Author: Robert Urquhart
Romance is Dead in Dutch Design
Just finished a piece for Eindhoven based publishing press Onomatopee, due out in the Autumn, on the ‘death of romance in Dutch design’, still in editing stages but here’s an excerpt.
‘Is romance about preservation of ideals? Can it be argued that, somewhere along the line, design appears to have become a burden, an emotional debt? Are we over-cautious about preserving some latent form of sentimentality that currently bonds our analogue and digital worlds whilst systematically destroying nostalgia with ever decreasing lassoes? We round up concepts and ideas and herd them together, corralling them in easily searchable, bountifully accessible folders and sub folders, ready incase we ever need them – but what for? It seems to me that the current oft used phrase in the media of ‘content creation’ is the antithesis of creativity. ‘
At the moment I’m busy trying to figure out the difference in my head between nostalgia and romance. A sign I found in Amsterdam this week led the way…
Strange Crops in LA
Found this wandering around the back lots in Culver City last time I was in LA, a portent of some sorts…
Retail on the Fringes of Digital Behaviour
The measure of technological innovation is no more keenly felt than in the media and retail industries. Whilst the media is arguably past the accent of the curve of impact, retail is still on the ascent; technology is making an ever stronger impact on retail with each passing day. Retailers are adapting to the benefits offered by ‘anytime, anyplace, anywhere’ demand from consumers that are now leading the agenda. The foundations of how, when and why we shop have begun to fundamentally change. Together, retailers, innovators and consumers are learning from a decade on the fringes of digital, retail is part of the second wave of our digital evolution, a more nuanced, more seamless world, where together we cherry pick the best and most useful of our online behaviours and transfer them out into ‘the real world’.