Art & Design Stories

 

Essays, articles and the most interesting stories from the world of art and design 


The Shape of Things to Come

How an industrial designer became Apple’s greatest product: There were times, during the past two decades, when Sir Jonathan Ive considered leaving Apple, but he stayed, becoming an intimate friend of Steve Jobs and establishing the build and the finish of the iMac, the MacBook, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. | by Ian Parker (The New Yorker)

The Evolutionary Reason Why We're So Obsessed with Emoji

Studies suggest we are now more comfortable expressing ourselves with emoji than words. But the power of visual communication has always been vital to our survival. | by Tom Vanderbilt (Wired) 

What It Is Like to Like

Art and taste in the age of the Internet. | By Louis Menand (The New Yorker)

An Introduction to Graphic Design

Broadly defined, graphic designers (sometimes referred to as “communication designers”) are the visual ambassadors of ideas: their role is to translate, communicate — and occasionally even agitate — by rendering thinking as form, process and experience | By William Drenttel and Jessica Helfand (Design Observer)

The Art of the Con 

A litany of recent novels skewers the art world not for its hypocrisy, venality, or elitism, but for its disturbing vacuousness... | by Rachel Wetzler (Art in America)

On Taste 

How do we know whether art is any good? | by Thomas Kaminski (Claremont Review of Books) 

Can Freudian Art Survive in an Age Without Freud?

A Louise Bourgeois show at the Jewish Museum and a new biography of Lucian Freud may provide the answer | by Frances Brent (Tablet)


Life in the Stacks: A Love Letter to Browsing

Algorithms are integral to how we find and consume art. But old-fashioned browsing still has its benefits | by Jason Guriel (The Walrus)


The Secret Afterlives of Medieval Widows

Widows in the Middle Ages weren’t always the penniless, powerless figures we’ve made them out to be—they’re the reason why Britain has its beautiful monuments and churches | by Jessica Barker (Prospect)

Creativity
Creativity 101: Adapted from an image from The Real Art of Protest

 

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