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Newsletters

Design

A studio portrait shows a man wearing sunglasses, a white T-shirt and tan pants standing in a cluttered workshop with tools, shelves, hoses, sculptures and worktables around him.

Sébastien Léon’s Material Exploration

"I’m interested in imagining a different physical world, almost a parallel set of conditions where matter follows a slightly altered logic," the artist told Observer.
By Christa Terry

Marc Benda On Design’s Long Ascent and the Limits of Category

Rejecting the concept of “collectible design,” Benda, alongside Barry Friedman, built a global, intergenerational program that treats design as a serious artistic discipline.
By Elisa Carollo
A general view of the stadium during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Final between France and Croatia at Luzhniki Stadium on July 15, 2018 in Moscow, Russia

Global Events Are Redesigning National Identity in Real Time

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup and LA28 Olympics approach amid political polarization and cultural fragmentation, Chris Braden, who has led strategic design initiatives for global sporting events, explores how organizers are shifting away from rigid national symbolism.
By Chris Braden
A trio of differently sized vintage-looking vending machines selling cocktails, milk and soup from the film Asteroid City

One Fine Show: “Wes Anderson, The Archives” at the Design Museum in London

By Dan Duray
A slice of lemon with a Swedish flag is placed on IKEA's food tray

The Swedish Moment: How Design Is Powering Unicorn Growth

By Johanna Augustin
A living room interior shows a Calder mobile suspended from an ornate ceiling above a sofa, surrounded by modern furniture and artworks.

The $96 Million de Gunzburg Collection Just Set a New Bar for Design at Auction

By Elisa Carollo
Ebbie Wisecarver

WeWork’s Chief Designer On Creating the Smart Workspace for Modern Work

By Sissi Cao
A bright, refined interior shows a dining table with chairs, a large framed painting of a seated nude figure on an orange background and tall wooden cabinets beside sunlit windows.

Inside the Most Valuable Single-Owner Design Sale in Sotheby’s History

By Brook S. Mason
Four astronauts aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft atop the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket launch on the agency’s Artemis II test flight, Wednesday, April 1 from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida

Artemis II and the Case for Reinvesting in Public Ambition on Earth

By Jessie McGuire
Portrait of Raksha Sanika in a black textured blazer, illuminated by dramatic window light and shadow stripes.

Raksha Sanikam’s House of Santal Brings Contemporary South Asian Design to New York

By Elisa Carollo
A cream-colored alpine building with wooden shutters displays bold red NOMAD signage and stacked sculptural letters outside its entrance, situating the fair within the streetscape of St. Moritz.

At NOMAD St. Moritz, a Cohesive Vision of Lived Aesthetics

By Alistair MacQueen
A visitor holds up a smartphone inside the Met, using augmented reality to view a digital Indigenous artwork layered over a marble sculpture of a reclining figure

How Digital Placemaking Is Redefining the Modern Museum

By YuJune Park and Caspar Lam
A crowded art fair aisle with collectors and visitors conversing beneath bright gallery lighting and rows of booths.

FOG Design + Art Delivers Strong Sales and Institutional Momentum in San Francisco

By Elisa Carollo
A man stands in front of a wall of tall grid windows inside a gallery space, surrounded by abstract, lily pad–shaped sculptural tables with wide bronze tops and organic stems.

Vincenzo De Cotiis’s Material Transformation

By Christa Terry
Professional portrait of Lina Ghotmeh, founder of LG—A, wearing a red blouse. The image includes "Observer 2025 Art Index" branding with her name and title "Founder & Architect, LG—A," on the right side.

Lina Ghotmeh Is Reimagining Cultural Architecture for a Connected World

By The Editors
Professional portrait of Jennifer Findley and Kevin Mansour

Art as Infrastructure: How Cultural Programming Is Redefining Luxury Hospitality


By Sonia Rubeck
An elehgant luminous interior with a Hyppo sculptural bar table.

Lalannes Fever and the Global Demand for Design

By Elisa Carollo
A Sotheby’s auctioneer in a black suit stands in front of a crowded room with Gustav Klimt’s portrait of a woman hanging beside a bidding screen showing Antonio Obá’s Alvorada—Musica Incidental Black Bird.

Christie’s and Sotheby’s Close 2025 With a Market Rebound Fueled by Luxury and New Buyers

By Elisa Carollo
A bar cart shaped like a hippo, with several panels open to reveal the compartments holding bottles and glassware

François-Xavier Lalanne’s ‘Hippopotame Bar’ Sets a New Auction Record for the Artist

By Christa Terry
A staircase and escalator descend into an exhibition area marked with red signs reading “NOMAD Vault.” Above, a mosaic ceiling with green, white and blue honeycomb shapes fans out over the space.

NOMAD Abu Dhabi Turns a Decommissioned Airport Terminal into a Destination for Design

By Elisa Carollo
Minimalist gallery display with neutral walls, ceramic vessels on white pedestals, and soft organic lighting at Salon Art + Design 2025.

At Salon Art + Design 2025, Innovation, Form and Function Meet Market Enthusiasm

By Elisa Carollo
Two men in light colored suits pose on harbor

Former Apple Designer Jony Ive’s Latest Work Is a $4,800 Lantern for Sailors

By Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly
The exterior of Sotheby’s London features a striking golden Surrealist facade with two giant sculpted eyes framing the entrance.

Karpidas’s Sotheby’s Sale Marks a New Peak for Surrealism and Design

By Elisa Carollo
The image shows an exhibition space with sculptures by François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne. In the foreground, a large blue pig sculpture stands prominently, its geometric form and bright color striking against the historic backdrop. To the left, a bronze figure, possibly from a different artist, with outstretched arms, contrasts the playful nature of the animal sculpture. A smaller sculpture, possibly by the Lalannes, is positioned to the right on a pedestal, completing the eclectic arrangement in the room. The space has a classical ambiance, with ornate mirrors and detailed architecture enhancing the contemporary artwork's impact.

Record Prices, New Buyers and Global Reach: Design’s Moment Has Arrived

By Elisa Carollo
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