Who would have ever thought, one month ago, that we would all be talking about the Gap? I certainly didn’t (and yes, I still call it THE Gap, as does everyone else, even though it’s officially just Gap). I haven’t thought much about the store since I folded v-necks there in high school. I think I’ve run in there once or twice for emergency items—tights? cardigan?—but I have to say the only relationship I’ve had with the Gap is through its advertising, which I happen to catch on a building or on YouTube around the holidays each year, and quite honestly I think is pretty darn amazing.

But when they quietly rolled out a new logo earlier this month suddenly we all reconnected with our old friend the Gap. And that was so we could tell the Gap that we didn’t like their new logo one bit. Everyone had an opinion about it. It was all designers and design blogs could talk about. Even my grandmother, who I saw in St. Louis that weekend while celebrating her birthday, said she wasn’t a fan of the new logo.

So of course, I had to write about it.

First I wrote a story about the new logo, noting that it didn’t really come out of nowhere (see the 1969 jeans branding in the store window above). I noted that a Twitter account had popped up by the name of @GapLogo, so I did an interview with the logo. Then word got out that Gap was actually launching a crowdsourcing competition to find a new logo which made a lot of designers angry, so I interviewed a Gap VP about it. But then, a few days later, Gap said they actually weren’t going to do the crowdsourcing contest or use the new logo. They were going back to the old one. After all that.

On today’s show, Frances talks to branding strategist Sasha Strauss and graphic designer (and my friend!) Mick Hodgson about the power of logos and what happens when a brand suddenly changes its identity. They bring up some interesting points, but I think my biggest beef with the Gap is that they made a huge, huge misstep by going back to the original. That logo was from the ’80s! It looks totally dated and conservative, like a menswear brand. That label is sewn inside of clothes I would never wear today. Clothes that I got rid of a long time ago, actually. And never replaced with ones from the Gap.

Gap has done severe damage to their brand by bowing to a bit of criticism. Not standing up for the creative decisions that you’ve spent years and millions of dollars making tells me you have no faith in the clothes you’re rolling out next season either. Hey, they’re a clothing brand! They should be so forward-thinking, so of-the-moment that we should be trying to keep up. Reverting to what you had yesterday is not fashion, it’s not trendy, and it’s not exciting. It’s just totally…khaki.

You can listen to DnA on KCRW live every 3rd Tuesday at 2:30pm PST, by podcasting through iTunes, or by streaming the audio at any time by clicking the little ‘Listen’ button underneath each show’s title on KCRW’s website. Be sure to check out the DnA calendar this month, freshly restocked with delicious items. And as always, if you know of any design or architecture events in Los Angeles, please send them my way.

Update: In all the fabulosity of Saturday night, I screwed up and neglected to post the winning raffle tickets for our eight door prizes. If you were at City Listening and had a raffle ticket, check here to see if you won and email us if you did!

It’s going to be a big, fat, designy weekend here in LA and I hope that you can join me for as much of it as you can muster! First up, Friday, Saturday and Sunday is Dwell on Design, the West Coast’s largest design show and one of my favorite conferences of all time.

For the last few weeks I’ve been writing over at Dwell about all the highlights, including a beautiful tile collaboration between Heath Ceramics and Dwell, a free design clinic hosted by my friends at Architizer, Project H’s GreenAid seed bomb vending machines, David Thompson’s lovely Larchmont Village house, the announcement of a new Cleantech Corridor competition for LA, and an exciting collaboration between Dwell and Arkitip on 10 prints of 10 Dwell houses by 10 artists, including this piece by Andrew Holder (who I was thrilled to interview!). Plus, I got to go to Ed Begley, Jr.’s supergreen house—he’s talking Sunday—and we chatted about riding the bus. He does it!

If all that wasn’t a reason to come out, I’ll be speaking there, too, and I hope you can come by and say hi! Saturday at 12:30pm on the Sustainability stage I’m moderating a panel called Improvising and Improving LA Transit, showcasing how three Angelenos have taken a DIY approach to making the city’s transportation better. On my panel are three of my transit heroes: Dan Koeppel, founder of the 35-mile stairwalk named THE BIG PARADE, which I just wrote about here; Richard Ankrom, the artist who took it upon himself to improve an Los Angeles freeway sign (which I wrote about over at GOOD); and Joseph Prichard, a graphic designer who is improving bike signage, and whose Better Bikeways series I edit at GOOD.

