Dezeen Magazine

Netflix's design documentary series to premiere tomorrow

This exclusive clip gives a preview of the new design documentary series Abstract: The Art of Design, which will bring Bjarke Ingels, Es DevlinIlse Crawford and more into the living rooms of Netflix's global audience.

Launching internationally tomorrow, Friday 10 February, the series profiles eight designers representing different fields in the industry.

Along with Ingels, Devlin and Crawford from the fields of architecture, stage design and interior design respectively, there's graphic designer Paula Scher, automobile designer Ralph Gilles, Nike shoe designer Tinker Hatfield, illustrator Christoph Niemann and photographer Platon.

The series is exclusive to the Netflix streaming service, which reaches an audience of more than 93 million members in over 190 countries.

Following in the footsteps of Netflix's ongoing docu-series The Chef's Table, Abstract: The Art of Design will focus on a different designer.

The episodes are helmed by different directors – including the likes of Morgan Neville, who was behind the Academy Award-winning music documentary 20 Feet From Stardom – and take different storytelling and aesthetic approaches.

The eight episodes will be released collectively on Friday, 10 February.

The trailer for Netflix's Abstract: The Art of Design

Ingels' episode was filmed in the lead-up to the installation of his Serpentine Pavilion. In it, the Danish architect talks about how BIG has changed perception of what architecture should be like.

The episode following Scher, a partner at Pentagram, explores how her typography has shaped the face of New York, as well as some of the iconic album covers of the 1970s.

Another episode traces Hatfield's career at Nike, showing how he came to design some of the sports brand's most famous shoes – including the nearly ill-fated Air Max.

Other episodes focus on the achievements and creative processes of Crawford, Gilles, Devlin, Niemann and Platon.

The series is produced by Neville alongside Wired's departing editor-in-chief Scott Dadich, Dave O'Conner, Justin Wilkes, Jon Kamen and Radical Media.

Abstract: The Art of Design will launch on Netflix at 12:01am PST Friday, 10 February 2017.