Thoughtful Product Design Student Work: A Different Kind of "Kitchen Counter"

This is a great concept by Oscar Parkinson, a Product & Furniture Design student at London’s Kingston University.

“Kitchen Counters are small analogue devices that record the amount of use you get out of your electronic goods. They aim to help us develop an appreciation for how much our appliances do for us, reducing the incentive to needlessly upgrade and questioning our current, often disconnected relationship with them.”

Parkinson, if you’re reading this: I’ve been over your Instagram, but would love to see/read more—sketches, thoughts, prototypes–and do urge you to build out a portfolio website with details of your work. (It took me some detective work just to figure out where you went to school!)

PIX Moving launches competition to redesign rideshares using generative AI

Render of driverless office, created for Moving Space Hackathon by PIX Moving

Promotion: Chinese startup PIX Moving is calling for entries to its Moving Space Hackathon, a global design competition to reimagine autonomous rideshare vehicles as dual-purpose spaces that double up as anything from gyms to offices and libraries.

Interior and automotive designers, architects and engineers are encouraged to sign up for the competition until 30 April 2023 before the month-long competition officially kicks off on 5 May.

Render of driverless office, created for Moving Space Hackathon by PIX Moving
PIX Moving launching the Moving Space Hackathon for autonomous vehicles

For the duration of the hackathon, competitors will be granted exclusive access to the alpha version of PIX Moving’s patented generative design algorithm PAM, which the company describes as the “ChatGPT of car design and manufacturing – both interior and exterior”.
Participants will be asked to first create a feasible and manufacturable concept design using the text-to-model generator, before detail-modelling and simulating the engineering and manufacturing, and finally creating an actionable business plan around their idea.

Render of driverless car that's also a cafe
Participants are asked to reimagine rideshares as dual-purpose spaces

The competition is centred around the idea of “mobility as a service”, in anticipation of a future where self-driving rideshares provide a societal value beyond just being a means of transport, for example by creating public spaces, reducing personal car use and easing congestion.

“What we know about cars may no longer be a four-wheel transportation tool but will be redefined as ‘moving spaces’ carrying urban life, which will come to be the next generation lifestyle of mobility-as-a-service,” said PIX Moving founder Angelo Yu.

Render of driverless office, created for Moving Space Hackathon by PIX Moving
Competitors will be asked to use PIX Moving’s generative AI

Throughout the hackathon, PIX Moving will offer workshops with tech support to help participants design to manufacturing standards.

Participants will be asked to give their final presentation on 5 June, for the chance to win a prize fund of $15,000. Winners will also win a paid visit the PIX Moving’s digital manufacturing factory to witness their project being built.

For more information, as well as further details about prizes and submissions, visit the hackathon website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for PIX Moving as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Crystal Grid pendant light by Preciosa Lighting

Crystal Grid chandelier by Preciosa Lighting

Dezeen Showroom: tubes of hand-blown crystal with tiny sparkling air bubbles are combined into clusters to form the Crystal Grid modular pendant light by Czech design company Preciosa Lighting.

The Crystal Grid chandelier has an orthogonal structure with light tubes available in various lengths, allowing the design to be tailored to different-sized spaces.

Crystal Grid chandelier by Preciosa Lighting
Preciosa Lighting’s Crystal Grid chandelier is formed from a cluster of crystal tubes

Equally, the light’s metal connectors are available in five different surface finishes to suit various interior schemes.

“Designers have the opportunity to create something truly personalised and original,” said Andres Klug, co-creative director at Preciosa Lighting. “It is versatile and can fit many different projects.”

Crystal Grid chandelier by Preciosa Lighting
Tiny air bubbles are encapsulated in the glass

The crystal tubes are illuminated by light sources on both ends to ensure an even distribution of light along their length.

Crystal Grid’s modularity also allows individual light tubes to be replaced, repaired or rearranged to extend the life of the product.

“The grid can expand or contract to create a new look instead of replacing the entire fixture,” Preciosa Lighting said. “This can be done with Preciosa’s assistance economically and quickly.”

Product: Crystal Grid
Brand: Preciosa Lighting
Contact: sales@preciosalighting.com

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen’s huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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A Bed That Doubles as Your Cremation Coffin

After her mother passed away, Icelandic industrial designer Dögg Guðmundsdóttir “bought a well designed coffin for [her], that was soon after burned away” in the cremation ceremony. A few months later, Guðmundsdóttir purchased a new bed for her father. Experiencing these two things so close together reminded her of a crazy idea she had after a trip to Ghana.

