THE SPRING ISSUE
Lying Awake with Michel Gondry
Text by Andrew Rodgers Photograph by Ye Rin Mok Known for crafting beautifully stylistic music videos for the likes of Björk, the Chemical Brothers and the Foo Fighters, as well as for a number of award-winning commercials and the incredibly well-received feature Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, French-born director Michel Gondry has made a […]
Herzdog & De Meuron: Sublime Skins
Text by Franklin Melendez I’ll admit it, I’m an architecture novice. I don’t understand the allure of a building’s hidden facades, nor am I moved by the tendril-like cracks in concrete. Sure, I can recognize a handful of names and noteworthy projects, enough to throw around at cocktail parties, but for the most part I […]
The Dark Prince of Manchester: The Incomparable Peter Saville
Text by Alexis Georgopolis Photograph by Anna Blessmann It’s safe to say there is no one quite like Peter Saville. Certainly no other album designer has exerted such personality and such a distinct aesthetic as he has. Borrowing from Russian constructivism, the New Typography of Jan Tschichold, and Italian futurism, Saville made covers for Factory […]
Gareth Pugh: Send in the Clowns
Text by Franklin Menendez In a relatively short span of time, Gareth Pugh has built a considerable reputation based on inflatable balloon tops, light-up dresses and gold harlequin suits. Ridiculous? Certainly. But these outlandish designs radiate an irreverent energy that has been largely missing from a British scene now spearheaded by the tasteful deconstruction of […]
The Big Green Apple
Text by Steven Snyder Photography by Michael Ficeto Zigging and zagging up the Manhattan skyline, an organic gem blooms in a sea of simple, sterile facades that almost seem archaic in comparison. It is the Hearst Tower, the looming and arresting new headquarters of the Hearst media empire located in midtown Manhattan which opened its […]
Cloak Design: Alexandre Plokhov
Text by Allison Bethurem Photograph by Ray Lee Hidden beneath the heavy shoulder throw of Cloak Design lies a mysterious and alluring menswear line flapping its way onto the streets of urban cities around the world. Created by Russian-born designer Alexandre Plokhov, Cloak gives the modern-day man a chance to get in touch with his […]
Street Pulse: Los Angeles
Meet the TBWA/Chiat/Day’s Media Arts Lab. They design the advertising for one of the most design-obsessed and ubiquitous brands on the planet: Apple Computer. SOMA visited a few members of the team around their Los Angeles office. 1 If you could redesign an everyday object, what would it be? 2 What is your favorite product or […]
Word Play
Words Fail Me By Teresa Monachino (Phaidon Press) What will you get for that distant cousin who publicly insulted your haircut at the last family gathering for Christmas? Or that office colleague who always drinks the last cup of coffee? When an occasion for compulsory gift-giving arises, Phaidon has published a little book that will […]
Original Bedlam
Text by Malin-Louise Martensson In the building that used to be an asylum, I now drink champagne. I eat oysters in the loony bin. I sleep in rooms where English men once paid to abuse the patients of the First Bethlehem Hospital. This is the original Bedlam, now presented as the creation of English design […]
Massive Change
Traces of flight patterns of three European airlines Text by Patrick Knowles Massive Change is a project about possibilities. In the eyes of the Toronto-based collective, design takes on an unprecedented scope of contexts to answer a seemingly simple thesis put forth by Arnold J. Toynbee. The famed English historian and author of A Study […]
Packed with Style
Text by Dena Smolek When it comes to luggage, black roller bags are the norm with an occasional red or floral print (à la your grandma’s curtains) to break up the monotony. Award-winning designer Hideo Wakamatsu offers cool alternatives to boring bags with his Hideo-brand bags. Merging style, functionality and quality, Hideo suitcases are the […]
HELIO
Text by Robin Liss A startup funded in part by SK Telecom, Helio is targeting the young and upwardly mobile urbanite with fashion phones. The core concept in Helio’s pitch is that cell phones should be fashionable, an idea inspired by popular Korean cell phones. Helio has also attempted to bring over many of the […]
Hiruta’s Hot Wheels
Text by Matthew Nestel “I do not dream about cars. I do not have nice dreams,” confesses Shiro Yo Hiruta, idea man and president of Calty (a collapsed combo of “California” and “Toyota”). Calty Design Research, Inc., established in 1973, is a progressive in-house outfit for Toyota Motor, hubbed in sunny Newport Beach, CA, with […]
Cellphones from the East
While beige Zack Morris–brick cell phones might have been de rigeur two decades ago, today’s phone had better be sleek sexy and functional – which nobody does better than Japan and Korea. Both of these nations embrace the idea that a cell phone is more than a device – it’s an extension of one’s personality. […]
Mike Mills
Mike Mills’ voice, like so much of his work, carries an air of directness and vulnerability as he speaks from his studio in Los Angeles. Probably most noted for his first feature-length film Thumbsucker, the 40-year-old designer, director, screenwriter and illustrator is at a turning point in his life. At a glance, Mills’ particular story […]
