A super opinion article discussing the ethics of designers, given that they contribute to the “polished veneer” of companies that “flout ethics at every turn”. The article includes an interview with the co-founder of design agency, Human After All, which seeks an industry hinged on social good not profit.
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You don’t know Hannah Arendt
“The intelligentsia doesn’t just feel that Donald Trump’s supporters are irredeemable brownshirts — they’ve got Arendt’s dense prose to prove it.” In an interesting opinion piece that questions the power and the longevity of the resistance that currently resides in liberal circles.
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Tunnel to Nowhere
An interesting response to Elon Musk’s claim that he’ll build a tunnel through Los Angeles to solve the persistent traffic issues there. Nicole Gelinas questions the role of entrepreneurs and billionaires’ interference in society, something surely is on the lips of most Americans.
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An Apocalyptic Sensibility
In the days after Trump’s victory there was a strong symbol of apocalypse in the majority of the press, and in particular it manifested through a sense of ‘survivalism’, which is the antithesis of action. Here, S-USIH excellently entertain the proposition that voters elected Trump to invite the Rapture, to destroy the old order.
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Why Can’t the U.S. Decolonize Its Design Education?
“Unless our country’s indigenous design history is recognized as foundational to contemporary design education, that conversation will remain one-sided, and incomplete.” A fascinating look at how design education institutions neglect the imagery and history of native communities, primarily focusing on North America.
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THE YEAR WE PLAYED OURSELVES
The end of year reviews have begun in earnest and this offering at The New Yorker takes DJ Khaled’s ‘play yourself’ phrase (mean that you’re screwing yourself over despite your best efforts) as the catchphrase for the year. Think Trump, think Boris Johnson’s attempt to become PM, think harder.
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Finding Hope in the Flint Police Department
An accompanying article to a new feature by The New York Times: its Virtual Reality app that tells stories through the eyes of the subjects or the news team. I highly recommend the app and this VR story, but also this article by Brian Willingham, an ex-Flint cop who writes eloquently about serving a city.
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England prepares to leave the world
A fascinating article that explores how Theresa May, elected for not having an opinion and standing as a careful ventriloquist and mouthpiece for the small referendum majority, sets sail for North America and the Commonwealth desperate to rekindle fading relationships. May’s leadership is a muddled retrograde, bereft of conviction.
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The right to a view: glass, class and our transparent lives
“This metaphor of transparency got carried through to the psychopathology of the domestic. It was a built expression of the idea that light cleanses and that interior dark corners should be purged.” A very nice look at the architectural debates and practical issues with using glass as walls. How transparency has turned into a supervised dystopia.
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