While visiting Ghana, where both beds and elaborate coffins form a robust craft industry, Guðmundsdóttir wondered if the two products could be combined. Now she revisited the concept. “We could have saved both time, material and money if my parents each had one bed that could transform into a coffin,” she concluded.

She then designed the following furniture piece, somewhat awkwardly named A Lifetime. The two halves can be slid together to assume its final form, as it were:

Here’s how it transforms, as demonstrated by the fabricator hired, Anton Balle.

If it seems a bit grim, Guðmundsdóttir points out the sustainability benefits:

“We overconsume materials and cut down trees like never before. Thus, it makes sense to use the material from our bed for the coffin that we-will eventually be [cremated] in. This lets us reduce the consumption of materials, reduce manufacturing, cut costs and, not least, save time for those who are left behind, since the coffin is already there, ready for use.”

However, Guðmundsdóttir also writes the following:

“After developing the idea for the last months and seeing the resultant beautiful woodwork, I even think this coffin should not get burned after the funeral, but borrowed over time and years for coming family funerals in the future, with the body cremated in a recycled paper box. Thereby saving the material for an even longer time.”

Doesn’t that defeat the purpose? I’d say stick to your guns!

Alcoba table by Selma Lazrak

Alcoba table by Selma Lazrak

Dezeen Showroom: designer Selma Lazrak looked to the landscape and architecture of her native Morocco to create Alcoba, a coffee table rendered in rich walnut wood.

Solid-looking and robust, the Alcoba table is carved with precise archs and nooks that create a sculptural interplay of light and shadow.

Alcoba table by Selma Lazrak
The Alcoba table references Moroccan and Middle Eastern landscapes and architecture

It is part of Lazrak’s Sahara collection, which is inspired by her childhood growing up in Morocco and the Middle East and draws on the region’s dunes, desert landscapes and cultural artefacts.

For Alcoba, Lazrak has also referenced Moroccan and Moorish architecture, with the piece taking its name from the style of alcove typical of the region.

Alcoba table by Selma Lazrak
Its precise lines are created through a combination of machining and hand-finishing

“The aim was to capture the essence of a heritage and a land and combine them into a vocabulary of forms,” said Lazrak, who is now based in Munich. “The piece is a tribute to the nature and crafts of Morocco.”

The Alcoba table is carved by machine and hand-finished by artisans, employing what Lazrak describes as a unqiue combination of techniques to achieve a precise look.

Product: Alcoba
Designer: Selma Lazrak
Contact: info@selmalazrak.com

Dezeen Showroom

Dezeen Showroom offers an affordable space for brands to launch new products and showcase their designers and projects to Dezeen’s huge global audience. For more details email showroom@dezeen.com.

Dezeen Showroom is an example of partnership content on Dezeen. Find out more about partnership content here.

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Exploring the Accutron Astronaut “T” Revival Wristwatch

An update to a Space Race icon launched with enthusiasts in mind

In 1960, when Bulova launched Accutron, a retro-futuristic timepiece powered by an inventive, proprietary tuning fork movement, it set the record as the world’s first fully electronic watch. Now a standalone brand infused with history, Accutron continues to teleport legends of its past into its tech-forward future. The latest release, the Accutron Astronaut, is a limited edition revival of a 1962 milestone that commemorates the brand’s relationship in the ’60s with NASA and the US Space program. During the Space Race, these organizations utilized about 2,000 precision instruments and timing devices from Accutron—and the pioneering brand participated in 46 NASA missions. To learn about the reissue, which is made in Switzerland and sports an automatic Sellita SW330 GMT movement, as well as a simultaneous release from sibling brand Bulova (the Lunar Pilot), we spoke with Michael Benavente, the managing director of Bulova and a steward of Accutron’s iconography.

Can you tell us a little bit about why the development of the original Accutron Astronaut was so important and what happened in May 1963?

