Design Observer
@designobserver.com
The best conversations in design — expert-led, multidisciplinary, and for the curious mind. Essays, podcasts, and events that inspire and connect. https://designobserver.com/
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Design Observer
@designobserver.com
· Sep 12
Authoritarian by design - DesignObserver
The "America by Design" initiative, issued by the Trump administration, pushes a harmful narrative with questionable visuals
designobserver.com
When bad design isn’t a mistake, it’s the strategy. The “America by Design” initiative isn’t just a messy website. It redefines design itself, away from accessibility and toward exclusion, erasure, and control. Latest essay by @emcg.bsky.social
What happens when a nation responds to school shootings not with policy, but with products? In an exclusive interview, the filmmakers behind HBO’s Thoughts & Prayers discuss the strange, chilling world of America’s active-shooter preparedness industry.
‘Thoughts & Prayers’ & bulletproof desks: Jessica Dimmock and Zackary Canepari on filming the active shooter preparedness industry - DesignObserver
HBO’s new documentary, helmed by two lauded photographers-turned-parents, excavates the $3B market born from America’s school shooting problem.
designobserver.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:06 PM
What happens when a nation responds to school shootings not with policy, but with products? In an exclusive interview, the filmmakers behind HBO’s Thoughts & Prayers discuss the strange, chilling world of America’s active-shooter preparedness industry.
Hello, Sans Flex, Google’s new open-source font. It was released under the SIL Open Font License, and designed by type designer and Font Bureau co-founder David Berlow. #Observed
SIL Open Font License Official Text
The website of the SIL Open Font License
openfontlicense.org
December 1, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Hello, Sans Flex, Google’s new open-source font. It was released under the SIL Open Font License, and designed by type designer and Font Bureau co-founder David Berlow. #Observed
A mostly optimistic indie game end-of-year wrap-up: “In the spirit of the season, one thing I’m thankful for is indie studios being able to make the games they want despite external pressures,” says Engadget’s Kris Holt. #Observed
AI horror, a dinosaur platformer and other new indie games worth checking out
Plus, an early version of a co-op life sim set on Jupiter.
www.engadget.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:23 PM
A mostly optimistic indie game end-of-year wrap-up: “In the spirit of the season, one thing I’m thankful for is indie studios being able to make the games they want despite external pressures,” says Engadget’s Kris Holt. #Observed
Chatbots reveal AI’s most exciting application to date: “AI helps drive record $11.8 billion in Black Friday online spending.” #Observed
AI helps drive record $11.8 billion in Black Friday online spending
Although U.S. consumers spent more this Black Friday compared to last year, price increases hampered online demand, according to Salesforce.
www.reuters.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Chatbots reveal AI’s most exciting application to date: “AI helps drive record $11.8 billion in Black Friday online spending.” #Observed
Looking for inspiration? Give the gift of insight. Discover the best books for designing a better life. Explore our bookshop today!
Editor Picks: The best books for designing a better life
From vision to voice.
bookshop.org
November 25, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Looking for inspiration? Give the gift of insight. Discover the best books for designing a better life. Explore our bookshop today!
Meet OpenAI’s other CEO. Fidji Simo, the former CEO of Instacart, manages everything else that Sam Altman doesn’t…which turns out to be quite a bit. #Observed
OpenAI's Fidji Simo Plans to Make ChatGPT Way More Useful—and Have You Pay For It
As OpenAI expands in every direction, the new CEO of Applications is on a mission to make ChatGPT indispensable and lucrative.
www.wired.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Meet OpenAI’s other CEO. Fidji Simo, the former CEO of Instacart, manages everything else that Sam Altman doesn’t…which turns out to be quite a bit. #Observed
I left my font in San Francisco. A new font inspired by an old San Francisco municipal streetcar was discovered and resurrected by visiting Australian designer Emily Sneddon who saw “poetic beauty” on the recently retired Breda trains. Meet: Frans Sans. #Observed
San Francisco has a new font. It was inspired by an old Muni streetcar
A San Francisco designer fell in love with the typeface on an old Muni streetcar. She tracked down the man who created it to build the city’s newest font.
www.sfchronicle.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:24 PM
I left my font in San Francisco. A new font inspired by an old San Francisco municipal streetcar was discovered and resurrected by visiting Australian designer Emily Sneddon who saw “poetic beauty” on the recently retired Breda trains. Meet: Frans Sans. #Observed
A wicked good start. Wicked: For Good opened to $150M domestic, and $226M around the world, besting Wicked‘s $112.5M domestic, and $164M global start. #Observed
‘Wicked: For Good’ – All The Box Office Records Broken
A list of all the box office records that 'Wicked: For Good' broke.
