Matthew Williamson

Matthew Williamson has it all the clothes, the perfume, the bags, the bedding, the bridal, even the wallpaper and now, finally, not a moment too soon, the book. Not only this, but to coincide with the books release a exhibition has recently opened at London Somerset House which will display various aspects of this book through photography, quotes and video. The courtyard rooms of Somerset house will be brightened up this winter, with Williamson's vivid colors, embellishments and designs. Since graduating in 1994 from central St Martins his career has been watched and applauded by many of the industries key players, such as Anna Wintour. For an insight into the astonishing success of the Matthew Williamson brand or just the opportunity to view the archive up close and personal, running until January 2010 there is no excuses accepted.

Text Katriona Flynn

Graffiti Two Ways

Remember carving your initials into your desk in elementary school and how satisfying it was to mark a piece of your own territory, even something as silly as a fake piece of wood? Well, here are two ways to take that to the next level. You can check out the Flickr pool of “The Knitting Graffiti Group" , full of pictures of knit “tags” in public places, from colorful yarn flowers on playground fences to scarf-like tubes around trees. It may not be spray paint or wheat paste stickers, but yarn proves to be a pretty cool graffiti alternative.

For another option, there’s Trespass: A History of Uncommissioned Art, a Taschen book that brings together urban art, graffiti and performance art all over the globe into one tome. Everyone from Banksy and Jenny Holzer to Barry McGee and Shepard Fairey is represented. Sure to be a fun, fascinating read.

Text Molly O'Brien

Want To Make Change?

Here is something mind-expanding to read today: Massive Change, by Bruce Mau and the Institute Without Boundaries. Mau is a Canadian designer who has held a diverse range of jobs, from college professor to studio owner to creative director of I.D. magazine, and in this book he manages to synthesize the work of a host of disciplines in order to create a kind of manifesto about the way the world might work in the future.

Massive Change discusses everything from transportation to housing to sustainable business to the possibilities of the Internet. Experts from dozens of fields weigh in on the way our lives can be improved, whether from building high speed cross-country Maglev train lines, manipulating global economic policies, or simply planting more bamboo. It's an exhilarating read, if only because it presents an almost infinite scope of what the future of Planet Earth might be - and it's surprisingly optimistic. If nothing else, check out Massive Change for its gorgeous design; somehow it manages to present huge ideas in a very readable way. Look at Bruce Mau's website here.

Text Molly O'Brien