Welcome to the first Mix of 2024. For issue 230, we’re highlighting design that has something to say.
2 min read
Dear readers,
This issue Martin Brudnizki explains that maximalism – the bold, sensorially-stimulating style for which he has become synonymous – is all about having something to say. It is, perhaps, an idea that could be applied to design writ large: an industry that, whether on a micro or a macro scale, is all about saying something. For Brudnizki, it’s all about beauty while, for the founders of Doshi Levien it’s about joy and the intersection of ideas.
This issue our Mix Roundtables also feel particularly urgent and prescient – in partnership with Impact Acoustic, a discussion on circularity and where we’re getting things wrong; while, in partnership with Amtico, we hear from the next generation of design talent, a roundtable composed entirely of those from our 30 Under 30 Class of ’23.
Our case studies similarly serve as a radical expression of ideas, each of them a bold treatise on the direction of travel – across workplace, hospitality, education and BTR. From a primary school and community hub south-east of Glasgow to an anti-corporate workplace in London’s corporate heartland, Canary Wharf, many of these are about shattering the mould and challenging orthodoxy; brave new visions for a new time.
Enjoy,
Harry McKinley
Managing Editor
Mix Interiors
Taking the concept of Ege’s new SHE carpet collection – which features patterns that honour the work of pioneering female artists throughout history – the cover design applies one of these patterns, whilst including references to another inspiring female artist, as selected by Squire & Partners. The design practice took inspiration from the contemporary work of Op Art artist Bridget Riley to inform the colour palette, weaving the Mix logo into the fabric of the pattern to create the final design.
The SHE collection features six carpet designs celebrating female artists. Following a particular fascination of the preferred techniques of the 1930s’ and 1940s’ artists, all six SHE patterns are made by hand to embrace the unique expression of a line that’s either drawn, cut or put together by physical materials. The designs originate from interpretations of distinctive patterns created by different weaving techniques, experimental expressionistic shapes or, in contrast, simple and graphic paintings.
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