24-30 August 2020 – Design Week

Lego and Ikea partner on a playful storage solution for kids and adults

Henry Wong — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 13:56:38 +0000

Lego and Ikea have unveiled a storage solution, which hopes to offer a playful experience to children and also appeal to adults’ organisational tendencies. The Bygglek collection is a range of organisational storage boxes which have Lego studs on the top, thereby creating a canvas for play. In this way, the solutions are “just as playable as they are functional”, Lego says.

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V&A Dundee seeks to “decolonise” its galleries

Molly Long — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 13:55:18 +0000

A Dundee has launched an effort to “decolonise” Scotland’s design history by exposing its collection’s links to slavery and imperialism. Since the killing of George Floyd in late May, Black Lives Matter protests have erupted around the world. Millions have turned out to show support in the fight against police brutality and structural racism, and the aftereffects have prompted many cultural…

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LG reveals battery-powered face mask with built-in air purifier

Henry Wong — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 12:27:58 +0000

LG has revealed a battery-powered face mask with a built-in air purifier, which seeks to resolve issues of “inconsistent quality” and make “breathing effortless”. The PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier has two H13 HEPA filters, the same kind that are used in the brand’s home purifying products. HEPA filters are also used in aircraft to clean the air inside cabins. The mask’s two fans are…

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“It stops the one-way flow of corporate bullshit”: graphic artist Bill Posters on subvertising

Henry Wong — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 15:22:12 +0000

Bill Posters wants to teach people how to hack the streets. The graphic artist, activist and researcher (real name Barney Francis) has written an “illicit, tactical guide to creating art in public”. The Street Art Manual is an 11-step guide to street art covering the basics of graffiti and stencil work as well as providing an in-depth look at social media-grabbing work like urban murals.

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Osaka Expo 2025 unveils “googly eyed” logo

Molly Long — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 14:59:12 +0000

The logo for the Osaka World Expo has been revealed, and its design has proved somewhat divisive for confused onlookers. Intended to showcase the “brilliance of life”, the mark will now be used across communications and branding for the event which is scheduled to run for six months in 2025. This will be the second time the Japanese city has held a World Expo, the first time being back in 1970.

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Designing better public health awareness through video games

Molly Long — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 14:22:37 +0000

The frontline of the fight against a global pandemic isn’t necessarily where you’d expect to find teams of dedicated games designers. But as the coronavirus crisis proves, video games can be a crucial tool in helping doctors and the general public deal with public health matters. The relationship between video games and medicine is a developing one. Medically accurate simulations and games have…

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“Design is everywhere here”: a Nigerian design guide

Henry Wong — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 15:43:15 +0000

When Damilola Marcus and Seyi Olusanya started Lagos-based Dá Design Studio in 2015, they say there was a lack of “authenticity in the way brands were presented”. At the time, brands were not as conscious of their design choices or catering to international audiences, though Olunsanya singles out Paystack as an exception. The studio created the branding for the payment app when it started…

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Kano launches new modular PC for schools

Molly Long — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 10:11:28 +0000

Computing and software design company Kano has launched a new personal laptop which aims to rethink how computers are used in the classroom. Traditional laptops brought into a school setting are rarely designed to perform to the needs of teachers and children, according to Kano. Components of computers are usually “locked away”: if one element breaks (and the most common offenders are the…

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Pentagram designs “edgier” visual identity for Rolls-Royce

Henry Wong — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 08:00:49 +0000

Pentagram partner Marina Willer has created the new identity for Rolls-Royce which seeks to modernise the marque and appeal to a more diverse audience. The design work includes a new wordmark, typeface, as well as a refined version of the brand’s Spirit of Ecstasy symbol. The new identity has been prompted by a changing demographic. There are now calls for an “edgier…

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“Design creates value”: Innovate UK launches programme for design in innovation

Molly Long — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 13:38:45 +0000

Innovate UK, the country’s innovation agency, has launched a new strategy to support and encourage design investment. In the last five years, programmes of investment and support for innovative companies and products has produced “impressive results”, according to Innovate UK executive chair Dr Ian Campbell. But despite these successes, he says, there remains a vast amount of untapped potential…

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