All articles by Sowmya Thuniki

Sowmya Thuniki

Animal and insect shaped chairs by Maximo Riera

Maximo Riera has a singular vision when it comes to furniture. For some time now he has been mining the animal kingdom for inspiration for his anatomically accurate, yet surreally gothic, seating. Now he’s turned to the most numerous creatures on the planet, the insects, for his latest piece, the Beetle chair, based on the European Rhinoceros Beetle. He has already, of course, done an actual rhino…

Philip Castle on designing iconic film posters for Stanley Kubrick

Working closely with film maestro Stanley Kubrick, who seemed to have a thing for hats, illustrator Philip Castle created the iconic posters for two of his key films, Full Metal Jacket and Clockwork Orange. Here, Castle opens some old boxes filled with treasures and shares the experience

In a digitally connected world, are we losing touch with reality?

Is a future of constant and frenetic connectivity inevitable? Veronica Simpson thinks designers need to step back from the digital tsunami to ensure that the joys of analogue experience aren’t swept away completely

Devil in the detail: James Cauty’s dystopia in miniature

With the help of 5,000 police officers and a clutch of journalists, artist James Cauty has created the aftermath of riot and mayhem, complete with a burning church, collapsed overpass and, er, a cow in a block of flats… All the figures are miniatures but, far from the rural idyll of old model villages, Cauty’s diorama makes a political statement about societal freedom and state control. After opening under the arches at Hoxton Station, Aftermath Dislocation Principle Parts I & II can are on show at Piet Hein Eek, Eindhoven until 15 March

Last chance to fly to NeoCon with fly Forbo

Designers new and established have just a matter of days to enter the latest Fly Forbo design competition, with a trip for two to Chicago, accommodation and entry into NeoCon 2014 as top prize.

MET Studio will make sludge look good…

MET Studio has been commissioned as the lead exhibition designer for a 2,000 sq m environmental education centre to be housed within a new sludge treatment facility in the Tuen Mun district of Hong Kong. When completed it will be the world’s largest of its kind.

What I expect from design

In the first of another new series of features, Moira Gemmill, director of projects, design and estate for the Victoria and Albert Museum, talks to Pamela Buxton about her work as director of projects at the museum and what she looks for when commissioning work

Analysis