Alvar Aalto

Spontaneous Design Genius: Important and Inventive Napkin Sketches

The Finnish architect Alvar Aalto famously said that “God made paper to draw architecture on it.” And apparently, cocktail napkins. Proof that design genius knows no boundaries, here is our roundup of impromptu sketches illustrating the many creative ideas that have originated in bars, lunchroom cafeterias and gem museums from the likes of Liz Diller, Andy Warhol, and Steve Martin’s character in Housesitter.

Should you suffer from a similar inability to effectively disengage and leave your creativity at the office, check out this helpful book to up your napkin sketching ante: Dan Moyer’s self-published Napkin Sketch Workbook. Let us know in the comments about the wackiest place you’ve ever been inspired! … Read More

Wanted: Minimalist Posters of Modern Architecture

Six Architects is a series of minimalist posters by a designer who goes by Roosterization; his crisp black and white graphics simplify and recreate the work of some of modern architecture’s most famed structures — from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum to Louis Kahn’s National Assembly Building in Bangladesh. Click through to check them out, and let us know in the comments which one you’d like to hang on your walls. … Read More