Untapped is a design journal that looks back to look forward.We view the human experience as a special source of knowledge: It tells us what has worked, and what hasn’t. How can we use that information to improve our lives?We tell stories about people who are harnessing lessons from the past to make a change for the better: people who are adapting ignored or forgotten ideas, fusing them with new ones, and creating environments in which people can thrive. Spanning topics such as how technology can nurture the handmade, the insights Western society can gain from Indigenous communities, and what neuroaesthetics can teach us about the impact of everyday encounters with beauty, a sense of urgency permeates our content. We hope that reading it offers valuable, varied perspectives on where we are, where we’re going, and how the past can enhance the future.The print publication, which will be released annually, continues Untapped’s focus of looking back to look forward. But unlike the journal’s bimonthly digital issues, in which weekly stories are organized around thematic questions, stories in the print edition focus on the notion that objects often contain ideas their users aren’t aware of—and that understanding what those ideas are can enhance the experience of even everyday things, allowing users to see their surroundings differently and forge deeper connections with them. The publication unpacks concepts behind the work of luminaries including the late architects Alison and Peter Smithson, neuroscientist Anjan Chatterjee, and artist Roy McMakin, as well as reflections by Glenn Adamson, Edwin Heathcote, Karrie Jacobs, Alexandra Lange, and Debika Ray.