And then at 5pm, same day, same stage, I’m moderating another panel, Watts House Project: Architecture, Art, and Sustainability, about one of the most exciting public art projects in the country, the Watts House Project, featuring Edgar Arceneaux, John Umbanhowar and Frank Escher.

And because I love you so much for reading this blog, I’d like to offer you a special discount on the Dwell conference. You’ll receive $15 off the Dwell Exhibition Plus Ticket (50% off the two-day Weekend Pass) if you purchase tickets online before Friday with the code: DWELL8B

But wait, there’s more! Saturday night, after my last panel at Dwell on Design, I’ll be scurrying up Spring Street to the Spring Arts Tower for our very first de LaB fundraiser: City Listening II.

We’ve got a killer lineup of design writers who are all going to be reading stories about LA, including Frances Anderton on “Living With Gehry,” John Chase ruminating about fun-size Twix bars, Sam Lubell reading bible verses, Tibby Rothman with an amazing (and true) art world story, Nick Adams on LA’s “subway,” Chris Nichols from Los Angeles Magazine, LA Creek Freak Joe Linton, LA Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne, Rico Gagliano from the PRI show The Dinner Party Download, Brooke Hodge, Adrian Glick Kudler, Tom Marble, Marissa Gluck, and letters to LA from 826LA students. And yes, I’ll be reading my annual poem about design in LA. Plus, anyone who arrives by bike or transit receives a very special walking-themed door prize!

We couldn’t have done any of this without our amazing de LaB community. The event decor is currently being laser-etched by Crimson Collective (the same designers who built that giant bird nesting in the center of this year’s Coachella festival), and we’ll have a silent auction featuring items ranging from beautiful custom-built “barchitecture” by Jason King of Somewhere Something, to a walking tour of West Hollywood’s art and urban design with John Chase, to an amazing airplant sculpture by Kara Bartlet’s toHOLD. Plus, I can’t forget the tireless work of our most valuable de LaB community member: Derrick Schultz, who built our website and designed all the beautiful graphics.

We’ll also have delectable Asian-French eats by Flying Pig courtesy of The Architect’s Newspaper, vegan truffles by Nicobella, our well-named de LaB cocktails, and wine courtesy of FORM. And yes, there will be gelato, well, ice cream—did you really think I could throw a party without it? My good friends at Coolhaus will be serving up mini ice cream sandwiches with a very east-of-La Brea flavor: Horchata!

And because if you’ve read this far I really love you, I want to offer you a discount on City Listening tickets as well, if you purchase online before Saturday. Just use delab to get $5 off regular tickets, which include drinks, food and admission to the show; or delabVIP to get $10 off de LaB Groupie Tickets, which include drinks, food and show plus a guerrilla gardening kit from GreenAid, a very good chance at winning great door prizes, and an after party at the Crocker Club, conveniently located below the venue.

Bonus: If you make it to the after party, you just might get to see me collapse after this overload of awesomeness. Hope to see you there!

It was a great year for design books (especially a certain architectural walking tours guide that would make a great last-minute stocking stuffer)! A bunch of my favorite design writers published books that go far beyond the typical pretty picture books one associates with design—these are compelling stories and essays with really great writing. I wrote and produced a slideshow of my favorite 14 design and architecture books of 2009 on Fast Company. From that list, Frances asked me to pick a few of my favorites and come on the show to talk about them, along with some of her picks from the year. It was so much fun chatting with Frances about what books we liked and why. You can listen to the whole show, and see our entire list of recommendations, including a bunch we didn’t have time to mention.

Also on the show, another incredible writer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Dan Neil talks about the pieces of design that define the decade, my good friend Dakota Smith discusses Curbed LA’s best Los Angeles buildings of the decade, and Sammy Hoi from Otis College of Art and Design talks about their annual report on the creative economy of Los Angeles.

