Design in Dublin #4: The Lifeline

Here we are! The fourth and final part of my Design in Dublin series, published in full in Iterations issue 3. Enjoy the last of the series, which looks at Kaethe Burt-O'Dea's work on the Lifeline and other projects as examples of citizen design, and read back on parts #1, #2 and #3 if you haven't already.

Design in Dublin #3: DCC Beta

Welcome to part #3 of my Design in Dublin series, looking at the work of Dublin City Council Beta as civic design. This follows on from parts #1 and #2, and stay tuned for the fourth and final part. Design in Dublin is published in full in Iterations issue 3, an Irish design journal available from the IDI.

Design in Dublin #2: Framework

Following on from part #1, which looked at the Dublin Honey Project as an example of agile design in Dublin, here is part #2 of my series of posts on Design in Dublin, this time looking at some of the work being done by Dublin City Council which I class as being responsive design. Design in Dublin is also published in full in Iterations issue 3, available from the IDI.

Design in Dublin #1: Dublin Honey Project

To round off my studies in Curating Contemporary Design last year I undertook some research into (surprise, surprise) contemporary Irish design. More specifically, I looked at design in urban settings in Ireland, as I was getting a little frustrated at just how often Irish design was presented as being rural in exhibitions at home and abroad (you can read some of that research in a three-part series here on I Like Local called Design, Exhibitions and Irish Identity). As my research into contemporary Irish design in urban settings progressed, I honed in on Dublin, and began to see some patterns emerge. I documented these in an essay which I'm sharing here now, in four parts. You can also read this essay - in full - in the third edition of Irish design journal Iterations, which is available to buy through the Institute of Designers in Ireland. Without further ado...

Design, Museums and Society

Studying Curating Contemporary Design and working in the V&A meant I spent a lot of time over the past year thinking about what the V&A's cool dude Contemporary team have been up to. I think they've been doing more interesting stuff than anyone else in the design museum world lately, and here's an abridged version of an essay I wrote about whether or not I think they're being successful in their quest to renew the V&A's position as a public institution and design's position as an agent of change in society. This is the first of a few 'so long London' posts before I start sharing my Danish exploits, so read on and enjoy!

Design, Exhibitions and Irish Identity #3: Now and Next

Here is the third and final part of my series of posts on how Irish design and exhibitions have presented Irish identity, with Parts #1 and #2 available for you to read back on. This final part looks at recent and current international exhibitions of Irish design to see how they continue in a particular tradition of... well... tradition. Read on!

Design, Exhibitions and Irish Identity #2: 19th and 20th Centuries

Welcome to Part #2 of my look at how Irish identity has been explored, constructed and presented through design and exhibitions. This part looks at some key exhibitions and presentations in the 19th and 20th centuries, contrasting the different ways that design and manufactures were presented at home and abroad, and exploring the struggle between presenting tradition and rurality and presenting progress and modernity. Read back on Part #1, while Part #3, looking at Irish design exhibitions now and next, will be posted next week, so stay tuned!

Design, Exhibitions and Irish Identity #1: Designing Irish Identity

I've just handed in two more essays for my masters, one of which took a whirlwind trip through the history of Irish international design exhibitions. I really enjoyed researching and writing this one, so thought I would share it with you. As it goes on for ages (by blog standards, not academic ones), I've split it into three parts. Here is Part #1, which introduces and explores the role design has played in the construction of Irish identity, particularly the identity of Ireland as a fledgling nation. Part #2 will look at how Irish identity was presented in key international exhibitions and displays in the 19th and 20th centuries and will be posted later this week. Finally, Part #3 will take a look at recent and current international exhibitions of Irish design to see how certain identities are being represented even now. Enjoy!

Contemporary V&A

The second of two recent essay hand-ins, this one takes a look at the contemporary programme at the Victoria & Albert Museum, focussing in on its offering of temporary exhibitions and events that present contemporary art and design. I think that the V&A's contemporary programme is great and its content is really well curated, but for me that's not the whole story. The V&A contemporary programme's success lies as much in its content as it does in its timing, placement and price. The contemporary programme is as accessible as it is well curated, and that's what makes it so good...

Designing Disruption / Disruptive Design

I've recently handed in two essays for my masters, and here's a shortened version of one of them. I decided to take a look at two quite different exhibitions in London - the just closed Disobedient Objects at the V&A and Designers in Residence 2014 at the Design Museum - to compare how each revealed the relationship between design and disruption, in ways not always intended.

Edible Future

The first hand-in I've had for my Curating MA was a group project to curate a hypothetical exhibition for the British Council, tying in with their Maker Library Network. If you haven't come across one, a Maker Library provides designers - and sometimes members of the public - a space in which to make things, often by digital means, while complimenting this make space with a library of resources and an exhibition space that explores making and made work. My classmates and I were charged with curating a pop-up Maker Library which would explore making in a hands-on way, show the work of British designers and makers and select relevant publications for the accompanying library space.

The Nutella Drinking Glass

Recently in one of the classes I've been taking as part of my MA in Curating Contemporary Design I had to give a short presentation analysing an object. Any object at all. And while there are billions of objects in the world, and at least tens of thousands of brilliant ones, I came back to an old favourite. The Nutella drinking glass is one of the simplest but most clever things you'll find on a supermarket shelf anywhere in the world, and here's why.