Features on design and ideas

Articles on design and philosophy, writing, thinking, ideas and the world.

Design and maximalism: the anti-Minimalist movement

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By Penny Craswell

There is no doubt that the world of architecture and interiors has been under the calming, ordered influence of modernism and minimalism for a long time. Especially in Australia, the majority of designers prefer clean lines, simple colour palettes and form follows function – there’s even a magazine about it. But if you sometimes like breaking rules and shaking things up a bit, Maximalism may give you the licence to follow your patterned dreams.

Maximalism is a direct response to Minimalism – it layers bold pattern and colour on top of each other. Fabulously expressive, Maximalist interiors and designs offer the designer to get really creative – to explore play and to indulge in an orgy of extremes.

Drake Commissary in Toronto, mural by artist Alex McLeod. Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid

The Drake Commissary in Toronto includes the work of a number of artists in an evolving exhibition called “Fast Forward”. Most spectacular is a huge mural by artist Alex McLeod called Ancient Hills, which spans 10+ metres and depicts an incredible fantasy landscape created using 3D modelling tools. Other works include textile works, sculptural pieces and video art.

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Review: The Doss House Bar

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By Penny Craswell

There’s nothing quite like a whiskey bar – it conjures images of smoky rooms, timber-lined walls, leather furniture, and of course, damn fine whiskey. Sydney’s The Doss House fits this criteria (apart from the smoky air, which is probably best) and adds some more.

A fireplace at a whiskey bar – The Doss House, designed by Buck & Simple. Photo: Tom Ferguson

Design studio Buck and Simple is responsible for the interiors, which reference the building’s past as an opium den, gambling house, bootmaker and boarding house dating back to the 1840s in the historic precinct of The Rocks. Read more →

Review: The Collectionist Hotel

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By Penny Craswell

Checking into this hotel is a unique experience. Each room features a different design, with distinctive colours, textures, objects and even layouts, creating and evoking various moods – and you get to choose which one to stay in. Are you feeling playful today or quiet? Artistic or minimalist? Do you want to keep company with an expressionist artwork or would you rather luxuriate in a fake fur bed spread? Do you want to be enveloped by a sexy all-black room or transported to Africa?

Rita Velour room, designed by Amber Road, Collectionist Hotel, Sydney. Photo: Terence Chin

The Collectionist Hotel in Camperdown, Sydney, is the brainchild of entrepreneurs Daniel Symonds and Toby Raphael. Symonds was inspired by a car hire process in the US that allowed him to inspect the various vehicles for hire first. At The Collectionist, this opportunity to select your own room yourself puts the guest in the driver’s seat (so to speak).

The earlier you check in, the more options there are, with open doors to rooms that are available and hangers on the door indicating the different categories you can choose from (determined by price). When you select your room, you let your friendly concierge know, and are welcome to enjoy a free drink from the bar on the ground floor – a small nook with distinctive stone walls and floors and a neon sign that says “I hope this looks good online”. Read more →

Review: Studio Drift’s Coded Nature exhibition

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Guest contributor and European correspondent Lara Chapman visits ‘Coded Nature’ by Studio Drift at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

The audience is sporadically positioned around the gallery, hypnotised by the kinetic sculptures performing their entrancing, electrical dance. The 10 flower-like silk structures drop from the ceiling, opening their textile bodies , then retract suddenly upwards, closing. They pause. Sometimes they move separately, at other times together. They are irregular in their speed and pauses, seemingly autonomous. In an indefinite interval, in which all the structures are motionless, I lean towards my friend and whisper, “Wow! It is so satisfying to watch”. Looking around the room I know that this feeling is unanimous. Each person is silently engrossed. “You’ve said that in every room!” my friend replies.

Shylight Zaalopname, Studio Drift: Coded Nature, 2018, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Collection Studio Drift, Amsterdam. Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij The Design Writer
Shylight Zaalopname, Studio Drift: Coded Nature, 2018, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Collection Studio Drift, Amsterdam. Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij

Why is all the work of Studio Drift so satisfying? It could be the level of detail and delicateness in every piece. The small surprises. The fine craftsmanship. But overall, I think it is the sense of slowness and calm that strikingly contrasts our high speed world that makes the exhibition so enjoyable. Read more →

Object Stories: Jolly light by Kate Stokes

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By Penny Craswell

The new Jolly light by Melbourne designer Kate Stokes is all about round, joyous geometries. Translucent hand-blown glass forms a bold half sphere, while its solid metal shade creates a more introverted profile in matte black, eucalyptus, burgundy or polished brass. In the wall light variety, this shape hugs the wall, whereas in the pendant variety, it sits at a jaunty angle from straight metal rods.

