Short Ones: The Politics Question

Over the last few days I've wondered how the political spectrum appears in design discourse, and how this applies to designers generally. But I always get stuck on one thing—where are all the conservative designers?

Neon Tribe: Shamanism in the Digital Age

One of the things that has fascinated me recently is the re-emergence of the tribal aesthetic, in fashion, design and film. Not tribal as in terrible tattoos, but tribal in the sense of the tribe—be that North and South American, Scandanavian, Celtic...

Subcultural Backlash

Criticism of the hipster is reaching fever pitch. But why? To what do we owe this displeasure?

Regarding Digital Revolutions

In a piece for the Age, Andrea Carson derides Twitter, at its worst, as little more than "a narcissistic medium of personal updates about nothing of consequence: a 'Daily Me' for a world that is obsessed with the individual and celebrity."1Carson, Andrea: 'Vacuous, shallow, banal - don't believe the twype' in The Age, Monday, 11th of October, 2010

The Rise of the Non-Game Game

I recently purchased a to-do list app for my iPhone. While this may not seem to be a revelation, there was something different about this app. It presented itself as a game.

Wayshowing and Community Identity Part Three

This is the final instalment in a series discussing the role of wayfinding in fostering community identity and involvement. Have a read of parts one and two first.

Wayshowing and Community Identity Part One

This essay forms part one of a series discussing the impact of wayshowing on community identity. Part two will go up later this week.

New Look New Purpose

The past week has seen sweeping changes on the inside and out of Convert To Shape. Emboldened with a new look, courtesy of an unfortunate pilot error, this blog sets sail in a new direction.

Gallery Review: The August Shows at Platform

Platform, the artist run initiative situated underneath Flinders Street Station, is a gallery that lives in the subconscious — most people know that there’s something there, they just don’t acknowledge it.