designspotlights

Designspotlights is a term used to describe curated features that highlight notable design projects across disciplines, including industrial, product, graphic, interaction, and service design. The aim is to illuminate design decisions, materials, production processes, and contextual factors such as sustainability and user experience.

Typically presented on dedicated pages or in magazine articles, each spotlight centers on a single project or a small collection, offering high‑quality imagery, a concise narrative, technical specifications, and designer commentary. Some spotlights include interviews, process diagrams, or annotated sketches to reveal methods and trade-offs.

Origin and usage: the practice emerged with digital design journalism in the late 2000s and 2010s, as editors sought to give focused attention to exemplary work. The label designspotlights is used by multiple platforms to describe recurring features rather than a single organization; its content is often curated by editors or guest curators.

Impact and value: designspotlights can educate students and professionals, reveal design thinking, and help makers understand production and materials. They can also influence trends and visibility for designers, although critical coverage and diverse representation remain important to avoid bias toward certain regions, styles, or brands.

See also: design journalism, design criticism, curatorship, case study.