Jolly light by Kate Stokes was launched at ICFF in New York alongside SIA chair by Tom Fereday. Photo: Mike Baker

 

Launched at the recent International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York, the light is produced by Australian design brand NAU, which also launched the SIA chair by Tom Fereday at the same event, presenting an Australian design showcase to the world stage.  Read more →

Review: Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-18

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Guest contributor and European correspondent Lara Chapman visits the ‘Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-18’ exhibition at the Design Museum London.

A visual cacophony of objects including memes, posters, videos, balloons and even a fortune-telling machine come together in a narrative of power and protest at this exhibition. The eclectic collection of pieces traces the turbulent political climate of the past decade and the graphic milestones that have shaped, defined and resisted events in this period. The exhibition also charts recent technological developments and their effect on the production and dissemination of media. Graphic design is presented as a tool that can be harnessed by both the most powerful corporations and the most marginalised groups of society.

Women’s march Washington DC, January 2017. Part of Hope to Nope exhibition at Design Museum London. Images: Chris Wiliams Zoeica

The title of the exhibition references the iconic ‘Hope’ poster designed by Shepard Fairey for Obama’s 2008 election campaign and various appropriations of this, including the viral ‘Nope’ memes of Trump. Between these two moments of American politics, the world has been shaken by a series of charged situations including the Occupy Movement, The Arab Spring, refugee crisis’, LGBT rights, and climate change, which are all represented in the show. Read more →

Garden Wall installation + NGV Triennial

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By Penny Craswell

Visiting the National Gallery of Victoria during Melbourne Design Week and the NGV Triennial of Art and Design last month, I was struck by the investment in design, architecture and art that is currently ongoing at the NGV, and the NGV Architecture Commission, now in its third year, is a case in point.

“Garden Wall” by Retallack Thompson and Other Architects, NGV Architecture Commission. Photo: John Gollings

Designed by Retallack Thompson and Other Architects, this year’s installation / architectural insertion is called “Garden Wall” and features a simple white fence that runs 250 metres and divides the garden into a series of “rooms” – each rectangular and permeable due to the perpendicular, semi-transparent character of its mesh walls. Read more →

Review: Little Bonny’s chicken shop

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By Penny Craswell

A French-style interior in a chicken shop and cafe in Sydney uses layered geometries to create an inviting space for diners. Interior design studio Luchetti Krelle were appointed to bring a fresh and modern take on the classic Australian chicken shop in this suburban shopping mall in Menai in Sydney’s South.

Little Bonny's chicken shop by Luchetti Krelle. Chairs by Design by Them. Read more on The Design Writer
Little Bonny’s chicken shop by Luchetti Krelle. Chairs by Design by Them. Photo: Anson Smart

Their approach makes use of a variety of textures and colours layered to create a sense of elegance that is also calm and inviting. Concrete, terrazzo, timber and copper all feature in this interior, with bespoke lighting, joinery and upholstery adding to the character of the space. A white backdrop is given depth thanks to pale pink, navy blue, duck egg green and warm mustard yellow. Read more →

The history of violet: Artificial Regality by Naama Agassi

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By Penny Craswell

The history of the colour purple has led to its high value prior to synthetic production, meaning it has had long associations with royalty, the church and power. This is the subject of designer Naama Agassi’s latest colour research, called Artificial Regality.

Imperial Purple by Naama Agassi. Photo: Talia Rosin

According to Agassi: “In the past, the purple was a coveted colour used to denote wealth and power. This is because until it became artificially manufactured, its production was a lengthy and laborious task. It took as many as 250,000 snails to yield just one ounce of usable dye. As always in design, supply and demand generate desire and prestige. Read more →

Top 10: Ethical gift guide

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By Nicky Lobo

This year’s Ethical gift guide, which once again highlights the work of designers whose work is sustainable, socially inclusive, charitable or otherwise ethical, has been put together with the help of Nicky Lobo and Jess Noble from The Good Outfit, an ethical fashion news source “without all the beige”. Thank you Nicky and Jess for this stellar list of items, all of which are available now to help you make your Christmas shopping an all-good affair.

Mithila bag. Image: Ashira and Kin


1. If your present wrapping usually makes people cry on Christmas Day, Ashira and Kin has a solution that will put you in a new light. This brand-new Sydney-based collective aims to ‘explore diversity; educate and empower makers and consumers; and encourage intercultural exchange’ by bringing products from artisans, makers and designers across Nepal and The Philippines to Australia. These LOK-TA reusable gift bags and wine bags are crafted in ethically grown and sourced handmade LOK-TA paper made from the local Nepalese Daphne plant. Adding panache to the paper, original artworks preserve and celebrate painting traditions that have been passed down through generations of women in the Mithila regions. Read more →