Every month our resident art expert, David Behringer, searches for the best of what’s happening in modern art in New York City galleries. He seeks the best exhibitions and shows that most of us wouldn’t even know existed, and shares an up close and personal view of the artist and their work. If you missed any of his posts or just want to take another look, read on for a visual exploration of NYC’s art scene that David covered in our Unframed column in 2020.

Circuit Boards of Sound: The Sculpture of Steve Parker
The brass horns in the sculpture of Steve Parker make music… but not how you’d expect. In this electrified sculpture, a viewer’s touch activates beautiful and unexpected recordings. Several of his interactive works were on view at the Cue Art Foundation in New York in what was a must-see (and must hear) exhibition titled “Futurist Listening” … Read the rest

NBA superstar and new Washington Wizard Russell Westbrook is renown for an unrelenting and dynamic on-court persona, one matched off the hardwood by a deep passion for fashion – a driving force which has manifested in generations of Jordan “Why Not?” sneakers every bit as expressive as its signature superstar. Westbrook’s latest signature shoe – the Jordan “Why Not?” Zer0.4 – arrives in a trio of inline colorways, with an extra special edition designed in collaboration with Japanese cult fashion brand, FACETASM.

Represented by a colorful amalgamation and arrangement of patterns, colors and textures across the entire Jordan “Why Not?” Zer0.4 collection, Westbrook credits his hometown of South Central Los Angeles’ and Greater Los Angeles’ vibrant landscape and community as the inspiration for the playfully prismatic designs. But it’s arguably the fourth edition designed in partnership with FACETASM founder Hiromichi Ochiai that arrives bearing the most interesting backstory, noting … Read the rest

This year more than ever, our outdoor spaces have become critical for our sanity since most of us were stuck at home during the pandemic. Whether a small balcony or a massive backyard with a pool and garden, outdoor spaces can be extensions of our interior spaces and designed in the same way. Dress it up or down, there are millions of options to personalize it to your own needs throughout the year. From modern outdoor furniture to beehives to elegant planters, Design Milk shared a bit of everything in our Get Out! column in hopes of helping you create the outdoor spaces of your dreams.

10. Rehome Your Plants with the Terra Collection
Georg Jensen has just released a new collaborative collection with Snøhetta, called Terra, a series of indoor and outdoor pots and plant accessories constructed from steel and terracotta that at once feel fresh yet familiar.

9. … Read the rest

This year we feasted on some delectable treats and food-centric art from our friends TJ Girard and Bob Spiegel of Pinch Food Design. These culinary veterans seamlessly blend food and design in their daily lives, and monthly in our lives through their Taste column, where they share some delicious posts about all things food + design. Now we’re taking a second look at what they featured throughout 2020.

NYC’s Nami Nori Restaurant Turns Hand Rolls into Tacos
It is not often Pinch Food Design are equally impressed by food and design innovation with the same intensity. But Nami Nori, a new Japanese restaurant in NYC’s West Village, has officially blown us away. Besides the three founders all being alums of Masa, the only 3-Michelin-star sushi restaurant in the country, Nami Nori has captivated our creative senses with their show stopping take on temaki served up “taco style” on perfectly cut … Read the rest

Even though we share cool modern designs every week, sometimes we want to go a bit deeper to see how they are made. Most of us have no idea the time, effort, skill and labor that goes into making each design, but when we do we appreciate it so much more. Every month, we enlist designers and brands to break down the design process that resulted in their creations and now we’re taking a look back to see each of the designs we featured in our Deconstruction column in 2020.

How the Woven Leather Collection From Smilow Design Is Made
Smilow Design is a brand launched by Judy Smilow as a way to pay homage to her father Mel Smilow and his American-made, mid-century designs that have been around since 1949. Part of that catalog of designs is the Woven Leather Collection, a series of minimalist chairs, stools and benches … Read the rest

The circular economy is a proposed alternative to our traditional ‘take, make, waste’ model of production and consumption – one that offers hope in the face of environmental catastrophes from climate change to ocean plastic. Designing out of waste and pollution, keeping materials and products in use, and regenerating our natural environment are so important to contemporary design that this year we wanted to create a dedicated space for the projects bringing these ideas to life. Back in May we launched Circular by Design, a bi-weekly column by longtime contributor Katie Treggiden, that explores the potential of waste as a valuable new raw material. In case you missed anything, we revisiting all of the Circular by Design posts from 2020.

Studio Woojai Turns Waste Paper Into Bricks and Furniture
Eindhoven-based Studio Woojai is run by Korean New Zealander WooJai Lee, a designer motivated by exploring and experimenting with the … Read the rest

Technology is forever changing which is why we like to hit pause from time to time to take a closer look at what’s coming down the pipeline and what’s just hit the market. From Zoom backgrounds to spacesuits to a hydroponic gardening system, we aim to share a bit of everything happening in the tech world. Curious to see what the most popular technology post in 2020 was? Take a look to find out.

10. A Gaming Company’s Office Embraces an Anti-Tech Atmosphere
Seattle-based gaming design and fabrications company Analogue’s newly opened Asia headquarters showcases a retro-modern theme within their Causeway Bay, Hong Kong workspace – a tastefully “anti-tech” atmosphere for a team dedicated to (re)creating homage gaming systems.

9. The Rotofarm Is a NASA-Inspired, Sculptural Hydroponic System
Are you amongst the new “crop” of those interested in growing your own fresh herbs and vegetables from home right now? Most … Read the rest

Every week throughout the year, we enlist designers, artists, architects and creatives to share something other than their own work. It’s entirely up to them what they select, and the options are endless, but every week they share five picks, from things that inspire them, favorite locations, iconic designers they look up to, things they can’t live without, and so on. Every time it’s a surprise to see what they select and it’s always fascinating as it’s more insight into each creative’s mind. Now, we’re looking back to see the most popular Friday Five posts from 2020.

10. Friday Five With Nastaran Mousavi
Born and raised in the small Iranian city of Sari surrounded by the Alborz Mountains and the Caspian Sea, architect Nastaran Mousavi grew up appreciating the vast differences between the rich natural landscape and the heavily populated city. The San Francisco-based architect joined us for Friday Five … Read the rest

Wellness and self-care have become more than just buzzwords people throw around as now more than ever it’s critical to actually focus on implementing them into one’s daily life. With the global pandemic, working from home, jobs lost, normalcy gone, etc., life has become more than stressful for many. To ease the burden and to comfort the mind, doing even small things like meditating can have a big impact. In addition to launching a Wellness section in the Design Milk Shop, we amped up posts on the topic this year and now we’re revisiting the top 5 wellness posts from 2020.

5. Crave Allows You to Personalize Your Pleasure
Rather than blush in shame or embarrassment, we can choose to be uninhibited by our desires, make these conversations a norm, and own our pleasure proudly instead. That’s what Crave wants to do and their latest launch, the Crave Duet … Read the rest