Mettsass Relaunch

Ettore Sottsass' iconic design is resurrected after 40 years

To celebrate their 40th anniversary, Barcelona Design has just relaunched “Mettsass”, a table design by Ettore Sottsass from 1972. The original table marks both BD’s inaugural year as well as Sottsass’s first design for the company, which would be followed by the “Manhattan” ashtray and “Shiva” vase. Going on to found the Memphis Group, Sottsass’s early work bears the hallmark bright monochrome and rigid minimalism …

The Onion’s Great Escape

The story of one vegetable's survival in an interactive children's book

As a cross between illustration, philosophy and paper engineering, Sara Fanelli‘s most recent children’s book “The Onion’s Great Escape” challenges the limitations of reading as an interactive experience. Following the quest of an onion as it attempts to escape its apparent fate of death by frying, the book’s perforated core is removed page-by-page until, at the end, the onion is literally freed from the book. …

Rad Rides

A comprehensive look at the best BMX bikes of all time seen through the eyes of design

As motocross became an increasingly popular sport in 1960s Southern California, boys wanted to emulate their favorite riders, and began hacking together bicycle frames. Realizing this potential gap in the market, Schwinn created a bike that would answer their racing-specific needs. The Schwinn Sting Ray launched in 1963, giving life to BMX—bicycle motocross—and taking it from California dirt tracks to the Olympic game it is …