10. Northern California’s eco-minded 321 House by Gould Evans, featured at Design Milk, would be the ideal Labor Day weekend getaway. (Enjoy your day off…)
The technology that drives how we live and work today offers, among other things, mobility and flexibility. At Apartment Therapy Tech, writer Carolyn Purnell explores both with a look at where she and her boyfriend — both of whom work from home — are at their most productive during the work day. Carolyn and her laptop generally gravitate toward the couch, eschewing a conventional desk; her boyfriend maintains a traditional workspace setup. And while we recommend you always keep ergonomics in mind (something we specialize in), like Carolyn, we want to know: Do the devices you use to get work done encourage you to move around your workspace, away from a desk? Where are you most productive? Check out Carolyn’s post here, then tell us your thoughts in the comments section below. Read more
One by Four is a design studio and collaborative comprised of four friends: Brian Haines, Alejandra Abad, Natasha Maria Fernandez-Fountain, and Bruno Torquato. The partners met in high school and wanted to create a collective for their creative projects. Bouncing between Brooklyn and Ft. Lauderdale, One by Four serves as a design hub for sharing everything from fonts and custom Tumblr themes to monthly mixtapes — making this studio the perfect candidate for this week’s Playlist. Take a listen.
Since the days of George Nelson, graphic design has been a vital part of the Herman Miller culture — which is why we’re delighted that Brooklyn designer and illustrator Mike Perry‘s one-of-a-kind hand-painted Eames Molded Plastic Chair helps welcome visitors just near the entrance of Graphic Design—Now in Production, an exhibition co-organized by Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, and the Walker Art Center. Currently on display at New York City’s Governors Island, the show explores the state of graphic design today, looking at genres ranging from books, newspapers, and magazines, to branding, film and television, and posters (a topic near and dear to our hearts this summer). If you’re in the area, the show is on for one more week, and admission is free. Get details here, and in the meantime, check out a few photos from our recent visit. Read more
Since the days of DaVinci, great design has poured from the rich and artistic culture of Italy. From iconic to innovative, here are six ways to Italian design.
With an affinity for playing and experimenting with raw materials, designer and product developer Martha Alvarez specializes in ceramics, but that’s hardly all. From clay to computer, her work rolls between the physical and the digital — in her inherited Mirra Chair no less (“I love it … the Mirra is perfect for this,” she says) — where Martha also does stage design, product design, and photography. This eclectic range of creativity yields an equally eclectic and enjoyable set of songs for this week’s Playlist.
David Bridges, president and CEO of thelab, a media arts company headquartered in New York City, recently gave us a tour of his company’s space in the Terminal Warehouse Company Central Stores Building, formerly a railroad freight terminal and the location of the infamous Tunnel nightclub (the curved structure in its reception area, above, pays homage to the building’s history). Here, David talks about the advantages of an open, collaborative workspace and gives us a look at thelab’s extensive collection of Herman Miller pieces, both vintage and new. While the photos barely do the large office justice (stay tuned for a video tour coming soon), they do give a glimpse at what it takes to be a thoroughly modern workspace. Read more