The Accutron Astronaut watch was worn for the first time in space in May 1963 on mission Mercury-Atlas 9, which orbited the Earth. The watch was ideal for aerospace usage as it was electronic and not relying on your typical mainspring. With its high frequency, it could withstand high G-acceleration and extreme temperatures with unprecedented accuracy. This led the Accutron Astronaut to become the officially issued watch for all pilots of the USAF X-15 experimental rocket-powered aircraft program and was later issued to CIA pilots in the Lockheed A-12 program who traveled at three times the speed of sound.

What is distinct about the 1968 “T” version?

The 1968 “T” Astronaut features the day/night bezel, making it easy to use as a third time zone. The “T” is one of the most collectable and rare of the Astronaut series. Iconic designs and historically significant timepieces are what collectors and enthusiasts were asking for. Accutron is deeply connected to this community so we take their feedback into account when introducing new styles. When we relaunched the brand in 2020, the Astronaut was the most requested timepiece as a model we should re-introduce.

Did it have initial commercial success? If so, why do you think that was?

It was the perfect storm for this watch. In 1953 Glycine created the Airman watch, which tracked two time zones and the following year Pan Am asked Rolex to create a GMT watch for their pilots. The popularity of this just intensified as did the airline industry. The pilots were rockstars and then the Astronauts came into being and they were true heroes. You knew the name of every person who donned a spacesuit, and this watch was the astronauts’ GMT. This was the most accurate watch in the world and the most significant timepiece being used on moon missions and issued to CIA astronaut pilots.

How was the wristwatch updated for 2023?

The design is the same that we knew the collectors and watch enthusiasts wanted, but the case size was updated from a 38mm to a 41mm. The movement is now a SW330 Automatic movement—while the original Astronaut had the iconic tuning fork movement. The bracelet has also been updated from a three-piece to a five-piece. Everything else has stayed the same as the original.

Why is this limited to 300 pieces? Any chance it will come back as a permanent addition?

The Astronaut is an iconic launch from Accutron and we wanted the first one to be a numbered limited edition that watch enthusiasts could add to their collection. We have limited editions of 600 in the Legacy collection, but wanted to make this one more exclusive so we decided to make it a limited edition of 300.

There were many Astronaut launches throughout the ’60s and ’70s and this re-edition is one of many to come. Stay tuned for additional Astronaut timepieces in the near future.

How important is Accutron’s history with the space program to the spirit of the brand today? And how is this a sibling to the Bulova Lunar Pilot?

On 2 August 1971, Apollo 15’s mission commander, the seventh man to walk on the moon and the first to drive the Lunar Rover, made lunar history while wearing his Bulova chronograph. Crafted specifically for astronomical conditions, the Lunar Pilot watch was used in space to track time, ensuring no one ran out of oxygen, water or battery power in the portable life-support-system backpack. It was also used to back up the on-board timers for the critical reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.

Accutron was one of the key technologies utilized by the US government and NASA in instrumentation and timepieces for 46 space missions starting in the late ’50s through the early ’60s. Accutron’s historical significance and significant design contributions are the driving force behind the brand. It is very important for us to share this with modern watch collectors. We feel we are uniquely aligned with this new generation of enthusiasts.

Images courtesy of Bulova

Top 10 desk accessories to create a desk setup that supports + elevates your daily productivity

Whether you’re working from home, or in a corporate office, the one thing that’s pretty much consistent in both these scenarios is a desk! A desk is probably one of the most important pieces of furniture in our modern lives, only because we spend the majority of our day on it. You may be typing away to glory, munching away on a snack, or simply fidgeting with a random object – you do end up spending hours on your desk. And hence, it’s really important that your desk be neat, tidy, and uncluttered. Not only will this improve your work routine and productivity, but it will also help you maintain a clearer and more streamlined mindset. And, I’ve discovered that adding limited, quality, and innovative products to my desk setup can help me in achieving these goals! The desk accessories you place on your desk are an integral part of your home/corporate office. From a note-taking desk accessory that puts a small twist to your productivity to wooden WFH accessories that declutter your desk – these ingenious desk accessories are all you need to achieve your desk setup goals!

1. Note

Paper can be simple, and apps can be quick, but not everyone needs all the commitment that these two different note-taking methods sometimes require. There are those that just need to jot down quick notes or even draw a diagram that can be discarded before the day is over. Note, which is the most generic name ever, is pretty much a small desk whiteboard that lets you do that with efficiency, but it has a few tricks up its sleeve that a bit of spice and fun to your work.

Why is it noteworthy?

