This morning, a first draft of Lance Wyman's redesign of the iconic Metrorail map began to make the rounds. But it was missing one key aspect: a detailed depiction of the extension to Dulles International Airport. more ›

Last weekend, we tried to glean some hints about the redesigned Metrorail map from this Washington Post profile of Lance Wyman. Wyman ended up dropping a few more hints in a follow-up chat earlier this week. more ›

The Washington Wizards unveiled a new logo and uniforms this morning, switching to a familiar red, white and blue motif and bringing back a font and logo which harkens back to the team's glory days. The design brings all of Leonsis' sporting interests -- the Wizards, Capitals and Mystics -- under the same patriotic theme. more ›

In design, form has tended to follow function, even if only symbolically. With the advent of digital technologies, designers have moved toward a minimalist "black box" aesthetic (think iPhones, or external hard drives), where the plain exterior references internal complexities seemingly beyond our comprehension, rather than the functional principles of the object itself. Perhaps in response, a new American design aesthetic is emerging, one that is compared in significance to America's mid-century design heyday, and which emphasizes function and symbolic functionalism while paying homage to handcrafting and America's industrial past. D.C.-based designer Jonah Takagi works within this context, and we caught up with him to talk about living and working in D.C., as well as his first solo gallery show, New American Design, currently on display at Civilian Art Projects (in partnership with Apartment Zero). more ›

September 20 through 26 marks D.C. Fashion Week. DCist will be celebrating by interviewing a different local designer every day this week. Check out the rest of our coverage here. Today, we talk to Pranav Vora from Hugh & Crye. more ›

September 20 through 26 marks D.C. Fashion Week. DCist will be celebrating by interviewing a different local designer every day this week. Check out the rest of our coverage here. Today we talk to Will Sharp from DURKL. more ›

September 20 through 26 marks D.C. Fashion Week. DCist will be celebrating by interviewing a different local designer every day this week. Check out the rest of our coverage here. Today we talk to Erin Derge and Kristen Swenson of ReVamp. more ›

>> Tonight at the Textile Museum, get your mod on with Mod Madness. View the current exhibit Art by the Yard: Women Design Mid-Century Britain and show off your best mid-century dress to win prizes, while enjoying cocktails and jazz. 6 to 9 p.m. $10 at the door. more ›

In the former R.L. Christian Library, a pop-up fashion boutique has transformed an unused space into a quirky wi-fi lounge and shop. A project of the Pink Line Project and the District's Office of Planning, Temporium is part-retail shop, part-party spot -- but mostly a unique and interesting use of vacant space. more ›

Ever since the R.L. Christian Library closed a few years ago, the unique structure stood abandoned and vacant. But on Friday, a temporary store will set up shop in the building. Temporium brings together D.C. fashion designers to sell their wares in this innovative boutique. more ›

Washington arts watchers have been whispering and wondering since The New York Times first reported earlier this week that the Hirshhorn Museum was developing plans to create a 145-foot-tall temporary, inflatable event space. more ›

Noted graphic designer Ken Carbone used his space at Fast Company earlier this week to address the National Football League's ugliest helmets, of which there are plenty. (Helloooooo, Tampa Bay!) As someone with an amateur hobby of monitoring professional and major collegiate sports uniforms -- for instance: have you seen these new Nike college football unis, apparently left to us from a race of super-intelligent hypergalactic beings? -- this editor believes Carbone hit a lot of the right notes. The best helmets in the NFL do belong to teams which have a natural symmetry in the logo (Eagles, Rams, Vikings), or teams who stick with classic, clean insignias and color schemes (Cowboys, Bengals, Browns -- and although Carbone forgot them, the Packers). more ›

By DCist Contributor Lauren Evans more ›

The Examiner reports today that there's a little bit of controversy brewing over the design for the new Washington Highlands public library branch in Southwest. No big surprise there: when it comes to public libraries in the District, suddenly everyone's an architecture critic. The main arguments presented in the Examiner story seem to be that the design, by famous British architect David Adjaye, is just too weird and doesn't "fit the neighborhood." Presumably, the ANC commissioner quoted in the story would rather have some kind of more classical, square brick building that blends in with the rowhouses around it. Personally, I think it looks pretty rad, but that's the thing about aesthetics, I guess. You can't ever please everyone. more ›

In another sign of how the Washington Post is moving to merge its print and online versions, washingtonpost.com changed its logo today to the same one that sits atop the regular newspaper. The old web site logo has been scuttled in favor of reinforcing the Post brand, a decision that strikes us as both wise and long overdue. Fishbowl DC has the internal memo:

This recognizes what we all have long known: washingtonpost.com is very much part of The Washington Post, complementary and in some ways distinct, but an absolutely central part of who we are. As we rethink how we present our journalism--whether it emanates from the paper or from the web--we wanted to signal that clearly to all our audiences.

The Post's Paul Schwartzman schools us on what really needs to happen for anything to be approved in Georgetown. After gaining approval from the ANC, the Apple Store facade design is now headed back to the Old Georgetown Board, the body with the apparent real power to dictate what the historic shopping district will look like. Be afraid!

The encounter is so fraught with uncertainty that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's office has offered to give Apple advice on how to handle the board and asked to see its latest rendering before the meeting.

