"Kamprad is dead, but IKEA has a long way to run"
IKEA's unstoppable success is testament to the attitude of founder Ingvar Kamprad, a man who never spent money on things his customers couldn't afford, says Kieran Long. More
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Kieran Long appointed director of Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design
British journalist and curator Kieran Long has been named as the new director of ArkDes, Sweden's national centre for architecture and design. More
![SXSW by Kieran Long]()
"It is difficult to feel unreservedly optimistic about the future"
Opinion: this year's SXSW technology conference may have had Barack Obama as its headliner, but the tone was still surprisingly sombre, says Kieran Long. Are the tech evangelists as worried about the future as the rest of us? More
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"The most important design event in the world is one you've probably never heard of"
Opinion: the Game Developers Conference is refreshingly free of the superstar egos and the luxury brands that dominate architecture biennales and furniture fairs – and much more significant for the future of design, says Kieran Long. More
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"Holidays bring out the best in designers"
Opinion: when the creative industries across Europe go offline for the holiday season, the archetypal English country cottage becomes an incubator for problem-solving design brilliance says Kieran Long. More
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"Elements makes you unutterably sad for Koolhaas and what he thinks architecture is"
Opinion: by excluding architects and focusing on research for this year's Venice Architecture Biennale, Rem Koolhaas has given the world an insight into what he thinks about architecture. The result is less than encouraging, says Kieran Long. More
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"Design, fashion and architecture hold something mysterious in the objects they produce"
Opinion: one of Soviet-era Riga's most notorious buildings is now home to an exemplary exhibition that shows how design can be used to tell profound stories about complex political and social histories, says Kieran Long. More
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"There is without doubt institutional prejudice in the furniture industry"
Opinion: there's no excuse for excluding women from the design conversation in Milan, says Kieran Long who offers a ready-made Rolodex for a fairer male/female split. More
!["We cannot absolve ourselves of responsibility for the implications of a project"]()
"We cannot absolve ourselves of responsibility for the implications of a project"
Opinion: in response to Joseph Rykwert's Royal Gold Medal lecture this week, where the critic stressed that all design has political implications, Kieran Long rejects Zaha Hadid's assertion that architects have "nothing to do with the workers" who die on construction sites. More
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"London's fire station closures represent the inevitable carelessness of contemporary cities"
Opinion: Kieran Long responds to the recent closure of ten London fire stations, arguing that architecture built for a specific purpose and location is far more valuable to a city's sense of place than generic, pragmatic solutions. More
![V&A Shenzhen Rapid Response Collecting Kieran Long]()
V&A acquires Katy Perry false eyelashes as part of new "rapid response collecting" strategy
News: the architecture and design department at the V&A museum in London has acquired Katy Perry Lashes (pictured) and Primark jeans as part of a new "rapid response" strategy for collecting objects as soon as they become newsworthy, to reflect the changing way fast-moving global events influence society (+ interview). More
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"We must examine the human cost of objects, not just their semiotic resonances"
Opinion: Kieran Long argues that while it's fun to be cynical about pop cultural artefacts like Katy Perry Lashes, a recent expose on the conditions in which they're made proves that it's vital for design criticism to move beyond semiotics. More
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"The philanthropic causes of tech billionaires tell us what tomorrow's design challenges will be"
Opinion: in his latest column, Kieran Long argues that the causes tech billionaires donate their money to "tell us what they are scared of" and what the design challenges of the future are therefore likely to be, and asks whether designers and architects are prepared to go along with these visions. More
!["Product design should do so much more than encourage consumption"]()
"Product design should do so much more than encourage consumption"
Opinion: in his latest column, Kieran Long argues that product designers should learn from architects and tackle civic issues like surveillance and security rather than "hide in their studios making something lovely." More
![New immigration rules are "hugely damaging" for design in London]()
New immigration rules are "hugely damaging" for design in London
News: leading figures from London's design institutions have warned that new immigration rules which make it harder for international students to stay in the UK after graduation could be a "disaster" for the city. More
!["Can all these parts go together and kill someone? The answer is yes."]()
"Can these parts go together and kill someone? The answer is yes."
Dezeen and MINI World Tour: in our next movie from the UK capital, senior curator at the V&A Kieran Long explains why the London museum has controversially acquired the world's first 3D-printed gun. Update: this interview is featured in Dezeen Book of Interviews, which is on sale now for £12. More
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V&A museum acquires first 3D-printed gun
London Design Festival 2013: London's V&A Museum has added the world's first 3D-printed gun to its permanent collection and will exhibit it along with four other newly acquired design objects during the London Design Festival. More
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"Sinister objects demand attention just as much as beneficial ones"
Opinion: in the first of his monthly columns for Dezeen, V&A senior curator Kieran Long argues that today's obsession with authorship and celebrity "leads to serious imbalances in the way we see design in the world" and calls for an overhaul of the way design is curated in the twenty-first century. More
![Dezeen's new Opinion columnists: Dan Hill, Alexandra Lange, Kieran Long and Justin McGuirk.]()
Meet our new Opinion columnists!
Following the huge success of Sam Jacob’s regular opinion column, we’re proud to announce that four more world-class writers are joining us as columnists: Dan Hill, Alexandra Lange, Kieran Long and Justin McGuirk. More
!["Young designers have no grasp of design history"]()
"Young designers have no grasp of design history"
Dezeen and MINI World Tour: in our next movie recorded at the MINI Paceman Garage in Milan last month, MINI head of design Anders Warming discusses the design of the new MINI Paceman and design journalist and curator Kieran Long gives us his thoughts on how the current generation of designers compares to the great masters. More
