[Laura Shore] In the old days {before last week}, Design Observer was fairly austere, somewhat hard to penetrate, and virtuous-seeming in a low-contrast hospital-green kind of way. Overnight the site has become a total immersion experience for anyone passionate about design and social change.
With new writers, new departments and a new navigational structure that surfaces all the fantastic legacy content, the folks at DO could have stopped and taken a well-deserved break. But instead, they have expanded the site to include Change Observer, which chronicles the intersection of design and social change at home and abroad; Observatory, with the original DO content and focus; Places, which will sadly replace the print journal of the same name; and Observer Media, featuring our favorite internet radio talk show host, Debbie Millman.
When you go to DO, after reading Jessica Helfand’s latest essay, Can Graphic Design Make You Cry?, search on “letterpress” and read Eric Baker’s piece from June on nineteenth century “artistic printing”. After that you’re on your own but I guarantee it will be awhile before you surface again!