Via WTOP, WMATA says its redesigned Metrobuses will be deployed to their first line starting on Monday. The brand new silver and red buses will mostly service the U8 line, which runs from Capitol Heights to Southeast, but two of them are also destined for the recently expanded 5A line, running from L'Enfant Plaza to Dulles International Airport. Take a look at several images of the new buses here, and keep an eye out for them on the road next week. more ›

Ah, Sesame Street - who among us doesn't long for the idyllic setting of Big Bird, Snuffalopogus, and Cookie Monster? Sometimes it's easy to slip away and imagine sitting on the stoop, sharing a juice box with your buds Bert, Ernie, and Grover after a hard day at the grind; even if rote memorization of multiplication tables are far in our rear view mirror. more ›

WMATA just sent out images of their brand new Metrobuses. The new red and silver color scheme looks pretty sweet. Keep an eye out for one of the 22 new 60-foot articulated buses when they make their debut in August, on lines yet to be announced. more ›

This morning Metro invited the media to come take a look at four different models of non-carpeted flooring options the agency will begin testing on its rail cars. Metro General Manager John Catoe has made it a priority to get rid of carpeting on the system's rail cars. more ›

Back in early December, Metro began testing a trio of new railcar designs that offered different seating and handlebar configurations. Some of Metro's newer car designs, especially the ones that removed vertical bars to create more passenger standing room, have proved very popular with riders. At least one change, however, has already been dumped by Metro: bench seating, as seen in the photo at right, will not be incorporated into future rail cars, WTOP reports. more ›

Via Apartment Therapy (hat tip to reader Sara B. for the link), we couldn't help thinking this was pretty rad: local furniture designer Justin Couch (could that possibly be his real name?) is selling custom coffee tables shaped like the District of Columbia. Available in black and white formica as well as the walnut ply finish pictured above, this could be just the accessory those of you who've worn out your three stars/two bars T-shirts need to complete an entirely pro-D.C. aesthetic. Although, the "District Table" runs $600 plus any shipping costs, so you'll have to be a little more financially solvent than most of us layabout bloggers to afford this sort of Washington-focused extravagance. Maybe one of you wealthy readers would like to donate one to DCist headquarters? If we shouldn't have one, we don't know who should! more ›

WMATA sent around these nifty design images earlier today of what future Metro rail cars might look like. Dave Kubicek, Metro's Assistant General Manager for Metrorail, is leading the development of designs of the 7000 Series rail cars. more ›

Living in the Nation's Capital, with so many free events going on year-round, it might seem silly to spend a princely sum of money for the privilege of becoming a Member of a local arts organization. But there are a number of good reasons to think about becoming a member -- maybe you're interested in a particular subject that's only shown at a pay-for museum, maybe you're an artist looking to grab a foothold in... more ›

FRIDAY: >> Ted Leo and the Pharmacists are at the 9:30 Club with Kristeen Young and Partyline, $15, 9 p.m. Also Saturday with Kristeen Young and Ris Paul Ric. >> DC9's Liberation Dance Party hosts Brooklyn's Jaguar Club. $6, 9 p.m. SATURDAY: >> The Historic Sixth and I Synagogue hosts The Eight, D.C.'s part of a "worldwide Hannukah party" featuring the LeeVees, DeLeon and D.C.'s own Black and White JohnsonsJacksons. $12/$18, all ages, 9 p.m.... more ›

This week the big news is the appointment (PDF) of Dorothy Kosinski as the new Director of The Phillips Collection. She's currently the Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Dallas Musuem of Art, and comes with an impressive résumé that include extensive curating, acquisitions, and teaching experience. Kosinski will officially take over next spring, to replace retiring Director Jay Gates, just in time to take the reins on a five-year strategy the... more ›

It is truly the most wonderful time of year — for caterers, that is. D.C. knows how to feast. Between all the holiday/non-denominational/winter solstice parties for every single nonprofit/government/lobby/press room in town and our own personal holiday events, the humble art of bringing a homemade dish to any event has fallen by the wayside. Personally, I’ll be bringing a dozen Krispy Kreme jelly doughnuts to a Hanukkah party this weekend. On the other hand, there... more ›

On Tuesday Metro introduced those two redesigned railcars we mentioned last week, which have a variety of new features including non-carpeted flooring, bench seating and those odd looking leaning pads designed to give standing passengers a back rest. Rail cars #6104 and #6105 also feature and more overhead stainless steel grab straps, which are apparently designed to be more accessible to shorter customers, and fewer windscreens. The overall effect of the design is intended to... more ›

If you’re a regular reader of Transit on Thursday, you’ll have noted week after week of Green line delays over the past few months caused by the testing of new rail cars. Good news – those delays could soon cease. Metro is getting ready to stop testing and starting using, reports WTOP. The new rail cars, featuring two different designs, will be brought into service by Christmas. The first design is carpetless, with lots of... more ›

>> The holiday gift season is officially here, which means we're going to start seeing a little more emphasis on the latter half of "arts and crafts" around the city, when the search for the perfect present for Aunt Sallie ends with you standing in front of a pile of handmade tea kettle cozies. You might want to start with the high quality stuff, and get to the Washington Craft Show this weekend at the... more ›