Anima delves beneath the surface of design, while at the same time understanding that appearances also matter. It is interested in what things mean, as well as how they look. As appealing to the professional as it is to the enthusiast, it understands that design never stops, and embraces the most vital of issues. Its perspective is global and predictive. Beautifully designed and incisively written, Anima takes the subject out of the specialist domain and offers a clear and passionate insight into where we are now.

In this edition, we focus on the institutions, legacies, and individuals that shape design’s perception, understanding, and memory. At the Triennale Milano Design Museum, an ambitious programme led by Stefano Boeri and Marco Sammicheli has reasserted the relevance of both archives and exhibitions. We explore two important retrospectives featured during Milan Design Week — a display of Lella and Massimo Vignelli, whose rigorous modernism transformed graphic design on both sides of the Atlantic, and a deeper analysis of the work of Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.

Additionally, we consider how design functions as a cultural as well as commercial practice. Bianca Saunders and Andu Masebo, both based in London in the fashion and furniture sectors, respectively, reflect on identity, making, and the city as a source of influence. We also address contemporary anxieties around technology, with an opinion piece that unpacks the limitations and implications of so-called ‘poor AI’.

Czech photographer Adam Štech travels to Mexico for this issue, exploring the lesser-known aspects of Luis Barragán’s extraordinary architecture. Christof Radl, the art director for Ettore Sottsass’s Terrazzo magazine, discusses his career with Italian curator Francesco Bonami. Dalia Al-Dujaili discusses the legacy of Iraqi modernist graphic design, and Ayla Angelos reflects on the work of the late Martin Parr, the English photographer of everyday life. Hella Jongerius discusses her search for imperfection, and Anima visits one of the most radical modern houses of the 1970s, designed by Richard Rogers and now part of the National Trust, becoming British historical heritage.