Monocle on Design

Vincenzo Latronico’s new novel ‘Perfection’ is a launchpad for Monocle’s associate editor, Grace Charlton, to explore ideas of materialism. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Artist, illustrator and writer Rob Lowe, also known as Supermundane, joins us in the studio for another instalment of our summer series. Plus: the team discusses the link between architecture and landscape.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The printmaker and poster designer is celebrated at the Poster House in New York in an exhibition that charts the pioneering work of the creative.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A review of the ‘Pictograms’ exhibition at Japan House in London. Then: we remember the late, great Robert Wilson. And: we kick off our summer series highlighting design essentials for the season. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We head to Portugal to meet João Xará, one of the co-founders of this design collective, to discuss why the group formed and the power of experimentation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Design Museum in London explores how we might design beyond human needs in its latest exhibition. Then we visit the showroom of Portuguese furniture brand Branca and sit down with interdisciplinary designer Bolaji Teniola. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monocle’s associate editor of design and fashion, Grace Charlton, muses on the importance of enjoying good design rather than the performance of merely owning it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re in Japan to visit furniture manufacturer Karimoku. Then we consider the use of concrete in Austrian architecture and the team behind ‘Slop Magazine’ discuss graphic design and client relationships. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Lagos-based artist’s exhibition, ‘You will wonder if we would have been friends’, is on at The Noguchi Museum in New York. Ogunbiyi’s artworks playfully blur the line between functional design and art. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lulu Harrison, winner of The Ralph Saltzman Prize 2025, discusses her ‘Thames Glass’ project. We also head to Lisbon’s Made in Situ gallery to see its ‘Xisto’ collection. Plus: Romanian designer Bogdan Ciocodeica. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The celebrated architect discusses the future of mobility and his project, ‘Gateway to Venice’s Waterways’, at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Didiet Maulana, founder of Ikat Indonesia, discusses bringing historical textile techniques to a contemporary audience. Plus: Nordic design news and we hear from the founder of collectible design brand Hamrei.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writer Christopher Beanland considers the cultural and architectural impact of cars in shaping our built environment. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We visit the studio of wood artist Darren Appiagyei, find out why Portland, Oregon, has become a mass-timber hub and design organisation Material Cultures shares why timber isn’t the only vital woodland resource.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First held in 1975, the event has grown into one of the world’s most respected poster-design competitions, drawing submissions from top talent across the globe. Petri Burtsoff reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We hear from a global cohort of creatives at Copenhagen’s de facto design week, 3 Days of Design.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second photographic survey from independent publishing house Zupagrafika considers the building style that dominates much of Eastern Europe. Architectural historian Kateryna Malaia tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Vitra Design Museum considers how Shakers have inspired designers. Then: we head to Senegal to meet the co-founder of Falé, a brand focusing on hand-spun cotton. Finally, the Hannah Ryggen Triennale in Norway. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In San Diego the Mingei International Museum’s latest exhibition explores how the humble spoon is a vessel for human creativity across the world.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The London Design Biennale’s director, Victoria Broackes, and experiential designer and author Rachel Botsman discuss this year’s event and the latter’s “Roots of Trust” installation, which reimagines a historical design artefact.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of this year’s Lisbon Design Week, artist Mariana Ralo produced a vast tapestry crafted from nautical rope and rubber for the courtyard at Locke da Santa Joanna hotel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Architect Marina Tabassum discusses her inspiration for this year’s Serpentine Pavilion. Then: a report from the third edition of Lisbon Design Week. Plus: we meet Dan Thawley, artistic director of Matter and Shape.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The in-house design team at Finnish furniture company Artek is the focal point of The Alvar Aalto Museum’s summer exhibition. Petri Burtsoff reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

