Fashion Monday with JJ Lee

On Monday, the design of newspapers was the topic. And why not, especially when there's a story as big as Robert William Pickton's trial? How do and should newspapers design headlines to get your attention when the news is as explosive and gruesome as this? The Vancouver Sun 's page-one design marking the first day of the Pickton trial was pretty dramatic. It's a page that's hard not to notice and even harder to forget. It has the words, "Day One," in bold, 2-inch, upper case letters. Under it in smaller letters, "Pickton on Trial", and below that are the pictures of the six women Pickton is accused of murdering. You could see everywhere around town (I did on my commute to the CBC) and it garnered quite a few comments from non-newspeople. Of course, there were questions about what is tasteful and what is not. Word choice, font size and the use of negative space all add up to some impression - it could be seen as salacious or, depending on who you...

PHOTO COURTESY OF JESSE READ From time to time, Vancouver by Design looks at the "other arts." Those are the skilled artisanal crafts and design traditions that are over-looked by most mainstream design journalists. And this week, my interest in the Other Arts lead me to the office and practice studio of Jesse Read. Read is a bassoonist and director of the School of Music at the University of British Columbia. Read is also a masterful reed-maker, particulary double reeds used to play oboes and bassoons. Learning to cut a reed is a mandatory skill for reed players and Jesse took the time to give me a primer on reed-making. Listen, 7 mins. 6 secs . Also check out Read's latest album with guitarist Michael Strutt, Stroll In The Cool .

(This Vancouver by Design column originally aired On The Coast on CBC Radio One in Vancouver) One of the original partners in the design company behind BC Place's roof told Vancouver By Design he left the company precisely because of a dispute over the design of such structures. Horst Berger was one half of Geiger Berger - the company which designed the stadium's air supported roof; it collapsed last week after tearing. Described by local engineers, as "daring, innovative, and pre-eminent" in the field of fabric roofs, Berger ended his partnership with David Geiger in 1983, the same year BC Place was completed. Berger, 80, spoke to VBD by phone from his residence in New York state. When told about the tear and subsequent deflation, Berger said, "I'm not surprised." "The air-supported structure depends on a mechanical system and that is it's Achilles heel." Membrane roofs like the one on BC Place require pumped in air to keep the dome inflat...

Just wrote my first menswear column for The Georgia Straight on how to dress up for New Year's Eve. Too late for this year but it contains sound advice for the other 364 days.