Human Scale in Architectural Images
Without a person, a drawn building could be three metres tall or three hundred. How architects and illustrators use figures to give us the…
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Visual culture
Essays on how we look: colour, form, space and the presence of art at home.
How Museums Teach Us to Look at Art
Look at fewer works for longer, read the label afterwards, notice the light: what museums teach us about looking at art, and how to…
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Texture in Visual Art: From Image to Paper
A print can show a brushstroke's texture without having it, while its paper adds a texture of its own. Implied versus actual texture, and…
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Asymmetrical Composition in Contemporary Art
Visual weight, counterweights, the rule of thirds and empty space: how asymmetrical composition works, from Japanese prints to Mondrian.
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Archival Imagery in Contemporary Interiors
Old photographs, scientific plates, postcards and archive illustrations: why they appeal in modern interiors, and what to know about provenance and rights.
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Typography in European Cultural Posters
From Art Nouveau lettering to Swiss sans-serifs and painted Polish film posters: how typography gave European cultural posters their voice.
Read articleA Short History of Botanical Illustration in Europe
From medieval herbals to Fuchs, Merian, Redouté and Curtis's Botanical Magazine at Kew: the milestones of European botanical illustration, with sources.
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Photography, Memory and the Images We Live With
From the family album to thousands of phone photos we never revisit: a reflection on photography, memory and printing a few images to keep…
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Symmetry in Art: Balance and Visual Interest
From butterfly wings to palace façades, symmetry gives us order and calm. Why symmetry in art appeals, where it appears, and when breaking it…
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Nature-Inspired Shapes in Contemporary Art
Spirals, branching, waves and horizons: how nature's forms have inspired art, from Haeckel and Blossfeldt to today, and how to bring them into your…
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Vintage Maps as Visual Art: History and Appeal
From Ptolemy to Ortelius and Mercator, antique maps were science and art at once. Their history, their appeal, and what to know about originals…
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