Ideas for living with art

Guides, essays and references on choosing, hanging and understanding art prints.

Editorial Illustration: Art That Communicates Ideas

Editorial illustration is made to accompany a text and convey an idea. What defines it, how it differs from decorative art, and how to…

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Art movements

Swiss Graphic Design: Grids, Typography and Posters

Grids, sans-serif type, asymmetry and clarity: what defines mid-century Swiss graphic design, who shaped it, and why it remains everywhere in design today.

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Art movements

Art Deco Posters: Visual Features and History

Trains slicing through the air, monumental liners, geometric lettering: how to recognise Art Deco posters, from Paris 1925 to A. M. Cassandre.

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Art movements

Organic Abstract Art: Forms and Influences

In 1936 MoMA distinguished geometric from biomorphic abstraction. Roots of organic abstract art, from Arp and Miró to Hepworth, and how it differs today.

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Art movements

Collage Art: Layers, Materials and Composition

From Picasso and Braque's pasted papers to digital collage: what collage art is, how its compositional devices work, and what to consider on image…

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Art movements

Line Art Explained: Simple Marks, Strong Expression

Contour, continuous line, minimal mark: what line art is, how artists such as Matisse and Picasso used it, and how to choose line art…

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Art movements

Memphis Design: Colour, Pattern and Play

Founded in Milan around Ettore Sottsass, the Memphis Group broke with modernist restraint in the early 1980s through colour, pattern and humour. Its story.

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Art movements

De Stijl: Geometry and Colour in Modern Design

Black lines and red, blue and yellow planes: the Dutch De Stijl movement sought universal harmony through geometry. Its history, artists and legacy today.

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