That was pretty much the view out my bedroom window for three years. And I have to say, I never minded it. Actually? I liked it.

I know what you’re thinking. But I ask you to think, for a moment, about the tourists, because when you live in Hollywood, you become an honorary tourist every time you leave the house (and if you move to Hollywood, and are somehow expecting this not to be the case, my friend, I believe Tujunga is calling your name).

Now think about those people—perhaps even you—exiting the 101 and heading south on Highland, cruising into Hollywood for the first time. You want to see ads for three movies, one car and one Renaissance festival (?). You want to see Seth Rogen. You want to see HOLLYWOOD!

You want to see movies not only plastered on billboards, but plastered on buildings!

And come on, you gotta hand it to people like Asics for converting this building into a shrine of sweat.

And Wachovia, who conquered it next, transforming it into a veritable castle, complete with two-dimensional knights.

Actually, I thought this one was rather clever.

And I was always impressed with the (accidental?) synergy between ads.

Okay, I admit it was a little creepy when that single bionic eye was watching me sleep for all those weeks.

But sometimes, being the only lit object in the sky made for a fantastic cinematic image.

If not the most appetizing.

And if you caught the right billboard, at the right moment, with the right backdrop, with the right message, the effect was nothing less than…well, you get it.

You can listen to DnA on KCRW live every 3rd Tuesday at 2:30pm PST, by podcasting through iTunes, or by streaming the audio at any time by clicking the little ‘Listen’ button underneath each show’s title on KCRW’s website. Be sure to check out the DnA calendar this month, freshly restocked with delicious items. And as always, if you know of any design or architecture events in Los Angeles—or have any good billboards to show me—please send them my way.

The show is really just two interviews. One is with Cameron Sinclair, a TED Prize-winning architect whose work I’m sure you’re familiar with—over 40,000 architects and designers worldwide are working with the decade-old Architecture for Humanity or contributing to the Open Architecture Network, an open-source network for distributing good design concepts. And one is with Frank Gehry, a Pritzker Prize-winning architect who is so famous he starred on The Simpsons. I don’t know about you, but I believe that is the standard against which all fame must be measured.

I encourage you to listen to the show in its entirety but there’s way more swirling around this story than just the interviews. Sinclair and Gehry make great points about each of their perspectives but they don’t get to answer some of the bigger issues in this argument (that’s also because they didn’t get to talk to each other directly since Sinclair’s busy jetting to every public speaking venue imaginable on earth and Gehry’s out on his yacht. I mean, he’s on a boat).

So I decided to collect a bunch of the major articles written on the topic—and there have been many since the beginning of the year—into a longer post on Fast Company so I could hear your thoughts. In all these arguments, it’s the words like ethical, moral, relevant, and modest that have become really interesting to me…before I thought that architects were pretty much only ethically obligated to make sure their buildings don’t fall down. But looking at some of the stories I’ve covered lately—Designers Accord, Objectified, Project H—I have started to wonder if this really does signify the beginning of an age where we judge designers based on their austerity. Are we promoting a generation of work that’s more Rural Studio than Burj Dubai? In Milan, at least, it already seems like the furniture world has gotten the hint: “The dominant style of this year’s Milan Furniture Fair seems to be utilitarianism, with many designers showing spartan, minimalist objects.”

So read on over at Fast Company. There’s plenty of great commentary in there by people I adore and admire—Michael Cannell, Murray Moss, Allison Arieff, Sinclair, Gehry and even Frances herself entering the argument in a saucy HuffPo post. Let me know what you think, or be sure to sound off in the comments if you’ve got something to say.

No, this is not the stage for Frank Gehry’s 80′s birthday party, even though the milestone for the man born Ephraim Owen Goldberg is celebrated with well-wishes from friends and collaborators on today’s DnA. No, friends, this is the quite glamorous set that will greet viewers this Sunday on the Academy Awards. The return to the classy-sparkly-loungey look is thanks to David Rockwell of the Rockwell Group. I suspect it will look better than usual this year, not just because he’s same rockstar who designs thing like the new Jet Blue Terminal at JFK or the new Aloft hotel concept by Starwood (which I just wrote about in a hotel roundup for the Architect’s Newspaper and looks puuuurdy nifty), but because the Rockwell Group—famed set designers on Broadway—actually designed the Kodak Theater itself. Frances talks to Rockwell about this year’s show, the mantra for which is “more intimacy and less lamé.” Let’s hope less lamé also means less lame.