deadline.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:22 PM
A wicked good start. Wicked: For Good opened to $150M domestic, and $226M around the world, besting Wicked‘s $112.5M domestic, and $164M global start. #Observed
Aesthetically specific film director Wes Anderson is opening an exhibition at the Design Museum in London spanning his 30-year career. His films require an extraordinary amount of objects, paintings, puppets, and singular artifacts found nowhere else. #Observed
Wes Anderson: This exhibition is like rediscovering pieces of my past
From pink hotels to handmade puppets, the director’s films have an aesthetic like no other. Shelley Rubenstein speaks to Anderson ahead of a blockbuster show in London
www.thetimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Aesthetically specific film director Wes Anderson is opening an exhibition at the Design Museum in London spanning his 30-year career. His films require an extraordinary amount of objects, paintings, puppets, and singular artifacts found nowhere else. #Observed
Goodbye “Glass House.” Ford has opened its new global HQ in Dearborn, designed by Snøhetta. The 2.1M sq ft building brings engineering, design, and fabrication together under one roof, built for collaboration. Come for the natural light, stay for the rotisserie chickens. #Observed
Ford gets a huge new headquarters for an ambitious new era
Take a look inside the design of Ford's new global headquarters building, and how it could change the way the company works.
www.fastcompany.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Goodbye “Glass House.” Ford has opened its new global HQ in Dearborn, designed by Snøhetta. The 2.1M sq ft building brings engineering, design, and fabrication together under one roof, built for collaboration. Come for the natural light, stay for the rotisserie chickens. #Observed
Adobe is expanding its design-tool ecosystem with agentic AI, positioning itself as more than a tool maker. Its new AI systems help brands and design teams, from Kate Spade to Coca-Cola and Barbie, manage creative supply chains more efficiently. #Observed
From Barbie to Coach: Adobe is reinventing design with AI
Adobe’s agentic AI tools are turbocharging brand creativity, leading to fast, collaborative, and deeply human campaigns.
www.fastcompany.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Adobe is expanding its design-tool ecosystem with agentic AI, positioning itself as more than a tool maker. Its new AI systems help brands and design teams, from Kate Spade to Coca-Cola and Barbie, manage creative supply chains more efficiently. #Observed
In her first essay for Design Observer, Kim Devall argues that as the industry leans into automation, our real advantage is the human touch, craft, struggle, and the years it takes to build true taste.
The most disruptive thing a brand can do is be human - DesignObserver
Creative director Kim Devall argues that in an era of automation, human craft, taste, and imperfection remain a brand’s most disruptive advantage.
designobserver.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:01 AM
In her first essay for Design Observer, Kim Devall argues that as the industry leans into automation, our real advantage is the human touch, craft, struggle, and the years it takes to build true taste.
The Met Gala gets a party room. The Costume Institute’s annual show gets a permanent home off the Met’s Grand Hall, thanks to Anna Wintour’s efforts to get “out of the basement.” #Observed
With New Condé Nast Galleries, the Met Museum Gets Fashion Forward
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:06 PM
The Met Gala gets a party room. The Costume Institute’s annual show gets a permanent home off the Met’s Grand Hall, thanks to Anna Wintour’s efforts to get “out of the basement.” #Observed
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at Solæ, the latest typeface from Paris-based graphic designer and art director Gwennina Moigne. #Observed
Curves plot planetary orbits and ligatures trace shooting stars in Gwennina Moigne’s astrological typeface
To launch the Solæ letterset with Blaze Type, this designer invited twelve different studios and designers to craft a poster that shows off the font in all its forms.
www.itsnicethat.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:05 PM
We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at Solæ, the latest typeface from Paris-based graphic designer and art director Gwennina Moigne. #Observed
A former Japanese toy designer has created a transformer-inspired scooter. The all-electric Icoma Tatamel Bike folds down to the size of a rolling carry-on, and based on the photos, also works as a fashion accessory. #Observed www.core77.com/posts/139327...
November 17, 2025 at 4:03 PM
A former Japanese toy designer has created a transformer-inspired scooter. The all-electric Icoma Tatamel Bike folds down to the size of a rolling carry-on, and based on the photos, also works as a fashion accessory. #Observed www.core77.com/posts/139327...
Behind the $90 billion souvenir industry are artisans whose work carries lineage, labor, and economic survival. Design Observer examines how so-called kitsch objects function as cultural endurance across shifting markets.
The afterlife of souvenirs: what survives between culture and commerce? - DesignObserver
From carved masks to clay birds, the global souvenir trade tells a deeper story of adaptation, resilience, and cultural survival.
designobserver.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Behind the $90 billion souvenir industry are artisans whose work carries lineage, labor, and economic survival. Design Observer examines how so-called kitsch objects function as cultural endurance across shifting markets.
In his latest essay for Design Observer, Lee Moreau draws a parallel between The Wizard of Oz and today’s AI era, exploring how power, isolation, and illusion shape our creative and moral choices as designers.
The Wizards of AI are sad and lonely men - DesignObserver
Lee Moreau on AI, the loneliness of power, the danger of wizards, and the designer’s role in keeping hope alive.
designobserver.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:39 PM
In his latest essay for Design Observer, Lee Moreau draws a parallel between The Wizard of Oz and today’s AI era, exploring how power, isolation, and illusion shape our creative and moral choices as designers.
