The Royal College of Art does "paradise" in Milan, and in book form

Yes, Milan might be over, but the discourse about the role of design and art continues. The Royal College of Art students who have held an exhibition there for the last couple years have done so progressively, eschewing a merely promotional stake in the fair and opting instead to contribute to the debate. Their first publication to house these ideas, according to head of programme for design products,Tord Boontje, is “a starting point for further thought.”

Paradise is wonderfully positive place to start talking and allows the design students involved in the exhibition to think ideally about the world we inhabit now, that we might already be in paradise, and contemplating " the discovery of something or somewhere more wondrous." Also that these students might be able to “author their own atlases of Paradise, landscaped by different paths in the quest for a better future.” These pieces of art and design were on show in Milan and the public were invited to participate by way of a demonstration of the work, all in keeping with the notion of utopia and open-ness.

The book, a very nice design by Marine Duroselle full of fades and blends and an exotic colour scheme, is a lovely compound of the above with an added layer of context and contemplation on idyllic and its opposites themes written by leading makers and thinkers connected to the RCA, from students to course directors and industry professionals.