Abstract: The Art of Design

Season 1 was amazing, each episode was fascinating and the story telling of design is riveting. However, season 2 has become a documentary about people and social issues instead of design itself. This is very sad and disappointing. I can't even finish half of the episode about Ruth Carter who is a costume designer...

This documentary series searches the proceess and the purpose of design arts at a very high level. It also cares about the people and artists it portrays, often digging into their personal lives. The subject matter and how they are portayed and explored are always impactful and worthwhile. The themes are applicable in the very minutae of the specific art sphere explored, bur also philosophic, personal, profound and open-ended to be applicable in life and daily thoughts.

Mostly, these are inspiring profesional stories and riveting information on the works and behind-the-scenes stories of some of the top innovators in their fields. These people are changing the world. Thank you for the series to put such a deserved spotlight on these worthile topics.

After 2 seasons, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's 2 episodes and showrunner Morgan Neville's 3 episodes are stellar, but even a lesser episode is of high quality and insight. Learn about Architecture and Bio-Architecture and how Typecast is much more complicated than you probably think. What is Design FOR play and how can that possibly change our future? Watch Abstract: the Art of Design and with your family and friends to find lots to discuss and discover.

Let's face it, these design episodes are meant to entertain rather than to provoke any intellectual thinking. Some designers are genuinely inspiring (such as Niemann and Devlin), it's just that the way the ideas are presented... it seems to tick all the boxes of clichés in terms of what people think of design. I'm sure if asked the right questions, some of the designers will be more illuminating.

The episode most fraught with clichés and posing? Hands down, Neri Oxman. All the superficial citations of well-known figures and mindless mentions of concepts and stories. And all the love for nature without remotely looking like she gives a d*mn about the conservation of it.

It is fascinating to see this sort of focus applied to the creation of what we might otherwise take for granted, and appreciate not just the art, but the artist behind this work.

I went 30 years without a TV and one of the first shows on Netflix that I watched after getting one was Abstract. Very high quality designers were featured so I thought I'd found a show that I could turn to to watch on a regular basis. Then it was discontinued. I still lament that and wish that whoever was producing, directing, writing the show would do it again. There are so few options in the art and design field. If the powers that be are reading this, please know that you would have a following if enough time were given to the show to get the word out.