The “whiteboard” twists or rather flips over, giving you twice the space to write your notes down. One side can have a dotted grid surface to help with diagrams, while the other can be plain, or they can have the same design on both sides. As with any vertical slate, you can also place sticky notes on it, in case scribbling notes down on paper is quicker for you.

What we like

  • What makes Note unique is the addition of a multi-purpose vertical screen to its left side, this allows you to also have a view of the time, the calendar, and your appointments which are synced from your phone

What we dislike

  • The screen doesn’t show videos, a function that some people may need for their work

2. The Tetra Puzzle

Called the Tetra Puzzle, this captivating and intriguing puzzle is a fidget toy for your hands and your brain! This 4-part puzzle joins together to create a rather mesmerizing tetrahedral mass. The aim is to separate the 4 metal pieces as swiftly and as efficiently as you can!

Why is it noteworthy?

The Tetra is a uniquely appealing desk toy that activates your manual dexterity skills, problem-solving abilities, and spatial reasoning. The 4 identical stainless steel pieces are designed to lock in only when oriented in a pre-determined pattern.

What we like

  • Serves as a pretty mysterious and eye-catching objet d’art when not being used
  • Enhances your ability to focus and explore your mind

What we dislike

  • We would enjoy having some personalization or more color options

3. The Forest Tidy

Carved presumably from rosewood, the Forest Tidy is a set of neat containers and stands that bring a level of organization to your workspace while tying into the wooden nature of the furniture around your house.

Why is it noteworthy?

By splitting your workspace belongings into different categories, the Forest Tidy organizational kit gives you space for stationery, tech, EDC, cables, and even a dedicated stand for your monitor along with a stowaway space for your keyboard and mouse.

What we like

  • The containers come in a variety of shapes and sizes, tailor-made to your tabletop belongings
  • There’s a dedicated phone stand that lets you dock your phone either in portrait or landscape

What we dislike

  • Unfortunately, the phone stand doesn’t come with a channel for a cable pass-through, which means it won’t function as a charging stand

4. Reck_Cone

Reck_Cone is a concept design that tries to combine different products into a single artful piece. It is, of course, a headphone holder, but you might not immediately identify it as one because of its shape.

Why is it noteworthy?

Unlike typical holders, it does hang the headphones down but instead lets them wrap around the almost conical structure. In this manner, it looks like how headphones would hang around a person’s neck, giving it a more natural appearance even in that unused state.

What we like

  • The Reck_Cone’s form is eye-catching, and even without the headphones, it displays an unusual shape that looks like a vase with a “wing” on its back

What we dislike

  • The form is bulky and not effective on a small desk setup

5. The Mayku Accessories

The Mayku Accessories collection comprises a keyboard, a mouse, and a more traditional webcam that attaches to the top of a monitor. While their designs don’t show anything functionally new, it’s their appearance that really catches the eye.

Why is it noteworthy?

Instead of using the usual flat surfaces and sharp corners, these products use “softer,” more curved forms, like the sides and tops of the keycaps, the entire surface of the mouse, or the body of the webcam.

What we like

  • The usually cold and impersonal devices look like hard candy or even soft marshmallows

What we dislike

  • While the visuals are arresting, the functionality retained is the same

6. The Slope

The Slope is a “personal desktop whiteboard with pen” that you can slot right in between your monitor and your keyboard. So yes, it is simply a magnetic dry-erase whiteboard but instead of being on your wall or on the side, it is right in front of you and angled in such a way that it is perfect for your list-making or reminder-listing writing needs.

Why is it noteworthy?

It is made from bent steel sheets and is powder-coated so it’s pretty smooth and easy to use as well as giving you a premium dry-erase surface. It is also magnetic so you can attach your whiteboard markers if they’re magnetic. If not, there’s a space at the top to place them as well as space at the back to store your separate eraser. There’s a silicone phone holder if you need to have your mobile device in front of you and there’s also an opening in it so you can place your charger.

What we like

  • If you’re not using your keyboard, you can slip it under the sloped whiteboard
  • Smooth and easy to use

What we dislike

  • You can’t save what you were writing into the cloud nor can you digitize it if you need to save what you wrote

7. Fusion

To-do apps are a dime a dozen these days, and they exist on phones, computers, and everything in between. This allows people to make rapid changes that sync between devices, increasing their efficiency and productivity. Tapping or clicking on checkboxes, however, doesn’t exactly have the same satisfying feedback as checking it off from a list, and you might find yourself driving on autopilot, mindlessly tapping things even unintentionally. Fusion is a combination of hardware and software that tries to bring that active participation to your electronic to-do list without going back into the pen-and-paper territory.

