Category Archives: Architecture

The Image of Christ and Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Richard Shear

This week, two articles in the NY Times caught my attention. The first was about the image of a candy package, the second about the image of Christ, and both are lessons about good intentions gone really bad. And while … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Candy, Design Criticism, Design Practice, Packages in Art, SVA Masters in Branding | Tagged , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

The 60 Watt Coke Bottle

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Richard Shear

Here is a simply brilliant (pun intended) idea that uses recycled plastic bottles to provide home lighting in third world countries. A single bottle installed in the roof can provide the light equivalent to a 60 watt bulb, free for … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Beverages, Design Criticism, Environmental Packaging | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cityscapes and store shelves

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Richard Shear

Real estate developers have always been competitive folks, and by the looks of West 23rd street in Manhattan they are beginning to take a lesson from the combative traditions of the store shelf and consumer product brands. Nicolai Ourroussoff had … Continue reading →

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Aesthetic shock and awe

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Richard Shear

In the early 1980s I worked in Manhattan just a few blocks from where Philip Johnson’s AT&T building was being erected. We watched with amazement as the raw steel forms of what became known as the “Chippendale” skyscraper were put … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Beauty & Personal Care, Beverages, Design Criticism | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Kimbell Museum, Coca Cola, Renzo Piano, and Turner Duckworth

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Richard Shear

An iconic building and an iconic brand. .  . both driven by the creative brilliance of their designers and the application, over time, of a collective vision for the brand. Perhaps the most rewarding type of project for a package … Continue reading →

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Glassphemy! A visceral and psychological recycling center

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Richard Shear

Recycling is so boring! Or so says David Pelt a developer who has just built a new kind of recyling place, along the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. Based on the video it seems like a great place to recycle your … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Design Criticism, Design Practice, Environmental Packaging, Wine, Beer, & Spirits | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Designing in Silence

Posted on April 20, 2010 by Richard Shear

Listen to the photo above. It is a shot by Keith Lanpher called “Water Lilies“. I hear silence, what do you hear? The image was taken at a very special place about 15 miles from anywhere. A place where the … Continue reading →

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A stack of (mostly) white boxes

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Richard Shear

Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, partners in the Japanese firm Sanaa have just won the 2010 Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest award, in part for a simple stack of white boxes. Of course when talking about art or commerce things are … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Beauty & Personal Care, Design Criticism, Design Practice | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Burj Khalifa and vertical vodkas

Posted on January 5, 2010 by Richard Shear

With interests in both real estate and vodka, maybe it’s the Donald’s attitude on altitude that does it again, as Dubai trumps Shanghai. One of the first “big” events of this new decade was the opening yesterday of Burj Khalifa, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Beverages, Design Criticism, Design Practice, Wine, Beer, & Spirits | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment