SEPTEMBER
complex, which handles around 40 per
Get set, go
cent of all container imports to the
Netflixers around the world
Pauline Deltour (1983-2021)
US. In the “before times”, it was rare
collectively went crazy for Squid
The designer Pauline Deltour first
for more than one container ship to
Game, a South Korean drama that
appeared in Disegno back in 2018
be left waiting for berth; at the
premiered in September, transposing
with Monimalz – a connected piggy
backlog’s initial peak, 73 were
the country’s very real personal
bank that she had designed for La
awaiting the opportunity to disgorge
debt crisis onto a fictional secret
Poste. Recasting the coin container
cargo. It's a backlog created by a
gameshow where players compete for
as a digital object, variously styled
pandemic-prompted buying boom, mixed
a cash prize – imagine a cross between
as a cartoon whale, panda and monkey,
in with fewer port workers and lorry
The Most Dangerous Game and Battle
Monimalz was a perfect example of
drivers (thanks in part to Covid
Royale. Just as captivating as Squid
Deltour’s design: rich in charm, wit
outbreaks), all adding up to produce
Game's gut-wrenching interpersonal
and beauty, but also precise, rigorous
a bottleneck on a colossal scale.
drama and stomach-turning gore,
and immaculately detailed. Throughout
It’s just one manifestation of the
however, was its set design, with
her career, which began at Konstantin
international supply chain crisis,
art director Chae Kyoung-sun creating
Grcic Industrial Design before she
which looks likely to continue as
nightmarish playgrounds-on-acid for
left to found her own Paris studio
the global north heads towards the
the bloodbaths to play out on. “All
in 2011, Deltour was able to weave
bloated holiday season. Stuff, it
spaces in the game world are built
together these disparate strands
seems, it here to stay.
in sets,” Chae told Variety. “The art
within her work – a combination she
teams had to think like a designer
described as “severe and delicate”
who created the games.” Basic shapes,
– to create objects of extraordinary
bright colours and childhood nostalgia
richness. Her death in September took
featured heavily, with Chae also
away one of design’s brightest young
peppering her sets with hidden
practitioners; it is testament to her
secrets, such as the mysterious games
talent that her legacy within the field
being spelt out by the tiles of the
was already secured.
dormitory. But some of the symbolism remained an inside joke. The pink ribbons gift wrapping each black coffin? Those were inspired by Chae’s love of Kpop girl group Blackpink.
Fair play
With more than 111 million viewers
We are still very much in a pandemic,
around the world entranced by the
but after a year of Covid calendar
show’s aesthetic, will pastel colour
chaos, it seems that design fairs
palettes hit different now?
couldn’t wait to return. In September, Paris hosted Maison et Objet; Milan, the Salone del Mobile; and London Images courtesy of Pauline Deltour Design Office/ Stephanie Füssenich; Pixabay; and Netflix.
brought back its own Design Festival, all of which invited overseas guests to attend in-person. With vaccination schemes in place for wealthy countries and testing systems that support international travel, the fairs bounced back after their year in the wilderness, albeit in altered, leaner formats. Salone, for example, was reduced from its pre-pandemic pomp,
OCTOBER
but did introduce a novel system whereby members of the public could
Paris. London. Milan. Springfield?
The colossus of backlogs
attend the fair and buy products
Everybody knows that The Simpsons
While the start of the pandemic
directly. Given that anecdotal
has been in decline for years, but
may have been marked by shortages,
reports suggest attendees enjoyed
in October the long-running cartoon
a year and a half on it has become
this less full-throttle fair
shook off the cobwebs and returned
characterised by an over-accumulation
experience, perhaps opportunities
to the forefront of pop culture.
of stuff – albeit often in the wrong
to browse, rather than be bombarded,
Partnering with Balenciaga, the show
place at the wrong time. September saw
could become a permanent fixture.
created a special 10-minute episode
record queues of shipping containers
that replaced the brand's traditional
at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port
catwalk with an animated cavalcade
Disegno