Why is it noteworthy?

The concept is divided into two parts, with the first being the simpler and more straightforward half. This is an E-Ink display the size of a large, wide phone that displays your task list. This can be magnetically attached to a wall mount so that you can have an eye-level view of what’s on your plate. The e-Paper technology means that the screen won’t consume much power even while it’s on, making it more power-efficient and environment-friendly.

What we like

  • Easy-to-use and effortless experience

What we dislike

  • E-ink display means we have no option to use colors to differentiate or highlight the tasks

8. Create

Designed by Naya, Create is the kind of keyboard that will ensure you don’t need any other additional peripherals! It is highly customizable to perfectly cater to every person’s individual self-expression. It eliminates the issue of a cluttered desk, which can often occur when you constantly need to switch between different peripherals.

Why is it noteworthy?

The split keyboard with the customizable form factor and various configurable modules onboard can seamlessly fit into any workflow. Thus, it intends to become a go-to option for casual keyboard enthusiasts and serious creative professionals.

What we like

  • The keyboard is split and customizable
  • The creator in you can leverage the convenience of 9 degrees of freedom with the 3D navigator

What we dislike

  • Some users may find Create more complex to operate than a conventional keyboard

9. The Wooden Pen Holder

There’s something almost poetic about the act of picking up a brush or a fountain pen from an inkwell, drawing your strokes, and dipping it back in to be ready for when the next inspiration strikes, a feeling that’s almost lost even with the most elaborate and extravagant pens today. Not unless you have a pen holder that brings back that atmosphere, like a block of wood that could be the most Zen pen holder to ever adorn your desk.

Why is it noteworthy?

This wooden block is both unassuming and, at the same time, beautiful in its simplicity, as many minimalist products are wont to be. Made from genuine maple wood, each piece has grains and patterns that make it unique and special. Without saying explicitly, it’s an assurance that each black will be one of a kind, giving you the feeling that this pen holder was crafted just for you. Together with an equally stylish pen, this block transforms any desk into a thinker’s workbench, where the tools of the trade are just at an arm’s reach.

What we like

  • The Wooden Pen Holder has a gently curving depression that can accommodate any pen with a standard size
  • When you pick the pen up, you almost believe that the ink will also follow it up from an invisible well of ideas

What we dislike

  • It occupies precious real estate on a bench that cannot be adjusted/reduced

10. Summy

Summy is a dedicated device designed to keep students connected while still setting up limits to how many interruptions they can do. At its most basic, the device is a voice messenger, a timer, a daily planner, and a sort of social network among friends, most likely students in the same class or level. The idea is that you only get to send short voice messages to those in your circle, at least only when they’re available.

Why is it noteworthy?

The device uses a UI made of concentric circles and icons represented by old-school monochrome 8-bit characters. Tapping on a friend’s icon allows you to send a voice message, which is more limited and less disruptive than a voice call. You can view other friends’ daily schedules, and if they’re free, you can send a “Study with Me” request so that both of you can set a synchronized timer to study for the same time period.

What we like

  • Summy creates a rather playful atmosphere around the concept of studying together
  • Summy can also be a fun gadget to keep tabs on their own time and maybe have a retro display on their desk to keep them entertained

What we dislike

  • It can also be quite a distracting device if misused

The post Top 10 desk accessories to create a desk setup that supports + elevates your daily productivity first appeared on Yanko Design.

This minimalist snap binding clipboard lets you effortlessly use your favorite paper everywhere

We are living in an increasingly digital world, with computers, smartphones, and the Web governing most of our lives. That hasn’t made paper extinct, however, and it has, in fact, rekindled a passion for “old-fashioned” analog ways of giving thoughts more visible form. There is an overabundance of paper products today for that purpose, many of which unsurprisingly try to lock you into a single brand or kind of notebook. Nothing, however, can be simpler than using loose paper, especially the type that you’ve grown fond of. It is, however, too easy to lose loose sheets of paper, which is why this deceptively simple yet talented clipboard also makes it easy to keep those pieces of paper together with a single push.

