Designer Things

I used to think Aboriginal dot paintings were just decoration. Turns out, they’re one of the most sophisticated visual languages ever developed

I used to think pattern was just about repetition—like, you see the same thing twice and boom, pattern. Turns out the brain needs more than that.

I used to think regenerative design was just fancy composting with better PR. Turns out—and this took me embarrassingly long to grasp—the philosophy behind

The first time I watched Blade Runner 2049, I couldn’t stop thinking about how Roger Deakins shot that orange wasteland scene—not because it was

I used to think airline alliances were just marketing fluff—loyalty programs dressed up in cosmic metaphors. Then I spent three months staring at Star

I used to think ancient textiles were just pretty patterns locked behind museum glass. Then I spent three weeks at a weaving workshop in upstate New York

I used to think Chinese brush painting was just about making pretty landscapes with bamboo. Turns out, the principles that governed those ancient scrolls—the

I used to think medication packaging was just about putting pills in a box. Then I spent an afternoon in a pharmacy aisle staring at a wall of cold medicine

I used to think tattoos were just about rebellion—you know, sailors and bikers and teenagers sneaking into sketchy parlors. Turns out, humans have been

I used to think geometric patterns were just geometric patterns. Then I spent three weeks in a design studio in Vancouver watching a Haida artist named