Neshan 35

“Studio”, “atelier”, “office” — no matter what we call our workplace, we could never make sure that the audience understands what is done there exactly. Strictly speaking, the Iranian audience is not well aware of the work procedures performed therein, or the administrative and executive processes taking place. Of course these workplace names are meaningful to us as designers, in everyday situations it is easier to keep things simple and modestly use the term “office.” Iran’s cultural and visual arts background is universally acclaimed and its... > more

How we learned to overcome fear and to fall in love with a basement StudioKargah is a one-hundred-odd square meter basement, located in Fatemi Square, down Golha Square, in the centre of Tehran. Fourteen years ago, two or three classmates from Soore University set up this studio for graphic design, and today I have more than a dozen friends working there. The Studio is an open-plan flat without partition walls, where all the members work side by side. The walls are covered with paintings, posters, recyclable material, and some of the studio’s... > more

Others say they have named their studio after the province of their birth, but they neither accept nor reject this hypothesis! Before deciding to set up Studio Markazi in 2011, Saeed and Mohsen Foroutan had worked together for a long time. These cousins were aware of the quirks and peculiarities of their collaboration and had common interests and teachers. Their characters, styles, and even their behavior with clients are different. One of them is full of acute creative ideas and follows the latest technological ... > more

It is said that design is based on a universal thought and philosophy that aims at providing solutions for society’s problems — or making problems simpler and easier to deal with. Such a viewpoint has several values and capacities that have deep positive impacts on people’s routine lives, resulting in lifestyle changes and increased quality of life. Perhaps the vast developments that have taken place in the world are inspired by this viewpoint — the result of which has added value and appeal in various products, and has increasingly developed ... > more

My familiarity with this boutique studio dates back to October 2012. In 2011, I participated in the second POPOK International Advertising Festival in Yerevan, Armenia as Iran’s representative on the jury panel of the ATL contest section. It was autumn again, and I was in Yerevan for the third round of the Festival. The first encounter with that year’s posters and advertising items was enough for me to notice a significant transformation of the identity of this young and dynamic festival in comparison to the previous year. I was eager to see t... > more

Studio/lab designs identity-based systems of communication that are realized in branding programs, environmental graphics, information design systems, and print and digital publications. As master typographers, and typographic enthusiasts, we are interested in the role that custom typography might play in establishing and invigorating brand identity. To typecast is to stereotype, perhaps a bad thing for the aspiring actor, yet the overuse of a visual trope can be a good thing in brand identity. A custom font, crafted to express core bran... > more

The thoroughness that Evelyn ter Bekke and Dirk Behage instill into each of their projects has over the years spawned relational dynamics with their clients: complicity, friendship, and even a sense of kinship. The way they handle commissions blurs the line between the duo and their clients: the project becomes an enterprise. They get to know each picture rail of a museum, as well as the local landscape and gastronomy. They delve into the history, literary tradition, human context and economic conditions of each structure for which they accept... > more

Debbie Millman has been named one of the most influential designers working today. She is a brand consultant and the President, Chief Marketing Officer at the Sterling Brand design firm in New York City. She has co-founded the first graduate program in Branding at the School of Visual Arts with Steven Heller in 2009 and is the Editorial and Creative Director of Print Magazine. Debbie has written six books on creative process, design and brands. Her essays have appeared in the New York Times, and Design Observer and her artworks have been disp... > more

Let me start with your quote: “I learned how to design at design school. But I learned how to be a designer from Massimo Vignelli”.
Michael, you began your professional career at Vignelli Associates in New York. What have you acquired from such a prominent 20th century designer?
A lot of people know Massimo’s specific “rules” (grids, typefaces, etc.) and I learned a lot from them. But 25 years after leaving Vignelli Associates, what really continues to influence me are not his rules but his ethos. Massimo was eternally optimistic, never cynica... > more

This text aims to revisit some of the most important stories from the vast scenario of authors and productive modalities of images in Italian furniture design. Italian products were synonymous of a style, of originality, of inventive elegance. It was a surprise. Yet for it to become a discourse and a narrative, it needed to be expressed. It was graphic designers who modeled and visualized a symbolic universe where consumers met products. And before owning the chair or the armchair, the sofa, or the house object with a modern design... > more

Ketab-e Hafte and Kayhan-e Hafte were weekly magazines published from 1961 to 1963 by the Kayhan Publishing House under the supervision of Ahmad Shamloo and Mohsen Hashtroodi, and were owned by Dr. Mesbahzadeh. In different issues, Mohsen Hashtroodi and M. E. Behazin served as heads of the editorial board, which was comprised of figures such as Dr. Arianpour, Abdul Karim Ahmadi, Kazem Ansari, Kave Dahgan, Dr. Abdul Hussein Zarrinkoub, and Dr. Mohammad Jafar Mahjoub... > more

Young designers often develop good taste before they develop good design skills. As a design educator, I help students differentiate between visual inspiration and plagiarism — a surprisingly grey area. Trends and specific styles are often lifted and replicated (consciously and subconsciously) from sites like Pinterest and Designspiration. Although designers are always informed by the past to a certain extent (be it 100 years ago or 100 minutes ago), it may be argued that the combined elements of originality, quality, and... > more

Unit Editions is a renowned brand in the publishing industry; in recent years, people who seek design books frequently come across this name. Its founders, Adrian Shaughnessy and Tony Brook, set up their enterprise on Stannary Street in Kennington, London. Shaughnessy is mostly in charge of the editorial work and Brook deals with design and visual affairs. Nevertheless, both of them are experts in both fields and have provided fertile ground for design and writing. Both are in search of new subjects and maintain a balanced interaction between ... > more