South Korean artist Do Ho Suh discusses his ongoing fabric-architecture series and the laborious process of producing these structures. Plus: a recap of Romanian Design Week.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second edition of Designmonat Graz has taken over Austria’s second city. It explores the melding of analogue and digital worlds under the theme “The New Real”. Alexei Korolyov reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second of our two episodes dedicated to the Venice Architecture Biennale’s international showcase. We stop in at the pavilions of Australia, Germany, Togo and the USA. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We visit Crafts On Peel’s exhibition, Embracing Craft, Connecting Culture, which showcases rattan, neon and metalsmithing among other practices. It’s one of many events taking place during London Craft Week.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the first of two dedicated episodes, we visit the pavilions of Denmark, Brazil and Switzerland at the Venice Architecture Biennale.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We visit the Swedish homeware and furniture giant’s newest retail location on London’s Oxford Street.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re celebrating the fifth edition of the annual Monocle Design Awards by discussing highlights from this year’s cohort of winners. We hear from medallists Manuel Cervantes and Eva-Marie Eriksson.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In east London a four-storey house has been renovated and transformed into a design wonderland, with bespoke works made in response to the site. The project’s curator, Irenie Cossey, tells us more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The William Morris Gallery celebrates the versatility and popularity of the designer’s patterns in its latest exhibition.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Artist and maker Bisila Noha presents a diary of the processes and experiences of learning at famous casting epicentre Igun Street.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Graphic designer and co-founder of Dinamo Typefaces, Johannes Breyer discusses storytelling through type and rebranding Spotify. Plus: curator and historian Mary Schoeser discusses the link between textiles and people over historySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Future Impact 3: Design Nation’ is an exhibition produced by Design Singapore Council, which enjoyed its first outing at the most recent edition of Milan Design Week. Curated by Tony Chambers, Maria Cristina Didero and Hunn Wai, it featured both established Singaporean names and rising stars. The event – and Monocle – also brought a host of international talent through the door to discuss the future of design.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trey Trahan, the lead architect for the USA Pavilion, discusses the structure on show as part of Expo 2025 Osaka.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘The Sculptor of Ultima Thule’ is an exhibition celebrating the 110th anniversary of Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala’s birth. Co-produced by the Espoo Museum of Modern Art, the Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation and Blue Sheep, it features more than 300 of Wirkkala’s works. It is also headlined by the exhibition’s namesake collection, created in partnership with Finnish glassware specialist Iittala. We’re joined by Petra Wirkkala, Janni Vepsäläinen and Tsuchida Takahiro to discuss Wirrkala’s legacy in Finland and Japan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More conversations from this year’s edition of the fair. We hear from multidisciplinary maker Omer Arbel and visit the cavernous design gallery Nilufar Depot. Plus: a continents-spanning conversation with researcher Wong Eng Geng and Nifemi Marcus-Bello. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At Milan Design Week, Argentine digital designer Six N Five (Ezequiel Pini) discusses his move into the material realm via a collaboration with the Italian furniture brand Poltrona Frau.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The team report from the Salone del Mobile furniture fair in Milan, with interviews from architect David Rockwell, the CEO of Italian manufacturer Artemide and the design duo behind the studio Formafantasma. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Architect Hugh Broughton and the artist James Lambert discuss their designs at a newly upgraded public facility on the Victoria Embankment in London. Monocle’s Francesca Gilks reports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We explore experimental ways of living thanks to a new exhibition in Tokyo and we imagine sunnier futures at the ‘Solar Biennale’ in Switzerland. Finally, a cooling dip in the pool as we visit ‘Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style’ at London’s Design Museum.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take a trip down memory lane to find out why this toy offers a glimpse into a much bigger moment in design history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We visit a floating office in Rotterdam and meet industrial designer Tej Chauhan in Helsinki. Plus, a preview of some of the design stories in the latest issue of ‘Konfekt’ magazine.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The National Design & Craft Gallery in Kilkenny, Ireland, celebrates the bold patterns and organic shapes found in Orla Kiely’s work in its latest exhibition.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Graphic designer Vince Frost reflects on his decades in practice; plus Japan’s carpentry culture is front and centre at a new exhibition in London. We then meet Mirkku Kullberg, CEO of Swedish rug company Kasthall. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monocle’s design editor Nic Monisse reflects on the blurred boundaries between the design and fashion industries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Highlights from the second edition of Parisian design salon Matter and Shape. Then: we learn about brutalism in Japan. Plus: we visit the Young V&A in London to meet designer Charlie Boyden. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The current exhibition at the London Centre for Book Arts explores the legacy of the Dutch design bookshop, Nijhof & Lee.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Highlights from the most recent edition of the Collect 2025 art and design fair, and we preview one of the stories in Monocle’s latest March issue. Plus, we find out more about the designer and theorist Christopher Dresser as a trove of his works go to auction in London. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.