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Industrial design

This Month

Hip industrial designer Henry Wilson has a brilliant new store

One of Australia’s most esteemed creatives now has a shopfront for his instantly recognisable pieces.

  • Stephen Todd

April

“We call the new Vantage ‘the hunter’,” says director of design Miles Nurnberg, “because when you drive it, you’re constantly looking for the next car to pass.”

‘Love’ makes the difference to the new $410k Aston Martin Vantage

A string of smallish but important changes have transformed the coupe’s character, says design director Miles Nurnberger. Oh, and it’s faster, of course.

  • Tony Davis

February

These Australian designers have created a new spin on industrial chic

Taking inspiration from highways and construction sites, K.P.D.O. has turned the tables on high-glam items for home.

  • Stephen Todd

December 2023

London-based designer Lara Bohinc makes gloopy sculpltures from sustainable cork.

Seven design trends you need to know for 2024

Redecorating or looking for new furnishings? Look no further if chic, on-trend living is your thing.

  • Stephen Todd and Felix Burrichter

November 2023

What this $5 mouse trap can teach you about great design

Former retailer and master curator Remo Giuffré finds fascination in the everyday and has found a way to share this “uncommon knowledge”.

  • Stephen Todd
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This Australian furniture maker has doubled the size of its factory

Jardan is expanding its Melbourne hub and plans to follow its customers, including Google and Facebook, to the US.

  • David Meagher

August 2023

Why this sought-after Scandi design piece just got even more desirable

It used to be that the most natural parts of a tree never made the final cut when creating the Stool 60. But a new incarnation has changed that.

  • Stephen Todd

July 2023

Alessi reimagined corkscrews and kettles. Now it’s turning to chairs

Alberto Alessi lifts the lid on the storied design company’s move into furniture, its “most beautiful fiasco” and his unpublished murder mystery.

  • Luke Slattery

This Brisbane-based designer is transforming airports around the world

A slump in trolley orders from Woolworths and Coles during the global financial crisis provided a career-making opportunity for Alexander Lotersztain.

  • Stephen Todd

May 2023

Aussie designers who burned the brightest at the Milan Furniture Fair

Here are the names to know from the world’s most important design summit if you’re looking for beautiful lights and lamps.

  • Stephen Todd

March 2023

The Newson-designed toilet is beneath an underpass in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo.

The Australian who’s making designer toilets in Tokyo

Marc Newson has created an “honest and trustworthy” public convenience that is the latest in a collection of exceptional loos in Japan’s capital.

  • Stephen Todd
India Mahdavi at her studio in Paris in December.

The designer who pioneered Millennial pink is headed for Australia

In Paris with “virtuoso of colour” India Mahdavi, who talks about colour, cartoons and her upcoming exhibition at the NGV.

  • Stephen Todd
Smart lighting, concealed technical gadgets, airy spaces, and visual delights such as tiny facets of mica glittering in the ceiling surfaces all help to brighten and calm busy spaces.

Take a closer look at the design magic in London’s majestic ‘Liz Line’

Global firm Grimshaw’s lead architect on the project reveals how the new, 118 kilometre-long tunnel system was conceived to be anything but claustrophobic.

  • Stephen Todd

February 2023

Jenny Kee, photographed in her favourite glasses at her home in Blackheath, NSW.

Why designer Jenny Kee ditched her famous red glasses

Nowadays, Kee can’t imagine not wearing her red Thierry Lasry cat-eye specs. Here, she and other designers show you their own favourite design items.

  • Tony Davis

October 2022

Grcic’s ceramic tiles in tonal hues, varying sizes and contrasting finishes add a gentle dynamism to a room.

Tiles in the living room? They’re the perfect foil to soft furnishings

German designer Konstantin Grcic has teamed up with Italian company Mutina to give your bathroom staple a new – and stunning – edge.

  • Stephen Todd
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August 2022

House

Why it can pay to let your architect decorate the house, too

Bass Coast Farmhouse, on the dunes behind a 12-kilometre stretch of pristine East Gippsland coast, might be John Wardle’s finest creation.

  • Luke Slattery

July 2022

Designer travels the world to surf, but says the best waves are here

Adam Goodrum started surfing as a child by making his own leg rope and a billycart to get his board to the beach. He has no plans to abandon the waves yet.

  • Stephen Todd

Hyundai design chief taps Korean cool to transform car industry

From humble beginnings, the Seoul vehicle maker is now an industry leader, due in no small part to Luc Donckerwolke, the Peruvian-born Belgian heading design.

  • Tony Davis

Career leap pays off for Aussie who now owns a New York brand agency

Geelong-born Visnja Brdar had talent, confidence and itchy feet. Now her clients include some of the world’s most recognisable brands.

  • Stephen Todd

May 2022

Luk led the teams in Munich that produced BMW’s X1, X3 and Z4 models. He is now based in China.

The Australian who’s running BMW’s Shanghai design studio

As a boy, Calvin Luk once wrote a letter to BMW’s star designer asking how to break into the industry. Now he’s in charge of the company’s Shanghai studio - and he’s still aged under 40.

  • Tony Davis

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/industrial-design-1nnv