Editors’ Letter + Table of Contents

Dear reader,

Welcome to our own private utopia.

For the next 150-odd pages, we’ve allowed ourselves to indulge in a sweeping interpretation of a topic that has fascinated people— not just designers—for centuries. The term “utopia” was first coined in the 1500s by Sir Thomas More, who borrowed from the Greek ou-topos, meaning “no place.” And yet, when you consider utopia in relation to design, the immediate association is one rooted in a place in time, namely, in the histories of the Bauhaus and Constructivism, both of which have recently celebrated their 100th anniversaries. In this issue, we look back at these movements before we look forward, and ask the question, “Do those singular, idealistic visions of modern design still have a place in our world?”

This is not a yes-or-no question, and issue #06 of Eye on Design magazine explores the theme “utopias” with nuanced stories and design that takes you to some surprising places. We start in London, where modernist architecture failed to meet the needs of its inhabitants—which, in this case, happened to be zoo animals. Moving to the other side of the city more than half a century later, we visit publishing group OOMK, run by three women who are employing a ground-up approach to collective space with their open-access print studio. In New York, we follow student protesters and their decade-long fight to save one of the last U.S. colleges to offer free tuition, and in Ahmedabad we look back at the school that produced some of India’s most ubiquitous branding.

We also sought out individuals who are quite literally building the world in which they’d like to live. In a small Canadian town, the cartoonist Seth lives in a house that looks like it sprung straight from one of his graphic novels set in the 1940s—every knickknack, appliance, piece of furniture, and even his signature wardrobe. Meanwhile, in Johannesburg, creative Rendani Nemakhavhani looks toward the future with her alter-ego The Honey, portraying the type of South African woman she’d like to see more of. With so many different versions and visions of utopia from around the world, it’s clear that there is no one-size-fits-all answer.

We also discover new perspectives on well-known histories, such as Stefanie Leinhos’s illustrated guide to utopias constructed by women, or Mindy Seu’s index of cyberfeminist projects from around the world. And in an essay on digital nomadism (the working millennial’s spin on the idea of “no place”), artists Luiza Prado and Pedro Oliveira remind us that working across borders is a privilege not afforded everyone. While utopias may be idealistic, they can’t be separated from their more dystopian counterparts.

It’s this approach that makes the theme particularly relevant to Eye on Design magazine right now, as we transition from our tri-annual schedule to an expansive new publishing model (more on that very soon). It’s also why we decided to bring on Na Kim as this issue’s guest designer, whose work

draws from the bold modern designs of the early 20th century, while also remaining fluid and dynamic—perfectly suited to our notion of plurality.

Love,

The Editors