Objects
The Handle That Makes a Door Easy to Read
Door handle design can make a door’s action clear at a glance. Learn how shape, position, contrast, and testing help…
The full collection
All readings
Explore design through close readings of objects, graphics, interiors, buildings and the ideas that shaped them.
Graphics
Serif or Sans Serif for a Long Printed Page?
Serif or sans serif for a long printed page depends on size, spacing, line length, and purpose; learn how to judge the…
Design History
From Parlour to Living Room: A Room Changes Its Name
From parlour to living room, learn how to read a room’s name alongside its layout, furnishings, and traces of everyday…
Interiors
The Feature Wall Is Not a Room Plan
A feature wall cannot plan a living room; learn to coordinate circulation, furniture placement, and visual balance…
Architecture
Reading a Building Entrance on a Rainy Day
Reading a building entrance on a rainy day reveals how its canopy, paving, sightlines, and threshold guide arrival…
Our point of view
Design is a set of choices we can learn to see.
We look beyond appearance to ask what a design does, how it is made legible and who it serves. Noticing those choices makes familiar things more interesting.