Designer: Hirock Design Office

Click Here to Buy Now: $44 $49 (10% off at checkout). Hurry, deal ends in 48 hours!

Clipboards have been around for more than a century, and they obviously got their name from the central piece that makes them work. That clip hasn’t changed much over the course of history, and its often bulky form makes the clipboard less than ideal for anything other than sitting on your desk or sticking to a wall. That leaves few other options for carrying sheets of paper around, and folders with binders and clips also add unnecessary bulk to what should really be a thin sheath to hold these pieces of paper.

Just like its namesake that wraps tightly around your body, the Paper Jacket leaves no space except for paper. Even the “clip” that holds the paper in place barely adds any height, and this height is filled up by the cover that also clips into place when closed. Despite that, you never risk your paper falling off or flying away, all thanks to the thin yet powerful bar of magnet that keeps everything together.

Simply pressing down the edge of the board opens the clip effortlessly to release the paper or to add more. Whether it’s just a single sheet or a maximum of 30, the strong neodymium magnets will hold the paper securely. Thirty sheets of paper might sound a bit limiting, especially if you’re in the zone, but it keeps things simple and tidy. Plus, you can easily swap out written sheets for clean ones when you need to.

The strip of magnet does more than just hold the paper down, though. It also keeps the hard cover in place, whether closed or flipped back, making sure it doesn’t get in the way of your writing. It can also hold pens or stack on top of other magnetic clipboards. It’s even strong enough to stick to a whiteboard! It almost makes the paper jacket multifunctional, leaving you with fewer excuses not to bring your favorite sheets of paper along.

Despite its thin and light appearance, the board and the cover are hard enough not only to protect your paper but also to write on them while standing up and holding the board with one hand. You can also flip the board upside-down and have it stand on its cover, quickly turning it into a reading stand. And, of course, it offers nearly limitless freedom on what paper to use, how you want to write on them, and how many to bring along with you. With this sleek and effortless clipboard, you’re just one cover flip away from putting down your thoughts for posterity and productivity.

Click Here to Buy Now: $44 $49 (10% off at checkout). Hurry, deal ends in 48 hours!

The post This minimalist snap binding clipboard lets you effortlessly use your favorite paper everywhere first appeared on Yanko Design.

Ineke Hans, Kevin Carmody and Maria Cristina Diedero named Dezeen Awards 2023 judges

Designer Ineke Hans, architect Kevin Carmody, curator Maria Cristina Diedero, woodworker Sophie Sellu and fashion designer Patrick McDowell have been announced as Dezeen Awards 2023 judges.

Dezeen Awards 2023 in partnership with Bentley Motors is open for entries. Submit your project before midnight London time on 1 June to avoid late entry fees.

Now in its sixth year, the programme has become the ultimate accolade for architects and designers everywhere, with winners selected by a prestigious panel of international judges.

Read on to learn more about five of the 90 industry professionals judging entries this year:

Ineke Hans
Ineke Hans is the founder of Dutch design office Ineke Hans Studio

Dutch designer Hans is the founder of Arnhem-based practice Ineke Hans Studio. Hans set up her firm in 1998 after graduating from the Royal College of Art in London. Her practice designs furniture, products, exhibitions and spaces, with a special focus on using recycled materials.

Projects by the Dutch design studio include a plastic chair made using recycled plastic from fishing nets, toothbrushes, office chair components and other industrial waste, and a steam-bent conference chair for the Austrian art gallery Kunsthalle Wien.

Since 2017 Hans has been a design and social context professor at the Universität der Künste in Berlin.

Kevin Carmody
Kevin Carmody is co-founder of London-based architecture practice Carmody Groarke

Architect Carmody is co-founder of London-based studio Carmody Groarke. The architectural practice has completed projects including a lower-level entrance and gallery space at a science museum in Manchester and a drum-shaped pavilion for a theatre within Hamburg’s concrete Grossmarkt wholesale market.

Current projects by the practice include an extension to the Design Museum Gent in Belgium, plus a decarbonisation masterplan and new archive for the British Library in Boston Spa.

Carmody has taught at the Royal College of Arts, Bartlett School of Architecture and Yale School of Architecture. He is currently a design critic at Harvard University‘s Graduate School of Design.