Netflix House Philadelphia opens this week, making its fandom physical with a first-of-its-kind venue. Inside, you’ll find a full-service restaurant (Netflix Bites), themed photo-ops, plus VR adventures tied to shows like Squid Game and Stranger Things. #Observed
Netflix House Philadelphia - Netflix House
Netflix House is your chance to step into Netflix. Visit our Philadelphia location to explore, taste, and shop your favorite shows and movies in real life.
www.netflix.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Netflix House Philadelphia opens this week, making its fandom physical with a first-of-its-kind venue. Inside, you’ll find a full-service restaurant (Netflix Bites), themed photo-ops, plus VR adventures tied to shows like Squid Game and Stranger Things. #Observed
Costume designer Kate Hawley unpacks the visual clues that bring Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to life. “I’ve done three films now with Guillermo, but every time we are exploring the same language in a very different way,” she says. #Observed
How “Frankenstein” Costume Designer Kate Hawley on Dressing Men, Monsters, & Their Mothers
Costume designer Kate Hawley drew on Art Nouveau influences, Tiffany archives, and David Bowie's Thin White Duke era .
www.motionpictures.org
November 11, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Costume designer Kate Hawley unpacks the visual clues that bring Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to life. “I’ve done three films now with Guillermo, but every time we are exploring the same language in a very different way,” she says. #Observed
Design is a practice of reckoning with the past as much as it is of designing for the future.” In the season finale of DBBD, Lee Moreau joins @emcg.bsky.social to talk about rebuilding hope in uncertain times.
The Past, Present and Future of Design with Lee Moreau, DB|BD Season 12 Finale - DesignObserver
Designer and educator Lee Moreau joins Ellen McGirt on the season finale of The Design of Business to reflect on the past, present, and future of design — and how uncertainty can be a catalyst for cre...
designobserver.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Design is a practice of reckoning with the past as much as it is of designing for the future.” In the season finale of DBBD, Lee Moreau joins @emcg.bsky.social to talk about rebuilding hope in uncertain times.
Production designer Grace Yun on building fear, memory, and longing: from the unsettling domestic spaces of Hereditary to the quiet hauntings of Past Lives. Read the full conversation w @ahaut.bsky.social on Design Observer.
How production designer Grace Yun turned domestic spaces into horror in 'Hereditary' and heartache in 'Past Lives' - DesignObserver
Production designer Grace Yun discusses her work on Hereditary and Past Lives, revealing how she transforms everyday spaces into emotional landscapes that embody grief, memory, and the unseen forces t...
designobserver.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Production designer Grace Yun on building fear, memory, and longing: from the unsettling domestic spaces of Hereditary to the quiet hauntings of Past Lives. Read the full conversation w @ahaut.bsky.social on Design Observer.
The dapper “fedora man” snapped by photogs at the scene of the Louvre heist turned out to be a 15-year-old who is not affiliated with law enforcement, and has been dressing like that for a while. 🕵️♂️ #Observed
Louvre ‘fedora man’ revealed: Meet the stylish teen dresser snapped at scene of heist | CNN
As all eyes turned to the Louvre after the shocking theft of the French crown jewels, one especially dapper figure stood out. Now identified as a French teenager, he’s spoken to CNN about his style.
www.cnn.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:48 PM
The dapper “fedora man” snapped by photogs at the scene of the Louvre heist turned out to be a 15-year-old who is not affiliated with law enforcement, and has been dressing like that for a while. 🕵️♂️ #Observed
The Studio Museum in Harlem is back after an eight-year renovation. The new seven-story institution reopens to the public on November 15. “This building says to the world, Harlem matters. Black art matters. Black institutions matter…" #Observed
adjaye-designed studio museum in harlem opens as new home for black art and culture
www.designboom.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:44 PM
The Studio Museum in Harlem is back after an eight-year renovation. The new seven-story institution reopens to the public on November 15. “This building says to the world, Harlem matters. Black art matters. Black institutions matter…" #Observed
The moka pot has been redesigned, this time for energy efficiency. Thoughts? #Observed
turbo moka's helical spiral design reinvents the iconic coffee pot for energy efficiency
www.designboom.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:42 PM
The moka pot has been redesigned, this time for energy efficiency. Thoughts? #Observed
From 90s horrorcore to Lil Nas X’s hellish visuals, rap has long used horror and occult imagery to explore trauma, challenge norms, and shock audiences. John Morrison traces the genre’s dark visual history in his new Design Observer essay.
‘6 Feet Deep:’ the hidden history of horror and occult imagery in rap music - DesignObserver
From the satanic imagery of Memphis mixtapes in the 90s to the devilish aesthetic of contemporary acts like Doja Cat and Lil Nas X, rap artists have long used horror iconography to expose society’s se...
designobserver.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:25 PM
From 90s horrorcore to Lil Nas X’s hellish visuals, rap has long used horror and occult imagery to explore trauma, challenge norms, and shock audiences. John Morrison traces the genre’s dark visual history in his new Design Observer essay.