This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.
When most of us pass by an old piece of wood on the ground, we don’t look at it twice. After all, it’s just a stick, right? But for Canadian artist, Debra Bernier, the grooves, pits, and breaks in a piece of driftwood are tiny works of art, created by nature, and they’re inspirational jumping-off points for her earthy, magical artwork.
More Curated Content
-
Visual Diary Entry: Redbook Magazine Cover
The vintage Redbook magazine cover exemplifies mid-century design, featuring effective white space, bold typography, and color contrast, highlighting women’s evolving roles and aesthetics.Read More →
-
CNN Style: A Global Lens on Design, Fashion, and Culture
CNN Style significantly influences global design, fashion, and architecture through in-depth features, addressing contemporary issues and combining creativity with technology for diverse audiences.Read More →
-
Firefox’s Future-Proof Branding Identity by Ramotion
Ramotion redefined Firefox’s branding, crafting a scalable design system to evolve its identity while expanding beyond the web browser without losing its essence.Read More →
-
Get Ready to Yell, Get Ready to Hide: It’s a Silly, Serious Year for Design
The article “The Frayed Fabric of Design 2024” explores navigating branding in a tumultuous year, reflecting the challenges and contradictions marketers and brands face.Read More →
-
The Supercharged 1936 Auburn 852: A Rolling Art Deco Masterpiece
The 1936 Auburn 852 Supercharged Cabriolet epitomizes Art Deco elegance and automotive innovation, showcasing Auburn’s visionary craftsmanship and luxury engineering. Visit HOTCARS for more.Read More →
-
Ralph Pucci’s In-house Presentation Unfolds an Artistic Tapestry with ‘Primal Mysteries’
Ralph Pucci unveils ‘Primal Mysteries’, a collection of 15 exquisite pieces at the New York gallery, paying homage to artistic legends. Discover more at Ralph Pucci’s.Read More →
-
This Shape-Shifting Rikshaw Converts Into An E-Scooter In Less Than Three Minutes
The S32 EV, a groundbreaking creation from an Indian automotive startup, seamlessly transforms from an electric scooter to an e-rikshaw in under three minutes, revolutionizing urban mobility.Read More →
-
Thomas Allen’s Playful Paper Cutouts Spring from Vintage Books and Color Swatches
Thomas Allen intricately crafts three-dimensional scenes from vintage books and color swatches, bringing playful pop-ups to life through meticulous paper cutouts.Read More →
-
Embracing the Night: The Art and Evolution of Landscape Lighting
Landscape lighting balances aesthetics, function, and environmental impact. While addressing safety and recreational needs, it must consider challenges like light pollution. Evolution towards sustainability integrates LED, solar power, and energy-efficient design.Read More →
-
The Rise of Temu and Its Influence on Applied and Decorative Arts
Temu is a leading e-commerce platform revolutionizing global design access, offering diverse products and fostering cross-cultural dialogue while addressing quality challenges.Read More →
-
Costume Jewellery: From Coco Chanel to Carrie Bradshaw
Costume jewellery, affordable, stylish, and rich in history, has once again become prominent in fashion. Iconic figures like Coco Chanel and characters like Carrie Bradshaw have significantly contributed to its popularity.Read More →
-
Concrete Giants: 20 Global Masterpieces of Brutalism
It is an architecture alien to any intellectualism, which speaks to the masses whose needs it interprets, especially in the conception of civic and community architecture.Read More →
-
The 8 types of Graphic Design
Graphic design uses visual compositions to solve problems and communicate ideas through typography, imagery, color and form. There’s no one way to do that, and that’s why there are several types of graphic design, each with their own area of specialisation.Read More →
-
Aubrey Beardsley (1872 – 1898) – the Dandy of the Grotesque
Aubrey Beardsley, an influential illustrator of the Art Nouveau period, captivated the public with his erotic and intricate artwork, but faced tragic backlash.Read More →
-
A Symbol for ‘Nobody’ That’s Really for Everybody
Back in 1968, Danish design student Susanne Koefoed developed the International Access Symbol and as ubiquitous as it became, there is a passivity to the design that is arguably addressed by the latest Accessible Icon. With its own emoji and increasing acceptance across the globe, the new symbol started as a street art project in…
-
Womb chair – Eero Saarinen 1946
The Womb Chair, designed by Eero Saarinen in 1946, offers comfort and style with its unique shape inspired by the natural curves of a woman’s body.Read More →
-
Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) – A Leader in Decorative Arts
The Victoria and Albert Museum ( V&A ) is one of the world’s foremost collections of decorative arts and architecture. It served as a model for the development of applied arts museums in Vienna (1864), Berlin (1867), Oslo (1876), Copenhagen (1890), and other cities.Read More →
-
Duane Bryers (1911 – 2012) – Pinup Artist – Naughty but Nice
One of my favourite pinup artists was Minnesota born Duane Bryers, creator of the famous Hilda, a pleasingly, popular and plump pinup girl. Bryers’ background was as interesting as his illustrations. Born in northern Michigan, he excelled at acrobatics as a child. His family moved to Virginia, Minnesota, at 12 and he soon had the…
-
Peace Poster by Luba Lukova
Luba Lukova’s artwork Peace critiques the relationship between war and peace, questioning the effectiveness of violence in achieving harmony while encouraging deeper reflection and alternative solutions.Read More →
-
Coco Chanel: A Classic of the 20th Century
From gold buttons to comfortable tailored trousers and comfortable cardigan sweaters, there is no more significant influence on clothes than Coco Chanel.Read More →
Poetic Sculptures by Valérie Hadida Cast Composed Women with Coiffed Hair in Bronze – Encyclopedia of Design
For Valérie Hadida, the deep, protective partnerships fostered between women provide the foundation for her practice.
Discover more from Encyclopedia of Design
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.