By Connor Tippett (VP+C Summer ’17 Intern) Millions of people lay claim to the 300 square mile patch of land that is New York City, but few venture to one of the city’s largest outdoor food vendor parks with a little NYC flair of its own. Smorgasburg recently relocated to the up and coming Williamsburg neighborhood. The riverfront venue provides an iconic view of the NYC skyline overlooking the East River. The outdoor food park features a variety of food and beverages ranging from fresh juice out of an exotic dragon fruit to burgers using Ramen noodles in the place…

This week was an eclectic mix of stories from all realms! Read on to see our favorite eye-catching stories of the week… Jamie Weissman Some hospitals are focusing more on design to make visits less intimidating for patients and their families. (via CNN) Lisa Jasper I love this breakdown of text laughter. (via The New York Times) Sarah Duncan Marta Minujín demonstrates her resistance to political repression through her most recent endeavor, the Parthenon of Books. Using donations from people around the world, she has cast a light on the comparison of the persecution of writers in the past and…

We saw both the rise of maximalism trend this week, as well as a trend of food publications moving further south. Read on to see more of the stories that piqued our interest this week… William Oh: Food Pubs Moving South Food & Wine’s magazine’s office is moving to Birmingham from NYC. This NYT article also examines the various angles behind the move and the state of food media. (via The New York Times) Melodie Mendez: Maximalism is Back In Move over, minimalists. Maximalism is in! (Albeit, certainly not my cup of joe). (via Archpaper) *Note from Lisa: More is more, and…

This week we had an unintentional architecture focus, with everything from performance art inspired by iconic buildings to how architecture can influence everything from stress levels to public health. (Honorable mention… fried chicken in space). Read on for our stories of the week! Meghan Dockendorf: Performance Meets NYC Architecture Come November, live architecture-focused performances will debut in NYC. Put on by Performa, this new program called Circulations, aims to examine the movement of bodies in space, while looking at how architecture exists in today’s built environment. The site-specific acts will take place at iconic venues across the city. Let’s remember to…

From fossilized takes on iconic design, to climate change and the best place for wedding dress inspiration, here are the stories that captured our attention this week! Lisa Jasper: Design History Fossilized in Crystal I love seeing these iconic design items reimagined in such a timeless (but completely on-trend) organic material. (via Fast Co. Design) William Oh: Monochromatic Store Jumps Across the Pond Tomorrow marks the US opening of Chrissie Rucker’s the White Company in Flatiron, an upscale home & lifestyle store based in the UK – it’ll be interesting to see how the monochromatic offering will be received. (via The New…

Take a look at what caught our eye this week in the news and on the web! Gabriel Rodriguez: Public Editor Role vs. Social Media With social media serving as a modern watchdog for outlets and journalists, The New York Times announced Wednesday it will offer employee buyouts and eliminate the public editor role. But can outlets rely solely on the judgement of social media users (not always knowledgeable of journalistic principles) as a vigilant force overseeing today’s news? The last word has not been spoken here. (via The New York Times) Melodie Mendez: Quirky Gift List We do a…

From Eurovision excitement, new public art in NYC, and inspiring Heneiken commercials, here are our stories of the week! Sara Gardner: Come Together (Over a Beer) Studies have shown that short, casual conversations about hot-button issues can really be effective in changing people’s minds – or at least in putting a face to the issue. This “World’s Apart” ad for Heineken by Agency Publicis London exemplifies this, and confronts the political climate in a way that seems to be way more genuine and effective – especially compared to the embarrassing Pepsi/Kendall Jenner ad that felt exploitative and out of touch. The…

This week, many of us gravitated towards recent public relations challenges, as well as taking a look at how industries seem to be adapting and changing with the ever-evolving Gen Z + Millennial-focused landscape. (Plus, a sprinkling of new tabletop design and partnerships, and too beautiful to eat cake design)! Gabriel Rodriguez-Calderon: Where Was the PR Counsel at Pepsi? After Pepsi’s major social blunder earlier last week, many PR pros now wonder if a communications executive could have helped Pepsi avoid the embarrassment caused by its ill-considered ad starring Kendall Jenner. Experts claim that a communications professional would have been…

Take a look at this week’s highlights and what we’ve been reading… Sara Gardner: Millennial Pink Trend Millennial Pink… it’s a real thing. It’s currently popping up everywhere in all different forms, from fashion and films to packaging and photography – to me, it seems like it really is the defining color of these past few years. But why is it so appealing? This piece on The Cut tries to unpack the chronology behind it’s rise to fad status. Bonus: if you scroll to the end of the article, they highlight a few other fad colors from years past. (via…

Music makes the world go ‘round, and the same goes for our office – we’re always up for a good tune to groove to during the workday. We recently switched to Spotify, and we decided to explore the streaming platform’s content by making a playlist of our own. Since it’s a #TBT, we had to go with the oldies and pop tunes from years past that make us boogie – hope you enjoy! Click the link below to listen. VP+C’s Office #TBT Playlist