Resources

Suzy Annetta is a Melbourne-born curator and the Founder & Publisher of Design Anthology – an independent design and architecture magazine with a strong international following. Based in Hong Kong for over 18 years, Suzy is a recognised authority on regional design who sits on advisory panels, judges international design awards, and contributes to books, interviews, television, podcasts, and live events, all while championing a refined, narrative-driven approach to showcasing the best of Asian and global design.

Although I spent 4 years studying design at university, I wouldn’t call myself particularly well-versed in design history. I never spent much time exploring the mid-century period, and I’ve never been interested in visiting the Milan Furniture Fair. Truthfully, I could tell you more about a spoon maker in Coburg than I could about the legacy of Charles and Ray Eames. Design, for me, has always been about those in my immediate vicinity.

We’re delighted to share the musings of Karen McCartney—acclaimed author, editor, curator and supporter of exceptional architecture, interiors, craft and design—as she reflects on the value of design as a lifestyle-enhancing medium and circuit-breaker of the mundane.

What is design, if not a process of creating things that make life better? What exactly this means though has led to debates that have occupied the minds of those in the world of architecture and design for years. Should a designer’s work follow certain aesthetics or only tackle function or principle? Should design shout about its presence, or not? Should it focus on the mundane and humble, or prioritise conceptual, universal statements of the highest-level, blue-sky thinking?

Beyond Swiss borders, the idea of its citizens enjoying a well-designed life is unlikely to be the first association one has with the Alpine nation. Yet, it’s good design that enhances more common cultural tropes linked with the Swiss – punctuality, preparedness, secrecy and conscientiousness.

I’ve spent the better part of three decades thinking and writing about design. Not just the aesthetic of things, although there is that. But mostly I’m intrigued by the way inanimate objects incarnate certain moments in time.