Very enjoyable exhibit at the Leighton House in London showing works by Tadema. As the house is close to the Design Museum we decided to look what was on show there as well. It was great fun to spend a couple of hours at the California: Designing Freedom exhibition.

From the exhibition’s webpage:

“How did California come to have such a powerful influence on contemporary design? California: Designing Freedom explores how the ideals of the 1960s counterculture morphed into the tech culture of Silicon Valley, and how ‘Designed in California’ became a global phenomenon.

The central premise is that California has pioneered tools of personal liberation, from LSD to surfboards and iPhones. This ambitious survey brings together political posters and portable devices, but also looks beyond hardware to explore how user interface designers in the San Francisco Bay Area are shaping some of our most common daily experiences. By turns empowering, addictive and troubling, Californian products have affected our lives to such an extent that in some ways we are all now Californians.”

Susan Kare’s notebook

With great food in Fortnum and Mason, Portland, and the OXO tower restaurant and more art in the Royal Academy of Arts with the Summer Exhibition, it was another great weekend in London.

Summer Exhibition London