I’ll be on a plane flying back from San Francisco when the actual awards are broadcast but no matter:  Star statistician Nate Silver has already predicted the Oscar winners, including Mickey Rourke for Best Actor (yay!) and an almost complete shut-out for The Curious Case of Forrest Gump (double yay!).

Now speaking of movies, you may have heard of this guy George Lucas, who you may know holds a very special place in my family (a sort of honorary godfather, I suppose). Frances got to speak with him about USC’s new School of Cinematic Arts complex he funded (Lucas attended USC back in the day, and there’s even a famous and very funny student film set at USC called George Lucas in Love). Lucas also oversaw the design of the new building, doing all the early sketches, and it turns out he actually has designed a bunch of the Lucasfilm facilities. But no Death Star modernism for him: He loves Victorians.

The USC center isn’t fully operational, but luckily, we got this exclusive video of inside the new building as some of the students were breaking the place in:

You know, I can never watch that clip without thinking about poor Ponda Baba and how his architecture career was cut short.

Be sure to check out the DnA calendar this month, freshly restocked with delicious items. If you know of any design or architecture events in Los Angeles, please send them my way. You can listen to DnA on KCRW live every 3rd Tuesday at 2:30pm PST, by podcasting through iTunes, or by streaming the audio at any time by clicking the little ‘Listen’ button underneath each show’s title on KCRW’s website.

As I hit the skies for what is potentially going to be the most painful travel day of my life, a quick post to remind you to listen to a special holiday and year-end episode of DnA today at 2:30pm PST (or stream or podcast using the icons added after the show). This month has a theme that’s most near and dear to my heart as Frances talks about a return to the handmade with Jenny Ryan, founder of the excellent Felt Club and director of the new Home Ec department at my favorite neighborhood design store, ReForm School. She also covers the opening of the pretty new Heath Ceramics store here in LA (I covered the opening for the Architect’s Newspaper blog) and has some fantastic tips for hosting high-style soirees with low budgets from Ron Woodson and Jaime Rummerfield.

Then, don’t touch that dial! After reading my “The Night Before Layoffs” at the last de LaB, Frances commissioned me to write and read another piece “rapping up” the year in DnA. I’m really looking forward to hearing the results…apparently engineer extraordinaire Ray Guarna tricked it out with music and a beat.

If you want to read along while you listen, we’ve posted the entire poem on the DnA blog.

(Oh! And the buttoned-up winter wonderland scene above? That’s a detail from a pillow, handmade by my talented mom.)

Robbie’s politically-blistering work has been Los Angeles’ urban wallpaper since the 1980s. I’ve always remembered reading this account by my friend David Mayes about going “guerrilla postering” with him in multiple cities, which David wrote back in 2003. Yes, they do get busted, but even the cops laugh at Robbie’s depiction of George Bush as the “father,” W. as the “son,” and Dick Cheney as the “holy ghost.”

Shepard and Robbie (and yes, they have done some late-night wheatpasting together) both talk on today’s show about designing for driving, distracted Los Angeles and how they’re single-handedly wrestling back public space that’s been invaded by advertising. This is especially salient in light of the battle over those new digital billboards. And I do mean light! If you can’t get enough Robbie you can check out a massive retrospective of his work up at Track 16 in Bergamot Station in Santa Monica.

Finally, it’s over to Pasadena and the Gamble House, which turns 100 this year. There are several exhibitions and events through the end of the year celebrating the Arts and Crafts masterpiece, which was designed by the brothers Greene & Greene. But when I went to visit it for the first time last year, I admit the architectural significance took a back seat to one of the most important house cameos of all time. The exteriors were used as Dr. Emmett Brown’s residence in Back to the Future and all I could think of was Christopher Lloyd sprinting through the lawn with the plans for the flux capacitor. Run for it Marty!

