useful + agreeable

Travel + Design Magazine

Abstract two-band issue plate in charcoal and clay tones opening the front page
Issue plate — ink and dune, the magazine's running colour

THE MAGAZINE

Made in Tokyo, and everywhere else

useful + agreeable is a travel and design magazine: long reporting on architecture and the people who make it, on the aesthetics of airports and aircraft cabins, on hotels and the advisors who run their front desks, and on the objects and arguments that make up design culture.

Pieces run from Los Angeles and Tokyo to Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Paris, Bangkok and Aspen. Several were also published in Metropolis and Azure. The sections below open the current run; the archive holds all of it.

FROM THIS RUN

Abstract two-band issue plate in charcoal and architecture tones for Cross-Border Cowboys
Issue plate — Architecture

ARCHITECTURE

Cross-Border Cowboys

Three enterprising Germans move to Los Angeles where they go on long walks, meet art and film stars, set up shop as architects and snare early commissions from Brad Pitt and curator Dave Hickey.

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Abstract two-band issue plate in charcoal and architecture tones for Two Tokyos
Issue plate — Architecture

ARCHITECTURE

Two Tokyos

As huge Western-style developments near completion, two conflicting visions of the city are emerging.

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Abstract two-band issue plate in charcoal and air tones for Design Is In The Air
Issue plate — Air

AIR

Design Is In The Air

Airport and Airline aesthetics are recovering from a thirty year tailspin as top architects and designers are hired to create a new experience.

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Abstract two-band issue plate in charcoal and hotels tones for Hotel Claska, Tokyo
Issue plate — Hotels

HOTELS

Hotel Claska, Tokyo

"The Concierge Recommends" is a series of features including personal recommendations of expert local advisors from the great hotels of the world. This feature is Hotel Claska in Tokyo, which was…

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Abstract two-band issue plate in charcoal and travel tones for L.A.'s Modernist Marvels
Issue plate — Travel

TRAVEL

L.A.'s Modernist Marvels

From Case Study Houses to oil company offices turned chic hotels, the city's mid-century architectural riches are gaining respect

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Abstract two-band issue plate in charcoal and design tones for Massive Claim
Issue plate — Design

DESIGN

Massive Claim

Massive Claim: Bruce Mau on Design Culture Preview of Toronto-based designer's upcoming book and exhibition "Massive Change: An International Project on the Future of Design Culture" at the Vancouver…

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ABOUT THE MAGAZINE

What useful + agreeable covers

An independent travel and design magazine reporting on architecture, airline and airport aesthetics, hotels, city guides and design culture. Its running series include The Concierge Recommends, in which advisors at hotels in Tokyo, Amsterdam, Paris and Bangkok give their own recommendations, and Two Hours In, a guide for anyone who has ever said they were there but did not get to see anything.

Selected pieces were published in Metropolis and Azure. The magazine also ran a film strand, the u+a film awards. You can read the full archive or start with the film awards.