There’s no debating that David Pelham’s cover for the Penguin Books UK paperback edition of Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange is iconic — that cog-eyed face is impossible to forget. But the British illustrator was far from a one-hit wonder; in fact, he was also responsible for a slew of other classic covers. Boing Boing tipped us off to a few of Pelham’s other greatest hits, from his clever, blood-spotted design for Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood to a beautiful box set of J.G. Ballard books. Travel back in time with our slideshow of his work, and let us know which paperback is your favorite in the comments. … Read More
Design
Incredible Designs Made from Plants, Pollen, and Other Unusual Natural Materials
Wolfgang Laib’s Pollen from Hazelnut — a fascinating installation made out of the tiny particles that he’s been collecting from the natural environment around his home and studio in a small village in Southern Germany since the mid-90s — opens today in MoMA’s Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium. Why pollen? Well, Laib has stated that “pollen is the potential beginning of the life of the plant. It is as simple, as beautiful, and as complex as this. And of course it has so many meanings. I think everybody who lives knows that pollen is important.”
Because we couldn’t be more intrigued by the idea of making things out of plants and pollen, we thought we’d take a look to see if any everyday objects might exist in this vein. From furniture made out of freeze-dried flowers to a stool embedded with mushroom spores click through to check out some surprisingly awesome designs made out of really unusual natural materials. … Read More
10 Frightening Futuristic Fashion Pieces
Fashion designer Anouk Wipprecht and software developer Daniel Schatzmayr recently debuted something quite unusual indeed: a robotic spider dress, where the limbs writhe immediately at any detection of movement. While it certainly falls under the category of high fashion (as any outfit requiring a microchip should), it’s also, well, kind of terrifying. And while some designers like Alexander Wang opt for a clean-cut, prettier version of the future, looking at the post-apocalyptic/radioactive/anthropomorphic vision can be a lot more fun. Here are some of the spookiest futuristic looks we found on the web. … Read More
‘Downton Abbey’ in Real Life: A Visual Tour of Grand English Great Houses
From grand bedrooms and lustworthy libraries suspended in time to a gorgeous great house complete with a walled garden and roaming peacocks, we’ve compiled a selection of images to help you imagine life in the sumptuous turn-of-the-century England of Downton Abbey. Before things changed… Read More
Vintage Photos of Bizarre World’s Fair Architecture
A few weeks ago we took a look at some of the most bizarre buildings we’ve ever seen: the strange Soviet architecture that emerged during a fascinating era of extreme artistic inquiry fueled — as so many are — by social revolution. Now that we’re officially obsessed with far-out retro-future design, we literally fell off of our chair when we came across the progressive pavilions built for two World Expos that we would have loved to attend. From a building that looks like a giant blue Jell-O mold to a larger-than-life paper forest, click through to take a quick virtual tour of some of the most incredible structures we’ve ever seen. … Read More
Extraordinary Multifunctional Furniture for Small Spaces
Brad Pitt, our favorite celebrity design enthusiast, has explained, “I’m drawn to furniture design as complete architecture on a minor scale.” Nothing illustrates his point more than the marvelous multifunctional designs that are quickly becoming mainstays on in today’s economically aware, space-saving obsessed design circuit. From an all-in-one bicycle ironing board ladder clothes rack shelf to a table cum bookshelf made out of books, click through to check out some of the most innovative, versatile furniture on the planet. … Read More
Vintage Photographs of Swanky Nightclub Interiors from the Rat Pack Era
Gangster Squad, a star-studded noir crime drama set in 1940s Los Angeles, opens in theaters today. The film is based on the true story of an undercover “Magnificent Seven“-style crew assembled by the LAPD to hunt down and kill celebrity mob king Mickey Cohen, who’s played by Sean Penn. A confidant of Bugsy Siegel, and a friend to everyone from Frank Sinatra to Richard Nixon, Cohen was a fixture on a then swanky Sunset Strip scene, home to now infamous nightclubs like Slapsy Maxie’s and Ciro’s that drew the likes of Ava Gardner, Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, and Marilyn Monroe. From the world-famous Coconut Grove night club in the since demolished Ambassador Hotel to Tony Duquette’s Latin American-themed interiors for The Mocambo featuring glass cages holding live cockatoos, pigeons, and parrots, click through to check out the haunts of the rich and the infamous in a time when gangsters ran our cities. … Read More
The Most Beautiful Opera Houses in the World
Rising from the Oslofjord inlet like an iceberg is the Oslo Opera House. Co.Design recently wrote about a faceted wall installation inside the modern performance space created by Danish-Icelandic artist, Olafur Eliasson. Glowing walls line the foyer, adding a striking effect. We felt inspired by the design and went searching for some of the most beautiful opera houses in the world. These grandiose venues conjure the drama, history, and craft associated with the art form. Take a trip around the world in our gallery, where we’ve selected 15 of the most stunning spaces for opera aficionados and architecture/design lovers. … Read More
The Best Book Covers of 2012, As Chosen by Our Favorite Book Cover Designers
2012 was a great year for books — and maybe even a better one for book covers. We were so overwhelmed by the number of great ones that we couldn’t rally our thoughts to any kind of end-of-year list — so we figured we’d go to the experts (book jacket designers, of course) and ask what they thought. After the jump, feast your eyes on the favorite book cover designs of the year from a few rock star book cover designers, and let us know which ones are your favorites in the comments. … Read More
A Photo Tour of Famous New Yorkers’ Living Rooms
There’s nothing we love more than virtual voyeuristic visits with fellow fabulous New Yorkers. The original real-life interiors photographer Dominique Nabokov (long before The Selby and Backyard Bill started snapping pics of stylish spaces) started documenting the inside lives of others as understood by their living rooms some 20 years ago. Her visits with celebrated artists, writers, designers, intellectuals, and the occasional celebrity was compiled into a humble, but fascinating, survey titled New York Living Rooms. … Read More
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