Shows
The Book UnfoldedBruno Munari: Revolutions of the Water Mill (Part 2)This is the second half of the story of designer Bruno Munari's work in publishing for designers, artists, and children. Show notes, image gallery, and a transcript are available at robinmitchellcranfield.com.
This episode looks at Munari’s work between 1962 and 1972, looking at his contributions to the “gentle revolution” in Italian education and his legacy as an industrial designer, and design educator.
Gianni Rodari, Roberto Rossellini, and William Morris feature in this story. Munari's Falklands lamp for Danese and his Abitacolo are highlighted. Books by Munari referenced are Design as Art, Good Design, Xeriographia, La Notte Bui...
2024-02-2737 min
The Book UnfoldedBruno Munari: Revolutions of the Water Mill (Part 1)In Bruno Munari's world, a book can be a sculpture, a toy, and an object. More, he thought that a magnolia could be an address, and children's room an art gallery. Yet, a lamp ought not to be disguised as a bunch of grapes. Find out what shaped the beautiful mind of this celebrated Italian designer and artist in part 1 of this audio essay. Show notes, transcript, and image gallery are at robinmitchellcranfield.com.
This essay is adapted from public talk for Italian Design Weeks at Emily Carr University, addressing Munari's Unreadable Books, his Useless Machines, his chi...
2023-12-2823 min
The Book UnfoldedPietro Corraini: The Book as a Total ObjectIn this interview, Pietro Corraini explains the connection between books and space, why Corraini Edizioni treats books as total objects, and what the connection is between Bruno Munari and the 'gentle revolution' in Italian education of the 1960s and 70s.
Corraini recently opened the Spazio Munari in Milan, a gallery and bookstore dedicated to Bruno Munari. Find out more at corraini.com and listen to their fantastic podcast, “Play to Learn.”
Special thanks to Benedetta Lelli from the press office of Corraini, who joined us! See images for this episode here. A transcript of this epis...
2023-11-1021 min
The Book UnfoldedUnfolded Book Club: Bruno Munari's Design as ArtAn annotated reading of Bruno Munari's essay "Children's Books" from his book Design as Art (Penguin) originally published as Arte come mestiere (Laterza) in 1966. The essay starts at 2:16.
Show notes + image gallery available at robinmitchellcranfield.com
This is the first of a short series on Italian artist and designer Bruno Munari.
2023-10-2209 min
The Book UnfoldedBen Brown: The Library Book UnfoldedI speak with Ben Brown (Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Koroki, Ngāti Paoa), the inaugural Te Awhi-Rito New Zealand Reading Ambassador, from Aotearoa New Zealand about emerging and traditional literacies, libraries, and how books and storytelling connect us with one another. We also talk about the role of writing in youth justice, and how bookmaking helps young people to understand and express their own stories.
An updated edition of Ben’s memoir, A Fish in the Swim of the World, was published by Penguin in 2022 and he’s also written many books for children, including the acclaimed A Boomi...
2023-10-0635 min
The Book UnfoldedWho Loves the Sun?Visiting poet Lisa Robertson's archive revealed to me what historian Arlette Farge called "The Allure of the Archives." I encountered something nostalgic, Farge found something beautiful. We both encountered surprises. This episode also looks at literary critic Terry Castle's addiction to home décor magazines, like Nest magazine, and her mixed feelings about their allure. More at robinmitchellcranfield.com
2023-09-0722 min
The Book UnfoldedButterfly ThinkingCan we use the book as a net to capture our fleeting thoughts? The School of Life's pop self-help book "How to think More Effectively" brings Vladimir Nabokov's and Marcel Proust's creative processes into focus, but there is more to the story. This episode looks at different sources to find out how these writers used simple tools to arrange their messy thoughts into the tidy rectangles we now have our shelves and the benefits of a notebook/sketchbook practice. Plus Bruno Munari's Libro Illegibile, Kenya Hara, Virginia Woolf, and those handsome Italian Ellepi Klizia staplers. Show notes: robinmitchellcranfield.com.
2022-07-3036 min
The Book UnfoldedPrint Reading Club: Lisa GitelmanBooks about print culture and design are often unavailable as audio books, so I am reading excerpts from some of my favourite books and essays on this podcast without editorial notes for a series I'm calling 'Print Reading Club'. This podcast is not affiliated with the author or the publisher of this work.This is 'Amateurs Rush In' from Lisa Gitelman's book Paper Knowledge from 2014. What happened when children, artists, and other amateurs got access to D.I.Y. print and radio technology? This essay is about, among other things, novelty printing, 'zines, HP Lovecraft, and the...
2022-03-1533 min
The Book UnfoldedForm of the book in the 21st CenturyThis was my first experiment with making an audio essay, adapted from an essay I wrote for Amphora in 2018
Marshall McLuhan's outdated musings on the book, "Haptic Woman", "Renaissance Man" and the "oral tradition" share the mournful tone of René Descartes's perspective on knowledge. The assumptions they rely on about printed text as a superior form of communication linger on today. To add oxygen to the conversation about the death (and new life) of the printed book, I look to Kenya Hara, Jia Tolentino, and Michel de Montaigne. More at robinmitchellcranfield.com.
2020-09-2521 min
Spark JoyEp 115 | Someday: Aspirational Items and Unfinished BusinessToday, we explore the mindset and reasoning behind holding only things because they represent a particular dream, goal, or investment that has been left unfulfilled or incomplete.
We call these items “unfinished business” or “maybe someday items.” Things that represent an ideal, aspiration or a dream that you had about the kind of person you wanted to be.
We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment f...
2020-01-1447 minSpark JoyEp 75 | Exploring the KonMari Book Controversy with Robin Mitchell CranfieldRobin Mitchell Cranfield, a graphic designer and illustrator who specializes in book design for art galleries and children’s books, shares her thoughts on the KonMari book category.
Her work has been recognized by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the Alcuin Society, and How Magazine. Robin teaches typography & book design at Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a ques...
2019-03-1237 min