Designer Things

I used to think grid systems were just for architects and Swiss designers who wore black turtlenecks. Turns out, grids are basically everywhere—and not

I used to think Persian miniatures were just pretty museum pieces—delicate, precious things locked behind glass. Then I started noticing them everywhere

The chunky pixels started showing up everywhere around 2018, maybe earlier. I used to think nostalgia cycles moved predictably—twenty years, give or take

Minimalism in visual communication isn’t really about having less—it’s about making what remains impossible to ignore. I used to think minimalist

I used to think brutalism was just about ugly concrete buildings that nobody wanted to look at. Turns out, the aesthetic principles that made brutalist

I used to think the Pre-Raphaelites were just about medieval maidens and flowers. Turns out, when you actually look at contemporary illustration—the kind

I used to think quilts were just—you know, something your grandmother made. Then I saw a Gee’s Bend quilt at the Whitney Museum in 2002, hung like

I used to think the New Aesthetic was just another art world buzzword, something critics would forget in six months. Turns out I was wrong—and honestly

I used to think packaging design was just about making things look pretty on a shelf. Then I spent three weeks watching focus groups of six-year-olds argue

I used to think Kachina dolls were just museum pieces—carved wood figures behind glass that tourists photograph in Santa Fe galleries. Turns out, the Hopi