Team39

…just been to see probably the funniest, cleverest theatre show for a long time… The 39 Steps at the Kings. only 4 people play many characters from the book / film (there is a bit of artistic licence as one would expect, what!) It won the Laurence Olivier new comedy award in 2007 and rightly so. 5 stars…

One of Italy’s great coachbuilders and design houses faces a bleak future. It seems that the big car manufacturers are using their own internal design studios for niche products which were previously subbed out. Remember all of those convertibles like the Vauxhall Astra, which used to sport a natty little Bertone badge on it’s flank. Bertone are not alone as Karmann and Pininfarina, etc will all be suffering from this. These products must have been the bread and butter jobs which supported these creative studios and allowed them to produce the concept cars and more experimental designs. I think it is sad that these creative, independent studios could be lost due to manufacturers taking things in-house.

Read more here

Design is always best subbed out in my opinion. Internal departments cannot think freely enough and are too ingrained in the company culture to produce great work. Don’t get me wrong, there are some fabulous designs to come out of internal design studios, but I bet they could have been better if released from the shackles of multiple layers of management and bean counters.

Bertone designed most of the cool Lamborghini’s including the Muira (probably one of the best looking cars ever) and the crazy Countach (80’s teenagers wet dream car). Amazing, impractical, bizarre designs which define the supercar. Will we see the like from Audi? - I think not!

Am I just being nostalgic or is this potentially a huge loss to the design world?

…is a real cutey. But, I wonder if it will be considered a bit naff in 5 years time, like the new Mini or the new Beetle?

Not the greatest logo ever designed and the ideas developed on the journey to the logo we know so well are not the greatest to say the least!

People in some countries, regions, organizations and religions must contemplate high treason when they see the banner they’re forced to rally ’round: ugly, wrong-headed, plum baffling, symbolic of failure. In honor of President’s Day, an examination of some flags, past and present, that don’t make anyone angry when burned.

Amazing painting, see if you can find Bin Laden! For all the americans out there team39 have already found Mr hussain!

You will need a fast broadband connection for this one, but it’s worth it!

Netdiver Best of the Year is more than a yearly retrospective - or a trendy compendium. Netdiver is an online sub-culture design magazine, jam packed with links for illustration, photography and designer folios.

Netdiver have compiled some of the most memorable and dazzling projects, pieces of work to inspire and push design forward!