Design Directions

Translating consumer trends into actionable designs, colour palettes and materials.

Biofabricated Futures

A revolutionary sustainability breakthrough, biofabrication is the engineering of biological products. This report explores its market evolution and future potential in transforming materials to drive commercial success

Design Directions

Design Directions

Intuitive Utility

In these turbulent times, people are finding comfort in ordinary, everyday objects that have been designed intuitively. These products take classic...

Function : Utility : Simplicity

Design Directions

Sweat Shop

‘It was really all an accident,’ says Swiss makeup artist Martena Duss. Together with Austrian fashion designer Sissi Holleis, she has created what...

Craft : Patchwork : Sewing Machine

Design Directions

Dutch Design Week

Now in its ninth year, Dutch Design Week has firmly cemented the itself as a must-see on the global design circuit. The epicenter of conceptual and...

Haptic : Conviviality Culture : Eindhoven

Design Directions

Maja Flink: Photography

‘Most of my portraits have a calmness and a specific atmosphere,’ says photographer Maja Flink. ‘When I receive a brief people ask specifically for...

Photography : People : Portraits

Design Directions

LN-CC

At London’s LN-CC – which stands for Late Night Chameleon Café – shopping is a journey of discovery. ‘It’s a two-way relationship,’ says ...

London : John Skelton : Appointment

Design Directions

The Night Chauffeur

It is a weekday evening in a pub in London’s East End. Two friends chat over a pint of beer. Suddenly a man in a suit interrupts them. ‘Please foll...

Advertising : Fictional : The Night Chauffeur

Design Directions

Now Wave

People today are putting technology back in its place. Instead of connecting online, they are seeking convivial, authentic, and intimate experience...

Authentic : Aztec : Surf Culture

Design Directions

Nigel Peake: Illustration

When LS:N Global asks Nigel Peake to describe his work, words escape him. ‘It feels right to draw,’ he says. And this feeling is precisely what dri...

Maps : Illustration : Drawing

Design Directions

OUTRACE

In the dusk of a September evening in Trafalgar Square, London’s most famous public space, an enraptured public saw eight robotic arms draw picture...

Robotics : Clemens Weisshaar : Outrace

Design Directions

Digital Couture

A generation of designers and artists brought up in the digital age are embracing and employing machines and technological innovations. Their work ...

Machine Craft : Holon : Israel

Design Directions

Union Cycle Works

For many people, bespoke products are the ultimate luxury. A suit from Savile Row is measured, cut and sewn to the customer’s exact specifications....

Heritage : Jo Harrington : Southeast London

Design Directions

Kitchen Monument

Pop-up culture, from temporary shops to swap shops, has changed how brands do business. Add to this the rise of niche, local and micro-sized events...

Local : Transform : Kitchen Monument

Design Directions

Still in Llove

Living in Japan in the 80s was an inspiring time for Suzanne Oxenaar, artistic director of Dutch hotelier Lloyd Hotel. The traditional houses,...

Netherlands : Fun : Lloyd Hotel

Design Directions

Proud Creative : Graphic Design

‘We’re about delivering longevity, not just of the moment,’ says Dan Witchell, founder and creative director of Proud Creative. ‘The way we work is...

Branding : Getty : Detail

Design Directions

Moshi Monsters

In the 90s, the Tamagotchi, a small plastic toy with an LED screen, let children take care of a digital pet. They could feed and clean it, but that...

Design Directions

Erik Schedin

The Erik Schedin online store features only eight products: a pair of sneakers, a pair of glasses, a bag, a radio, a cap, a whistle, a pair of hiki...

Colour : Webstore : Tastemaker

Design Directions

Rapha

On Wednesday afternoon, a pack of 24 cyclists descended on a country pub in Oxfordshire. To most passers-by it looked like a group of keen cyclists...

Heritage : Video Content : Biking

Design Directions

One Room Hotel

Amid the crush and excitement of London Design Festival last week, a modest storefront-turned-hotel-room on a narrow street in east London gave vis...

East London : JAMESPLUMB : Menswear

Design Directions

The Handburger

At a fast food chain in Singapore, greasy burgers and fatty fries are off the menu. At The Handburger, diners take gourmet burgers and duck bu...

Fast Food : Burger : Bright

Design Directions

Levi's Workshops

One afternoon in San Francisco, a rock band was just hours away from performing live on stage. They needed some flyers to get the word out about th...

Craft : Pioneer Campaign : Levis