Maria Cristina Didero
Milan-based Maria Cristina Didero is a writer, editor and curator

Milan-based Didero is a design curator and author. She has written for magazines including Icon and Wallpaper. She has contributed to several publications as well as consulted for companies such as furniture brands Vitra and Fritz Hansen, automotive brand Lexus, and fashion labels Fendi, Louis Vuitton and Valextra, among others.

Didero worked on several projects with Vitra Design Museum, including the curation of SuperDesign, a project about Italian radical design in New York which comprised an exhibition, film and book published by Monacelli Press.

In 2022 she was appointed Design Miami curatorial director for the year, curating the Basel and Miami Beach fairs under the overarching theme of the golden age.

Sophie Sellu
Sophie Sellu is the founder of London-based woodwork design studio Grain and Knot

Artisan Sellu is the founder of woodworking and design studio Grain and Knot. The London-based designer uses traditional hand tools and techniques to create hand-crafted wooden kitchenware from reclaimed local timber.

The pieces are tactile, often featuring free-form shapes and organic textures, informed by the reclaimed timber they are made from.

Woodworker Sellu is also currently a judge for British broadcaster Channel 4’s programme Handmade: Britain’s Best Woodworker.

Patrick Mcdowell
British designer Patrick McDowell is the founder of fashion label Patrick Mcdowell

Designer Mcdowell is the founder and curator of eponymous London-based fashion brand Patrick McDowell.

After graduating from Central Saint Martins, British designer McDowell showcased his debut collection at London Fashion Week in 2018, where he used waste fabrics he sourced from the fashion label Burberry.

Helsinki Fashion Week founder Evelyn Mora named McDowell one of five designers that most inspired her in 2019.

Dezeen Awards 2023

Dezeen Awards celebrates the world’s best architecture, interiors and design. Now in its sixth year, it has become the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The annual awards are in partnership with Bentley Motors, as part of a wider collaboration that will see the brand work with Dezeen to support and inspire the next generation of design talent.

The post Ineke Hans, Kevin Carmody and Maria Cristina Diedero named Dezeen Awards 2023 judges appeared first on Dezeen.

MillerKnoll CEO tells employees with bonus concerns to "leave pity city"

MillerKnoll CEO Andi Owen has told employees of the US furniture company to be focused on profits and not their lack of bonuses at a company-wide meeting about motivation.

Speaking at a company-wide discussion in March that has recently gone viral, Owen appeared to dismiss employee concerns about motivation and potential lack of bonuses.

“You can visit pity city, but you can’t live there”

In response to employees asking how to stay motivated if they are not going to get a bonus, she said: “Don’t ask about ‘what we are going if we don’t get a bonus’, get the damn $26 million”.

“Spend your time and your effort thinking about the $26 million we need, and not thinking what you are going to do if you don’t get a bonus,” she continued. “Alright. Can I get some commitment for that?”

She then told employees at MillerKnoll, which was formed after Herman Miller acquired rival furniture brand Knoll in 2021, to “leave pity city” and “get it done” before ending by mouthing the word “boom”.

“I had an old boss that said to me one time: ‘You can visit pity city, but you can’t live there’,” she recalled. “So people leave pity city. Let’s get it done. Thank you. Have a great day. Boom.”

Clip taken out of context

However, according to MillerKnoll, the clip was taken out of context as it only showed the final 90 seconds of a 75-minute discussion, which a spokesperson for the company told online publication Motherboard was largely positive.

“Andi fiercely believes in this team and all we can accomplish together, and will not be dissuaded by a 90-second clip taken out of context and posted on social media,” MillerKnoll spokesperson Kris Marubio told Motherboard.

MillerKnoll’s fiscal year ends in May and final bonus decisions have not yet been announced for employees or for Owen.

Owen has headed up MillerKnoll, which owns 19 brands including HayMaharamMuuto and Design Within Reach, as president and CEO since 2018. She joined after working for The Gap for 25 years where she was global president of the retailer Banana Republic.

MillerKnoll was unable to clarify the significance of the $26 million figure. The company, which is celebrating 100 years of the Herman Miller brand name at Milan design week, has been coping with the impact of Covid-19 on the office chair market.

The main image shows the Wireframe sofa designed by Sam Hecht and Kim Colin and Rudder Table designed by Isamu Noguchi for Herman Miller. Photo courtesy of Herman Miller.

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