Introducing the August 2022 Design for a Better World issue of Wallpaper*

Given the opportunity to bring HRH Prince Charles and Jony Ive together for Wallpaper’s annual ‘Design for a Better World’ issue, it felt appropriate that we should offer them our newsstand cover. The Prince has been a tireless torchbearer for environmental causes since 1970, when he sounded the alarm for the ‘growing menace’ of pollution in a major speech; meanwhile, Ive has time and again demonstrated the power of design to elevate our lives. 

Their joint initiative, the Terra Carta Design Lab, has brought together students and alumni from the Royal College of Art to design high-impact solutions ‘for nature, people and planet’, and sets a fine example that other institutions would be prudent to follow. Photographer Nick Knight went to Clarence House to shoot our portrait of the Prince and Ive, while Wallpaper* contributing editor and Design Museum director emeritus Deyan Sudjic sat down with the latter to discuss a path forward for the design industry – by balancing the care of makers and the potential of contemporary industrial manufacturing.

Another formidable duo, Yinka Shonibare and Ashley Shaw Scott Adjaye, are using art to set the record straight about the transatlantic slave trade, inviting Britons ‘to face our shared history with honesty, empathy and grace’. We present a first look at their trail of large globe sculptures, which involves more than 100 artists and will take over seven cities in the UK from August.

Chilean artist, poet and activist Cecilia Vicuña – winner of the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at this year’s Venice Biennale – has created our limited-edition cover, recognising five Indigenous women leaders from Latin America advancing the causes of environmental and social justice. Vicuña’s work shows the power of art to untangle and reclaim oppressed histories, which makes her an apt inclusion in our Thinkers section, featuring creatives whose ideas and practices show us the way to a greener, more equitable future. 

From Adam Nathaniel Furman, who casts light on how queer spaces have shaken up the architectural canon; to Jessica Julmy, an advocate of responsible winemaking; to Eyal Weizman, pioneering the use of architectural analysis to expose miscarriages of justice and state violence; to Lesley Lokko, whose African Futures Institute is taking on issues such as decolonisation, decarbonisation and diversity; our Thinkers are not only inspiring hearts and minds, but also effecting meaningful change. 

And finally, our Artist’s Palate page features a pan con tomate by London-based artist duo Cooking Sections, whose ‘Climavore’ project champions more sustainable food production and consumption in reaction to man-made changes to the landscape. The dish stands out for its use of planet-friendly ingredients, and the fact that it’s part of a special menu created for The Magazine restaurant at Serpentine North to coincide with the gallery’s exhibition on art in the age of climate crisis. Now that’s truly good food.

Bill Prince
Acting Editor-in-Chief

INFORMATION
The August 2022 Design for a Better World issue of Wallpaper* is available from 14 July in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today (opens in new tab)