Thonet is announcing a global photo competition: to capture the chair of chairs digitally and show it in a highly personal setting.

There has long since been a technological basis in place to meet our seemingly unlimited need for communications. Now all we need are phones that are not only technically outstanding, but also state-of-the-art in design terms. The Alessi phone could fit the bill.

Not only those who wander through Venice always return to the point where they started from. Art likewise stage endless loops and thus irritates our customary ways of seeing. Roman Ondák shows how in the Czech and Slovak Pavilion.

The German Steel Innovation Award, which is celebrating its twentieth birthday, honours outstanding and innovative applications for steel. Particularly notable in this year's competition was the design potential this material has.

US designers are by no means as innovative and experimental as they were in the mid-twentieth century. But things are starting to move again: Design company "Vessel" is headquartered in Boston. A conversation on US designer careers and Chinese toothbrushes.

The opening razzmatazz of the 53rd Art Biennial is over and the art world caravan, having made a brief stop in Basel, has long since disappeared over some summery horizon. Venice long since belongs to yesterday's art-review papers and image-saturated blogs. Everything noted. So we can now start on our wanderings in the shade afforded by the day-after.

British designer Simon Pengelly has, among other things, designed the "Nuur" table for Arper. The title alludes to the clear and calm lake of the same name that lies in the midst of the Mongolian steppe. A conversation about sensitive and quiet design.

The Russians like things luxurious, the Japanese prefer things more playful than you might imagine - and the French of course like things feminine and sensual: A glance at brand and packaging design in the age of globalization.

The Brazilian designers Fernando and Humberto Campana have come to Weil am Rhein on the occasion of the opening of their major exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum. Talking to Stylepark, the brothers describe their experiences as cultural ambassadors of Brazil, explain their idea of self-respect in design and the possible ways of fusing high-tech and traditional craftwork.

On June 25, 2009 at 2:26 p.m. PDT Michael Jackson died aged 50 of heart failure in Los Angeles. The world over, fans were distraught when hearing the news of the death of the "King of Pop".

"Pokerface" is the title of Lady Gaga's latest single. The accompanying music video also gives enthusiasts of good design something to look out for.

Design Miami Art Basel does not even come close to living up to its promise. But in spite of this, or maybe even because of this, it has proved successful.

This year, the DMY International Design Festival in Berlin brought itself and its visitors back down to earth. What emerged was an event with modest aims but which managed, in the end, to delight and inspire.

A Questionnaire answered by Rolf Sachs.

Even just a few decades ago the roles were clearly distributed: on the one side, the superficial and ephemeral world of fashion, and on the other the world of furniture design, which strives for timelessness and for durability. At this year's Salone in Milan, a surprising amount of cross-over between fashion and furniture was in evidence, as for instance. - How strong is the reciprocity between these two apparently so different disciplines today?

On June 11 Art Basel opened its doors for the 40th time to what is still the hottest art show - the mother of all art fairs. But how will the crisis affect Basle? And how will the fair respond to the crisis?

He created seating buds, mushrooms for the home and incomparable interiors. Pierre Paulin's upbeat creations have had a significant influence on design history. They are as alive as ever today. The visionary French interior designer died at the age of 81 last Saturday.

The current Stylepark Magazine for Product Culture is entitled "Sense & Sensibility" and focuses directly on this year's Milan Furniture Fair. It will be on sale from June 22 in selected magazine outlets.

Soft curves and gentle cambers are their distinctive feature. The Up series designed in 1968 by Gaetano Pesce for B&B Italia has been revamped to celebrate its anniversary.

Meeting in Copenhagen: Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have come to Øresund to put the finishing touches to the first Kvadrat showrooms in Denmark shortly before they are opened. Sandra Hofmeister met them there and spoke with Erwan Bouroullec.

A Questionnaire answered by Johanna Grawunder.

Artists and designers, cultural ambassadors and dreamers: Vitra Design Museum presents the refreshingly diverse oeuvre of Brazilians Fernando and Humberto Campana.

The Danish Dinesen company produces what are probably the world's most extraordinary wooden floors. Recent examples of Dinesen floors can been seen at the Saatchi Gallery in London, at the newly opened Museum Brandhorst in Munich and the ‘Table' restaurant in the Schirn art gallery in Frankfurt.

Brazil is the land of tropical forests. Very few actually know that bamboo also grows here in abundance. The more radical the changes in current policies of exploiting the rainforest, the better the chances that bamboo, a versatile material boasting a multitude of different applications, will soon be attributed a far more prominent role - in architecture as well as in design and automotive engineering.

A Questionnaire answered by Nynke Tynagel and Job Smeets.

Don't let anyone tell you there is no point investigating UFOs. On the contrary. The exhibition "U.F.O - Grenzgänge zwischen Design und Kunst" (U.F.O. - Design and Art) has opened in the NRW Forum in Düsseldorf.

The Metocene Material Edition, which Stylepark has developed in conjunction with the chemical company LyondellBasell, illustrates, with a variety of examples and products, the diversity of visual possibilities that this plastic offers.

Charles and Ray Eames once experimented with glass fiber reinforced plastics, today Konstantin Grcic experiments with Hirek plastic while Patricia Urquiola favors transparent polymers in a bid to achieve totally new shapes, surface qualities or uses that make design not only the formal but also technological manifestation of our age capable of altering people's lives. A little story to the significance of plastics for design.

Three questions to Tom Price.

Museum Brandhorst in Munich's Maxvorstadt district opened to the public on May 21. The building's iridescent outer skin has been on view for some months, and now the interior with its exciting architecture is proudly displaying works from the Udo and Anette Brandhorst Collection.

In design, interculturality is currently the big hit. Elements from different cultures are being combined in ever more sophisticated ways. However, the reality in cities like Rio de Janeiro provides a very different picture. Soon the favela could become a model of uncontrolled urban growth in Germany too.

What do you find unsettling about design? Three questions to Richard Prince.

He is a like a phantom. Almost everybody has heard of him, but hardly anyone has ever seen Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela. While he has managed to stay as good as invisible for over 20 years now, his oeuvre has been constantly present and truly celebrated.

He is a Brazilian superstar. Idolized at the Salone in Milan, wherever he goes and wherever he stands, South American fans want to have their picture taken with him - Sergio Rodrigues. We caught up with him at ClassiCon in Munich, took a seat in his squashy leather armchair Mole and talked about his life.

As always, the Milan Design Week 2009 was much more than the sum of the events at the fair itself and in the city. Our series of photos offers you an impression of the many small venues, situations and settings that makes Milan the undisputed climax of each and every design year.