Thought Starters

“Craft.” For a long time, the word has had been pushed to the periphery of the design world, disregarded for its perceived quaintness.

But, thanks in part to the efforts of crafts organisations, that has very much been changing. “Craft” now has become associated not with homeliness, but with the highest forms of the discipline – creeping its way into the lexicon of luxury fashion, and architecture too.

In the Pod today are two people who’re are helping the public engage with craft’s new identity. Hugo MacDonald, curator of Useful/Beautiful: Why Craft Matters at the inaugural Harewood Biennial speaks with the Craft Council's creative director, Natalie Melton.

As snappy as we seem to like our information these days, each year there are innumerable books of non-fiction that explore our world in great depth and thoughtfulness.

These works can help us see the world in a new way, by exploring previously murky arenas of culture, or taking focus on themes that rarely get much breathing space.

We have two such authors in The Pod today. Kassia St Clair, whose books have charted the curious histories of colour and fabric and Zahra Hankir, whose forthcoming book compiles essays by women reporting on conflict in the Arab world.

What they have in common: selling the value of stories that had been pushed to the periphery – and experiencing the painstaking, nerve-wracking process of getting them published.

As much as photography and video have gained in reputation in the world of fine art, they have also been democratised. Thanks to smart phones, 1.2 trillion photos were taken in 2017 alone. 

Image-making is also something often scrutinised. It can reinforce strict and unrealistic standards of beauty or, collectively, define a narrow demographic of who and what gets to be represented.

As ever, though, a new generation of photographers and videographers are challenging the rules and helping to redefine a mainstream aesthetic. Our guests today, Ronan McKenzie and Esrael Alem, are two such artists.

These days, we expect brands to reflect a set of values, not simply provide products. No businesses do this better than those whose entire mission is to change the world for the better, even in just a small way – these are social enterprises.

Combining commerce with social progress, they often work with vulnerable groups, offering work and a sense of inclusion that might not have been available to them, but in all cases, they reinvest or donate their profits to create positive social change.

As we head into Christmas, we can think of no better sector to celebrate than social enterprises.

In the Pod today, one man whose job it is to promote social enterprises in the UK. And, another, the CEO of a trust that operates social enterprises of their own.

Our guests: Social Enterprise UK CEO Peter Holbrook, CBE, and Spitalfields Crypt Trust CEO, Steve Coles.

In design, there’s a certain aesthetic we imagine we hear the word “sophistication” – it’s likely muted, neutral, maybe even sombre. And, we apply it often: to offices, to homes, to restaurants, to hotels.

But these spaces aren't often very ‘joyful’. Joyful spaces are playful and bright. And, so, we often think of joyful places as those for children. Rarely do we think the two can co-exist. One is mature, the other juvenile.

More and more, however, designers are challenging this preconception, and questioning why we so often push joy to the margins and write it off as something that lacks in refinement or elegance.

In the Pod today, two such people: Morag Myerscough and Ingrid Fetell Lee.

In the field of architecture, communicating ideas has always been a challenge. A combination of scale models, illustrations, plans and renderings help explain how a space, a building, or even an entire city might look and feel.

But all of that is beginning to change, with the introduction of cheaper, quicker and more elaborate VR experiences. Now, clients and even public can step inside buildings, guide themselves around them, and experience them in 1-to-1 scale.

Will this make for better buildings? In the Pod today, to architects who’ve embraced the use of VR in the practices, two discuss what they see as the future of this technology in design.

For what seems like forever, we've been told we live in a “consumer society” – we are defined by how we spend, it is our most important expression of ourselves, our aspirations and our politics. And, while still a powerful concept, some have argued that we are sliding into a new era: a citizen society.

Instead of simply a choice to purchase or not, we are feeling a greater power to influence through participation. We expect the brands we engage with to reflect our values – not just sell to us.

Meet our speakers: Robert Jones, Head of New Thinking at Wolff Olins and Jon Alexander, founder of the New Citizen Project

Today, we delve into the world of digital publishing with two editors at the top of their game, for two of the most notable women-focus publications out there – industry-leading digital magazine Refinery 29 and one of the biggest names in fashion: British Vogue.

Womens-focused publications have changed significantly since these Sarah Raphael and Alice Casely-Hayford were reading fashion magazines as teens. For one, the industry is turning around how it's representing women, and how it speaks to them. What else? A broader scope, a new tone of voice, and capturing attention in a ever-more cluttered landscape of content-creators.

The Pod is going on tour for London Design Festival! Last stop: Exhibition Road, outside the V as part of the Day of Design street party.

We met Curator of Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Rory Hyde and founder of Digital Identities, Dr. Abhay Adhikari. Together, they reflected on this year's London Design Festival as the city-wide event came to a close. Tune in for an invigorating chat about the future of cities, and how digital culture shapes our behaviour.

The Pod is going on tour for London Design Festival! Last stop: Exhibition Road, outside the V as part of the Day of Design street party.

We met editor of Icon magazine, Priya Khanchandani, and design curator Max Fraser. Together, they reflected on this year's London Design Festival as the city-wide event came to a close. Tune in for wrap-up for this year's London Design Festival.