Star speakers, networking and bad coffee – is this all we want from a design conference? Or, asks Hannah Ellis, could smaller events such as Copenhagen’s POST point the way toward a more enriching, two-way model?
As degree show season comes to an end for another year, Hannah Ellis asks whether it’s time to rethink a concept that favours the spectacular over the thoughtful and fails to accommodate many aspects of design practice
In the UK General Election, support for progressive politics is far more visible in the creative community than pro-Conservative messages are. Yet surveys reveal that not all creative people are left-leaning. Hannah Ellis goes in search of designers on the right and examines the contradiction inherent in an industry predominantly ‘of the left’ that spends much of its time enabling an economic system that is at odds with many leftist ideals
With publishers turning away from the traditional monograph, a new form of self-written design book – part showcase, part ‘studio portrait’ – has emerged. Hannah Ellis wonders what their lasting value will be
GBH’s self-penned monograph promises a deep dive into the branding and design studio’s psyche. But while the book is good on the ‘how’ it works for its clients, it has less to say on the ‘why’ or even the ‘should we really be doing this?’ of modern design practice
