Design Bridge

This week the UK has marked 100 years since women won the right the vote, and Laura F points us towards a lovely short film from Design Council – and the first in their “Leading Women in Design” series – which celebrates a wide spectrum of female achievements in the world of design. Here it is below…

There will be new content added to this each month throughout the year, so keep an eye on the Design Council website for more.

But first, coffee

Next up, an interesting article from Fast Company on the humble takeaway coffee cup lid, based on a new book, “Coffee Lids: Peel, Pinch, Pucker, Puncture” by architects Louise Harpman and Scott Specht.

Both collectors of coffee cup lids, the pair have a shared passion for the innovation and subsequent (and varying) designs of this everyday item, so much so that their collections are often loaned out for displays and exhibitions. As the overview of their new book reads on Princeton Architectural Press (where you will be able to order it), “You’ll never look at your to-go coffee cup the same way again.”

On the Bench

Our favourite photography project find this week is ‘One the Bench’ by Ukrainian photographer Jeka Kotenko, who has spent 10 years capturing images of the comings and goings at a bench in a local park near his parents in Kiev. It offers a fascinating insight into local life, lends itself to all sorts of storytelling opportunities, and is perfect for anyone who loves a spot of people watching.

You can see more photos from the bench on Kotenko’s Facebook page, and you can follow his other photography work on Instagram.

We originally found the story and images on Colossal.

The secret world of film graphics

Design Week has a great interview this week with Annie Atkins, a graphic designer who specialises in designing props for film and television, and is probably most famous for her work on Wes Anderson’s ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’.

You know those newspapers, posters and product packaging you see in the background? They’ve been designed specifically with the setting in mind, and this is where Annie’s craft lies. It makes for incredibly inspiring reading and is a great reminder that great graphic design really can be found anywhere.

The darkest building on earth

Currently on display at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics 2018 in South Korea, this “multi-sensory water room installation pavilion” has been painted in Vantablack VBx2, which absorb 99% of light that hits it and subsequently makes the building look as if you are heading towards a black void. The outside of the structure is adorned with thousands of star-shaped lights, giving the impression of outer space. It’s Nice That has the full story.

All images by Asif Khan: PyeongChang via It’s Nice That.