good balance between interviews, creative projects and spaces and everyday things, such as how to make the perfect cup of coffee,” he adds.

With a range of original illustrations, thick, uncoated paper stock and full-bleed photography throughout, the magazine has a luxurious feel, without looking to glossy or exclusive. “It’s designed to be semi-aspirational, but warm and friendly rather than cold and sterile,” explains Elliot. “Originally it was meant to be 64 Pages, so we commissioned a bunch of illustrators and photographers, but we were so thrilled with the quality of their work, that we decided to give them more space.

“We also wanted to include a fair degree of white space, but perhaps not as much as other popular mags out at the moment. There was quite a conscious choice to avoid this trendy aesthetic of lots of white space and minimal type, and so I think [Lagom] looks quite unique,” he adds.

One of the most striking features in the magazine is the section openers, which combine large type, a double page image and a slim white border. Elliot says they are designed to create “a visual pause” within the magazine, causing readers to stop “and take note that you’re moving on to a different part of the narrative.”

The magazine is set in varying weights and styles of Suitcase Type’s Tabac family: slab serif is used for body copy, sans features throughout and the titles use various grades of serif, which Elliot says allows for variation without losing consistency.

The logotype was also going to be set in Tabac but in the end, Elliot and Samantha opted for script typeface Aparo. “We felt Tabac might be a little too cold, and possibly edging towards Bodoni – a bit like a fashion magazine in that sense,” says Elliot. “In the end, we thought [Aparo] was a little more friendly and informal for the logo. We’ve used it inside in the welcome and thank you message too, as I think it’s really welcoming and quite personal.”

While there are a lot of new magazines devoted to makers and craftspeople, Lagom seems to have a unique mix of lifestyle and creative content. It’s a pleasure to read, and the issue contains some lovely imagery from a talented range of contributors.

The next issue will be out in spring, and Elliot and Samantha say they are also working on an iPad edition, due for release before the end of the year. “We’re trying to do something radically different, rather than the current format of combining static images and text that you can’t really grab or pinch or zoom … the design will be more like a responsive website, and less like a static magazine,” adds Elliot.

Issue 1 of Lagom is out now and priced at £10. For details or to order a copy, see readlagom.com

Founded by Ian Hall, Arkitrek works to the create socially and environmentally sustainable buildings in Malaysia. I have been following them for several years now, just looking for a reason to contact them other than to just say “Hi! I like what you do. Keep up the good work,” and now I have one, so here we go.

Core77: Can you give us a short outline to what Arkitrek is about?

Ian Hall: We are architects and we’re motivated use design to solve environmental problems. Problems, like resource consumption, pollution and energy use. To solve these problems usually involves working with people, so we are highly socially minded in the way that we work, but I’m a nature lover foremost and love of wild places and nature is what inspires me

What lead you to start Arkitrek?

Haha. Long story…

One thing led to another. I always knew that I did not want to follow a ‘conventional’ architecture career. After completing my Part III and getting solid commercial experience, I decided to look for alternatives and I joined an expedition with Raleigh International to Borneo. They asked me to lead a team of young volunteers to do a feasibility study for a jungle research station in Borneo. That was a dream job. I swapped designing shiny urban hotels and started work on primitive huts in the jungle. I joke that ‘the people I worked with were primitive too’: gap year students mostly. The Raleigh ethos is empowering young people by giving them responsibility for delivering project work in challenging places. After some initial resistance, I embraced this philosophy.

After my Raleigh expedition in 2004, I volunteered to work for The Sabah Foundation, Raleigh’s local partner in Sabah, Borneo. The Sabah Foundation manages three rainforest conservation areas and I went on to volunteer for them as an architect, designing jungle camps, staff quarters and research facilities on and off for two years.

I funded this with contract work in London. Six months in London would fund four months in Sabah. During this time, I met the people who would become my first paying clients in Sabah. That’s how Arkitrek started.

The name, Arkitrek, was coined by my mate Andy Lo. Andy is a Londoner whose parents are from Sabah. We worked together in London and he came out to visit his family in Sabah and then joined me for a month long design and trekking stint in Sabah’s Maliau Basin Conservation Area.

I worked in the most awesome and wild and beautiful places.

What was the main foundation when you started Arkitrek?

During that time with Sabah Foundation I was very concerned with two questions:
1. Should we build anything here? [in this wild and beautiful place] 2. If we do build, what kind of building is appropriate?

A little later, when I was no longer supported by high paying London contract work a third question came into play…
3. How can I keep saying yes to designing small buildings in beautiful places for worthy clients, who can’t pay professional fees?

I think that my ‘ground pillars’ are those three questions.

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Dans le cadre d’une campagne publicitaire pour promouvoir le fournisseur de papier IGEPA, l’agence belge Soon a fabriqué une série de maquettes en forme d’insectes à l’aide de papier recyclé. L’agence nous offre une série réalisée avec finesse et précision. Les images du projet et la vidéo du making-off sont à découvrir dans la galerie.

Inside Festival 2014: a bookstore designed to encourage socialising and a hotel planned to suit the lifestyle of business travellers are among the first batch of category winners at the 2014 Inside Awards (+ slideshow).

Announced today in Singapore as part of the Inside World Festival of Interiors, the category winners were selected from a shortlist of 60 projects. Four more winners will be revealed tomorrow, and each category winner will be put forward for the title World Interior of the Year, which will be selected on Friday.

Dezeen is media partner for Inside Festival 2014. The event continues at the Marina Bay Sands hotel and conference centre in Singapore until 3 October, coinciding with the World Architecture Festival.

Here are the details of today’s five winning interior projects:

Bars and restaurants: Mott32 by Joyce Wang Studio

This Hong Kong restaurant by architect Joyce Wang references the building’s history as a storage facility for the family heirlooms of wealthy Chinese immigrants. It features a meandering pathway at its entrance, and an interior that combines Colonial-style furnishings with an industrial warehouse aesthetic.

Hotels: Tama Hotel Phnom Penh Tower by FHAMS

Designed to cater to overseas business visitors, the Tama Hotel was designed by Japanese firm FHAMS in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. Rooms include a restaurant conceived as a working lunch space, with spaces for client meetings and plenty of room for laptops.

Residential: Xintindi Penthouse by Joyce Wang Studio

The second winning project by Joyce Wang is a three-storey penthouse residence in Shanghai’s Xintiandi district. A double-height atrium forms the heart of the space, with a staircase winding around its perimeter, while the dining area is a secluded circular space.

Display: IDC Space by Singapore University of Technology and Design

IDC Space is a research hub and exhibition gallery for the design centre at the Dover Campus of the Singapore University of Technology and Design. Designed by an in-house team, the 13- by 16-metre space features a sculptural ceiling installation made up of 6,000 custom-designed lighting and display components.

Retail: Cultura Bookstore by Studio MK27

Spaces for relaxing and socialising are an integral part of the Cultura Bookstore, conceived by Brazilian firm Studio MK27 as a bookshop for the 21st century. A large top floor provides an open-plan area that can be easily adapted for use as a lecture hall or events space.

The post Inside Awards 2014 day one
winners announced appeared first on Dezeen.

La photographe Julieanne Kost qui est à l’origine de ce beau travail, a photographié la baie de San Francisco alors qu’elle la survolait en hélicoptère. Sans aucune retouche, les photos offrent des formes linéaires et géométriques soutenues par un magnifique aplat bleu-violet causé par des milliards de micro-organismes changeant de couleur selon la salinité de l’eau. À découvrir dans la galerie.