Design – magpie

14 May 2026

Designing the world’s stage: WSD is coming to Sharjah

24 March 2025

Stage design is almost always crucial to any performance. The look and feel of the performance environment, the colours (or absence of them), the use of lighting and of shadow, physical objects and the layout of the space, transitions, special [ … ]

Meeting your makers

3 September 2024

Dubai Culture’s Makers Month, last seen in May, is back with the ambition of “an initiative aimed at bringing together all makers, creative talent, and entrepreneurs under one umbrella to develop their skills, artistic capabilities, and various abilities … The [ … ]

Jewelled insights

30 August 2024

Of course there’s a backstory to everything, but that’s especially true for the most intricate, elaborate, finely worked examples of art, design and craft that combine to produce luxury jewellery. The levels of skill, expertise and commitment at each stage [ … ]

Upcoming: 2024’s design and architecture festivals

7 February 2024

A calendar of events in and around the cultural life of magpie Click on the event name and its website will open in a new tab. You can look for specific events from the search bar at the top, or [ … ]

Coming soon: Dubai Design Week, bigger, better, and more sustainable?

18 October 2023

Dubai Design Week (8-12 November) is back for its ninth edition, promising its most diverse programme yet of events and activities. There are still several gaps in the published programme on the website, but already it looks a very strong [ … ]

DIDI students to pitch projects for the Terra Carta Design Lab

1 October 2023

Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation has joined the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Terra Carta Design Lab contest to find student-led, high-impact, marketable solutions to sustainability issues and the climate crisis. Alongside DIDI this year are India’s National Institute of Design [ … ]

Super-smart shopping cart for James Dyson

16 September 2023

“The problems of the future will be solved by today’s bright young engineers and scientists. But they need inspiration and encouragement.” That’s the ethos behind the James Dyson Award; and whatever your views about Mr Dyson himself, the award has [ … ]

AlUla Design Award winners on show in Paris

12 September 2023

Arts AlUla riffed off the buzz around Paris Design Week to announce the five winners of the AlUla Design Award there. The Award invited designers to develop retail items across six categories inspired by the heritage, landscape and artistic legacies [ … ]

“Strategic” changes at DIDI

15 August 2023

Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation has promoted Hani Asfour to the new position of Vice President – Innovation and Institutional Partnerships. He’s replaced as DIDI’s Dean by Dr Amir Zeid (right), formerly the Founding Dean of the College of [ … ]

Designer/maker opportunities at Dubai Design Week

14 June 2023

The ninth Dubai Design Week is scheduled for 7 to 12 November, and the organisers are looking for participants. As part of what it’s calling “a platform to cultivate and empower design in the region”, DDW is planning a programme [ … ]