Check out the DnA calendar this month, freshly restocked with delicious items. If you know of any design or architecture events in Los Angeles, please send them my way. You can listen to DnA on KCRW live every 3rd Tuesday at 2:30pm PST, by podcasting through iTunes, or by streaming the audio at any time by clicking the little ‘Listen’ button underneath each show’s title on KCRW’s website. And don’t forget the DnA blog, with bonus interviews by host Frances Anderton.

I’ve been lax in reporting on the goings-on behind-the-scenes at DnA since I felt so far removed from the scene for so long. But there is some very exciting design and architecture news happening over at KCRW, not the least of which is that my dear friend Clive Wilkinson, the George Clooney of the local architecture community, was picked to design KCRW’s new station. A tip of the martini to Clive!

On today’s show, Frances talks to the architects behind a few other cultural behemoths which open or re-open next month:  The Mark Taper Forum downtown (right) and The Broad Stage in Santa Monica. I’m probably most excited for the Mark Taper Forum revamp by Rios Clementi Hale because the 1967 building is by one of my favorite LA architects, Welton Becket, who you’ll know from such hits as the Capitol Records Building, the Theme Building at LAX and the Cinerama Dome. The brand-new Broad Stage, on the other hand, is, like every other new cultural building in LA lately, named after the deep-pocketed Eli Broad, who also seems to have a thing with architects named Renzo (Piano did BCAM, Zecchetto did The Broad Stage). If you want to hear more about Broad’s quest for citywide domination, read the ever-delightful Jade Chang’s piece on the philanthropist in Metropolis, where she says he “wields his vast fortune like a blunt instrument.” Careful!

Also on today’s show: Talking about the future of production design with Alex McDowell, who is responsible for the look of tons of movies including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Corpse Bridge, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fight Club and anything else that freaked you out in the last 15 years or so. We also have the lovely Elena Manferdini, who I previously captured during her show at SCI-Arc, and the British design writer Liz Farrelly talking about her favorite fake vs. real architectural experience in LA.

But that’s not all! Perhaps the biggest news for DnA this month is that we now have a blog! Frances has been doing an amazing job recounting her design adventures, even all the way from Denver where she’s currently reporting from the Democratic convention for To The Point. I’ll be contributing, too, as well as doing some event coverage. So along with your listings for design events to add to the DnA calendar, be sure to point me towards the next design party! I’m sure I won’t need much pointing.

Can’t swing the $25 mil? You can get in on the action by ordering a pair of J.Crew chinos or perhaps some 7 for all Mankind jeans, where the house was featured prominently in promotional pieces this spring. What a coincidence!

Then Frances talks to Disney Imagineer Kim Irvine (you’d think they’d make her change her name to Anaheim) about the changes to It’s a Small World at Disneyland. You probably heard that the ride originally closed for renovations because the boats needed to be widened to accommodate, um, larger passengers, something I can vouch for since our boat got totally stuck last summer somewhere between Canada and the Eskimos. They came over the speaker and told us to to lean to the right.

But you might not know that drastic artistic changes are also planned for the ride. According to blog chatter Disney characters will be incorporated, and in the ultimate offense, the Papua New Guinea rainforest will be cut down to make way for something called Up With America. The ride was created by one of my heroes, artist Mary Blair, and her family has issued a statement asking Disney not to alter her work. But Irvine, who apprenticed with Blair, defends Disney’s decisions to change the ride and assures us we shan’t be disappointed. We can judge for ourselves when it re-opens later this year.

Finally, the favorite building of the show is the residence of architect Ray Kappe, who is also the designer of the pre-fabulous LivingHomes prototype in Santa Monica. You can take a tour of the Kappe residence with a scruffy David Duchovny in this clip from the Showtime show Californication, where the house does some beautiful acting.

Update: Reader Steve says that’s a Kappe but that’s not the Kappe and he’s right. Although I saw the item on SCI-Arc’s website that said it was the Kappe residence (and you’d think they would know), it’s actually the Benton House, according to Curbed LA.