Objects
Why a Handle Changes the Way an Object Meets the Hand
Why a handle changes the way an object meets the hand: a one-week routine for noticing grip, reach and repeated use in…
The reading room
All stories
Browse close readings of objects, graphics, places and design traditions. Each piece looks beyond appearance to consider use, context and the choices that give design its character.
Graphics
Lettering on a Street Sign or a Shopfront: Two Jobs, Different Priorities
Street sign and shopfront lettering serve different readers: learn how distance, movement and purpose shape type…
Places
Before the Open Plan: How Rooms Came to Share Their Boundaries
Connected domestic rooms can support shared work and conversation, but their boundaries also organise privacy, noise…
Design Culture
The Handmade Myth: Why Irregularity Does Not Prove an Object's Story
Learn how to describe an irregular object without guessing its origin, maker or method, using visible details and…
Traditions
A Visitor’s Looking List for a Local Craft Market
A visitor’s looking list for a local craft market helps you notice materials, recurring forms and display choices…
Our point of view
Design makes more sense in context
A shape or object never tells the whole story on its own. We look at where it comes from, what it is for and how people make it their own.