From Twitter’s rebrand to X to the collaborative process of designing the UK’s first gallery of South Asian culture, here are our top long reads for 2023.
Brand Story was the most popular long-form article at Design Week in 2023, but not because of its thoughtful strategy or perfectly executed design details, but rather because Twitter rebranded itself to X overnight. It was because of the complete lack of it when I did that. When it launched with a ton of tweets from Elon Musk and a “good enough” logo, designers were quick to comment on its design and its flawed implementation.
To take the story further, we took a deep dive into Musk’s ongoing relationship with the 24-year-old.th Using the letters of the alphabet, we recalled the history of Twitter Birds and asked leading designers for their thoughts on brands, or “anti-brands” as some have called them.
Unsurprisingly, several AI-focused articles made it into the top 20, but only one made it into the top 10. This is an opinion article by Tom Gilbert, Executive Director of Experience Design at Design Bridge.
Discussing the idea of an “AI revolution,” Gilbert shared his thoughts on what design consulting firms will look like in the near future, given rapid advances in AI in just a few more years. He draws parallels with previous tools, from CAD to music streaming, and considers how traditional and new methods can work together. This suggests that for AI to be truly useful, designers need to create strategies themselves, rather than leaving the thinking to his AI.
The world’s most popular sports design story is sure to be Design Week’s most read article. And this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup was no exception.
As the largest tournament in history, with 32 teams and more investment than ever before, the design work was equally ambitious.
We started by looking at the overall branding, designed by studios Public Address and Works Collective. The design is inspired by the indigenous history of the host country and features local artists and designers. The distinctive logo, a colorfully patterned square, represented “the world’s best people coming together.” ” and was also translated into a framing device for broadcast graphics.
We delve into competitive football design and its integrated technology, the shirt designs of the participating teams, and even off-pitch fashion from Martine Rose and Prada.
Design Week spoke to set designer Julio Jimede and lighting designer Tim Routledge to get a complete behind-the-scenes look at the design of the ‘spectacle’ of the Eurovision Song Contest final.
It has been an unusual year for the tournament, with Liverpool hosting the tournament as Britain’s representative instead of Ukraine due to the ongoing war. Working on the theme of “unifying through music,” Himede describes the project as a “cultural collaboration” that shaped everything from design choices to staff.
Designers faced the challenge of keeping audiences entertained during a four-hour continuous performance using the UK’s largest lighting installation, and how to manage rapid changes between acts, with each stage changing in just 50 seconds. We talked about it.
Even in 2023, the design industry will still be unable to correct the gender imbalance and gender pay gap, even though there will be more women than men studying design in the first place.
Understandably, Design Week readers were eager to learn more about what needs to be done, not just for women designers, but for the health of our industry and beyond.
We spoke to Marina Willer of Pentagram, Cecilia Righini of Studio Lutarica, and Nat Maher, founder of Kerning the Gap, to discuss the changing demands of Gen Z from supporting new parents. up to 2020, who shared their experiences and ideas on how the industry can solve inequality issues. “From below.”
In the run-up to Neurodiversity Celebration Week, we spoke to designers who identify as neurodiverse and studio leaders who believe neurodiversity in their teams is an advantage.
There was a lot to be said about what designers can achieve with inclusive working environments and practices. Studio Up North’s Gabi Duxbury shares how he works best in the “little” things of controlling the music in the studio, and Shoot His Leaf’s He Johnson talks about how Duxbury works best in the “little” things of controlling the music in the studio. Why dyslexia shouldn’t get in the way of visual storytelling.
This topic is of interest to Design Week readers, as ADHD and autism diagnoses are on the rise, but are still relatively misunderstood by many, and one of the studios we spoke to won new clients. It also helped.
News of job cuts at the School of Design at the Royal College of Art, one of the world’s most influential design schools and the alma mater of many Design Week readers, was one of the most read stories this year.
Anonymous sources across the Faculty of Design have voiced concern and anger at the wave of job cuts, with mainly part-time roles – “vital” practitioner-lecturer roles allowing staff to remain engaged in practice. focused on. teaching.
We report on an open letter warning of the loss of professional roles, which the authors describe as “a core principle of art and design education,” and from representatives of both the RCA leadership team and university RCA branches. provided further background. and the University Union (UCU).
One of this year’s most popular features focuses on a truly collaborative project to deliver the UK’s first permanent gallery dedicated to South Asian culture, which opened as part of a major transformation at Manchester Museum. I did.
This gallery was co-curated by 30 members of the South Asia Gallery Collective. All members are from the South Asian diaspora with ties to Manchester. Co-designed by her Manijeh Verghese team of Unscene Architecture, Studio C102, Mobile Studio Architects, Sthuthi Ramesh, aDi, Arup and Leslie Clark.
We spoke to museum curators, collaborative members, and design teams to discuss the challenges and rewards of working together, and how a unified design captures the geographic and cultural scope of South Asia and its diaspora. I understand what it looks like.
Banner image: South Asia Gallery Collective, photography: Maryam Wahid