Have tattoos become too expensive?
For various reasons, getting inked increasingly involves breaking the bank. What does this mean for the industry and for the future of an art form that’s been around for generations? If you cast your mind back to the days of T-shirts and shorts earlier this year – now replaced by...
Current in Design
Opinion – AI disrupting Africa’s traditional artistry is a worry
Across Africa, a continent rich with diverse artistic heritage, traditional art has long been a vehicle for cultural expression, storytelling, and heritage preservation. From the intricate beadworks to bold masks, traditional African art has both spiritual and social value, transcending mere aesthetics. Artificial Intelligence’s accessibility and ability to create compelling...
Tiny urban forests are having a hugely positive impact
With one in three people in England lacking access to nature-rich spaces, this micro-foresting method is being deployed to change that. Have you heard of the Miyawaki foresting method? It’s a Japanese-style tree-planting technique that involves placing a strategically diverse group of native woodland trees within a small area of...
What’s the meaning behind Banksy’s latest stunt?
The anonymous street artist has claimed credit for three consecutive animal-themed artworks in three days. One theory is circulating on social media that the ‘London Zoo’ collection (as its been dubbed) reflects the parlous state of the UK amid ongoing far-right riots nationwide. This week, a number of animal-themed artworks...
Does Banksy’s latest mural have an environmental message?
The anonymous street artist has confirmed he is behind a new artwork that appeared in north London on Sunday. Many are speculating that it depicts nature’s struggle in an increasingly urbanised world. Yesterday, social media hit pause on obsessing over Kate Middleton’s whereabouts to admire a new mural that...
Why did LA’s graffiti artists target these downtown luxury apartments?
In the heart of Los Angeles stands three skyscrapers once destined to house luxury condominiums, a five-star hotel, a shopping mall, and more. Now, it’s completely abandoned and covered in graffiti. What happened? Since the year 2019, a trio of massive skyscrapers in downtown Los Angeles have been left completely...
Lyle’s Golden Syrup changes logo for first time since 1883
In an effort to appeal to a younger market, Lyle’s Golden Syrup has changed its logo for the first time in nearly 150 years. It’s a pivot toward flat design, a trend that continues to dominate labelling, packaging, and marketing across many industries. If you’ve ever bought Lyle’s Golden Syrup before, you’ll probably have noticed that the company’s logo has never changed. In fact, it’s been the same since...
Are these drive-in parks the ‘petrol stations’ of the future?
A new kind of refueling station has popped up in the Danish town of Sønderborg. Rather than filling up on petrol, the facility has been designed to allow drivers to ‘recharge their minds’ alongside their electric vehicles. Most petrol stations only look good when captured on a retro film camera in low lighting, but the locations where we power up our vehicles could be about to get a massive makeover. This...
Samsung reimagines the London Underground map in new campaign
For the first time in 90 years, London’s public transport map has been redesigned. The circular layout was put forward by Samsung in promotion of a new feature on its Galaxy S24 smartphone. Although the vast majority of Londoners will have at least partially memorised the city’s public transport map, visitors and newcomers to the UK’s capital city might find its spiderweb design a little overwhelming. Regardless, it’s remained unchanged for...
Google’s Lumiere generates realistic AI videos from text prompts
AI video is fast turning from uncanny valley to genuinely realistic, and Google’s Lumiere is the most sophisticated text-to-video generator we’ve seen to date. Evoking a sense of awe – and a hefty dose of unease – Google recently exhibited how sophisticated AI video has become in just a few years of development. In the same way that text-to-image generators like Bing Image Creator, DALL-E, and Midjourney can create original images...
