No. 242: IBM’s New Design Language Site, the Bauhaus Now, Patriarchy and the Planet + More

Plus, a low-waste magazine called Date Paper for all your Paleo dinner date needs; and architect, artist, and urban activist Richard Goodwin’s irreverent monograph. For more along these lines (and so many others) you can follow along all day, every day on Instagram @AIGAeyeondesignFacebook, and Twitter @AIGAeyeondesign.

1
Do The Green Thing’s Man-Made Disaster: Patriarchy & the Planet

“There is a well-evidenced gender gap in climate action. Or, to put it in more familiar terms: men are disappointing,” reads the case study for environmental non-profit Do The Green Thing’s upcoming exhibition. Man-Made Disaster: Patriarchy & the Planet features the work of 30 women and non-binary artists from around the world that explores how the patriarchy negatively affects our climate.

Before anyone gets all up in arms, we’d suggest that you read this very helpful glossary of terms on the website that explains, among other things, that the patriarchy “has no gender – it’s a heteronormative social structure in which men hold power, and women are largely excluded from it.” This is a true fact. And here are a few more:

Research has found that women waste less than men, recycle more than men and outperform men in nearly every environmental behavior. But while men disproportionately contribute to climate change, women and girls are disproportionately affected by its negative impacts.

We highly recommend you venture over to the site, where they back up these assertions with statistics. But also, if you’re in London, head over to Protein Studio on Thursday, April 25 for an exhibition on the topic. It features work from Turner Prize-winners Assemble, Google’s Tea Uglow, Chinese gender activist Li Maizi, model maker Jade Gerard (who made the models for Isle of Dogs), Ngadi Smart, Sophie Thomas, Kirsten Smith, Marylou Faure, Hyphen-Labs, Sarah Boris, and many others. Do The Green Thing  is co-founded by Pentagram partner Naresh Ramchandani. We’re including some of the pieces here to give you a peek at what you can expect.

2
IBM’s new Design Language site

“Eliot Noyes taught us brand is character, and should be built through curation. Paul Rand taught us the importance of endless experimentation. Charles and Ray Eames brought out our playful nature, and were pioneering what is now referred to ‘branded content’ and ‘experiential.’” Such is how IBM describes how its brand history has influenced its highly holistic approach to design today on its Design Language site. The interactive site, designed by IBM with support and development by Doberman, went live in February, and seeks to set out the guiding philosophy behind IBM designs, both for internal designers and the public at large. In 1956, IBM created its Design program, which has recently been revamped, adding to it a Design Language that helps designers inform and align their decisions across the company. On the new site, you can find a breakdown of IBM principles as well as the company’s typefaces, colors, icons, logos, pictograms, etc. As IBM puts it, “It’s essential that we own our design ethos, and create an instantly recognizable IBMness to everything we design.”

3
Date Paper, created by Simonetta Nieto and Pat McCusker

Simonetta Nieto, an art director and designer, and Pat McCusker, a professional musician, producer, and engineer, have created a new magazine called Date Paper. It’s a quarterly publication, with each issue centering around a dinner date, with the goal of making its readers more mindful of the planet and each other. It all started with the Paleo diet: McCusker had to adopt the diet for health reasons, and was having a hard time finding places that catered to the Paleo lifestyle. So he and Nieto decided to start a publication focused on primal dishes meant to be enjoyed with “a friend, longtime lover, one time lover, lover of any kind.” It also kindly includes some conversation starters like comics, cooking tips, and interviews with local food pioneers.

But perhaps the most intriguing thing about the project is the design. Its zero- and low-waste stance means that it’s a broadsheet size, allowing for the paper to be reused to wrap a present, hang as a poster or line drawers. It can also be easily shredded and put in the compost.

The first issue features artwork by Lauren Tamaki, Bailey Sullivan, and Grant Vernon. The back cover was illustrated by Mexican-native and London-based illustrator, Elena Boils. It launches on Earth Day (Monday, April 22), and 100% of the proceeds from the first issue will go to Farmworker Justice.

4
Bauhaus Now, Stan Hema

As you may be aware, this year is the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus. And if you thought that the design world and the design press (including this very publication) was going nuts over this landmark, you should visit Berlin. The city has been taken over by Bauhaus 100, a joint effort from the big three bauhaus facilities in Germany to celebrate the anniversary with exhibitions, performances, and events. Design agency Stan Hema has been providing its branding services to this project for the last three years, and in conjunction it’s also published a three-issue magazine Bauhaus Now. Published in German and English, the magazine “explores the question of where, in what form and under which conditions the Bauhaus is still perceptible today as an idea and role model—and what topicality, relevance, and validity it has almost 100 years to go to its founding.” All three issues are out now, and it’s quickly become a collectors’ item. It’s the official magazine of the Bauhaus association, and it’s a beaut.

 

5
Richard Goodwin’s God in Reverse

Publisher Uro Publications sent over a monograph of architect Richard Goodwin that looks like no other architect monograph we’ve ever seen. Designed by Sean Hogan, the pages feature both archival photographs and recent artwork from Goodwin, who in addition to being an architect is also an artist and urban activist. Hogan has given the spreads a look as irreverent as its author and subject matter, with stepped layouts, mirrored title pages, redacted content, paragraphs running vertically up the page, and, just generally, “text-flow and layout slowly discombobulating as the pages turn,” as the publisher puts it.

It’s a fitting visual style for Goodwin, who has been a critical commentator of architecture and urbanism, particularly in his native Sydney, since the 1970s. In the book, he criticizes the commercial greed of the Barangaroo wharf development, reflects on the divisions within city of Jerusalem, and even gleans some lessons in urban planning from coral reefs. It’s available for a cool $89 here.

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