Cover image: Nathan Keay | Cover Design: Dan Streeting
This March marks two years since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. To say that those two years have changed the world would be an understatement—from the ways we live, work, travel and communicate, to smaller things, like dating, having a drink at a local bar, trying on clothes in a fitting room (which my pre-pandemic self was never a fan of but now somehow it hits differently), or hugging a stranger when the Blackhawks score a goal. Even our usual annual Design 50 list, highlighting those “who shape Chicago” missed a beat, bypassing a 2021 edition.
At this time, two years into a twilight zone of sorts—or maybe better described as a long dream that leaves you numb in a haze of confusion and disorientation—I found myself thinking less and less about the post-pandemic future and more about embracing change. In the space between dwelling in the nostalgia of “the before times” and trying to envision “the new normal,” comes a liberating realization: some things are just out of our control. Letting go is not easy nor is bringing yourself into the present moment, away from what life used to be or could be “after all of this is over.” But it is then and there that one can finally reclaim power by turning all energy and effort into looking at change as opportunity.
This is exactly what this issue is about: Celebrating the forces behind the scenes in terms of power and influence in Chicago’s design scene—those who are changing our world for the better. Whether reimagining the urban landscape, redesigning our interior spaces or a workspace in which we’ll be able to better collaborate, providing digital experiences when coming together is not an option, proposing green initiatives and sustainable solutions to protect the environment, striving to bring equity, diversity and inclusion to the foreground, stressing the importance of community, and elevating the design world at-large while highlighting Chicago in the process, they all have one thing in common: they are all about redesigning the world in which we will again thrive. Onward and upward.
Greek-born Vasia Rigou is a seasoned journalist, editor and multimedia content producer largely on the subjects of visual art, culture, architecture and design. She currently serves as an Editor at Newcity, Chicago’s leading culture publication, as Writer and Copy Editor at the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) HQ, and regularly contributes to international architecture and design magazines OnOffice and ICON. She has experience creating content for brands and building conference speeches and influential TEDx talks. Simply put: she’s fascinated by finding out the great stories behind the people, places and objects that surround us, and by sharing those stories with the world. When she’s not writing about art or looking at art—wine in hand—she makes lists for pretty much everything, drinks immense amounts of coffee and takes cross-country road trips every chance she gets.
