Studio
Rectangle is a graphic and interaction design studio based in Glasgow, Scotland and founded by Daniel Powers (US) and Lizzie Malcolm (UK) in August 2017. We work with information and technology and content and form to develop projects in various media.
Background
For many years Dan and Lizzie were based in The Hague, The Netherlands. There they were both teachers at Dutch art academies and ran a design collective with Atelier Carvalho Bernau. Several of the works on this site are the result of this fruitful collaboration.
Contact
studio@rectangle.design
Unit 102A, 54 Washington Street
G3 8AZ Glasgow
WORK
We write software, build tools, create archives, design interfaces and explore technologies. All projects are designed and developed in-house. Outcomes encompass the physical and digital. Computation is central, but not always visible.
Clients
We work with a wide range of clients: Software Developers, Artists, Musicians, Cultural Institutions, Choreographers, Academics, Lawyers and ourselves.
FOLLOW
Bird, Camera, Face
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Critical Making
A website and identity for the Critical Making research consortium.
Veem House for Performance
An identity and website for an avant-garde performance space in Amsterdam
Interfaces Conference
A poster with an identity crisis for the Center for Interdiciplinary Methodologies at Warwick University
Octavo Tegenstellingen Covers
Covers for a new book series for Amsterdam based Octavo Publicaties
Myung Feyen
A website chronologising the work and process of the Dutch artist Myung Feyen
Marséll Archive and Shop
An online archive and shop for the Italian shoe designers Marséll, and their art space Marsèlleria in Milan
The Mac Photo Archive
A photographic archive of The Glasgow School of Art after a fire in 2014
Women's Political Rights
A timeline visualisation of women's political rights around the world since 1892
Out of Data
An identity and poster series for an annual theme at the Center for Interdiciplinary Methodologies at Warwick University
Airwars Libya
An archive interface for Airwars, monitoring airstrikes and civilian casualties in Libya
Concrete Flux
Covers for a new book series for Amsterdam based Octavo Publicaties
Arkadi Zaides
A website for an Israeli artist and choreographer, exploring information density in web design
Make Works Extension
A subversive browser extension that suggests alternative methods to manufacture, repair, or replace items as you shop on IKEA.com
Client Earth
Map and document database of timber regulation resources for lawyers and environmental activists
Predominant.ly
A website giving new life to old ways of finding music
Indygraph
A twitter visualisation of the conversation surrounding the Scottish Independence referendum in 2014
Index of Performative Keys
A research collaboration with the Center for Interdisciplinary Methodologies, exploring the proliferation of performance analysis
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TALKS + LECTURES
  • Rectangle & Make Works, Mozilla Festival, London, 29 October 2017
    We ran a session about the Make Works Extension for Redistrubuted Manufacturing alongside MW founder Fi Duffy-Scott.
Teaching + Workshops
  • Psychographics, April 2018
    A week long workshop at the KABK’s Non Linear Narrative Master. Following the recent investigations into the practices of Cambridge Analytica, we aksed students to download their entire Facebook archive. Using a combination of text and image analysis, they designed an interfaces to their dataset, confronting the quantity and intimacy of the information.
  • Greenpeace @ KABK, September 2018
    Again with the NLN Master, we will direct a workshop to kick of a year long collaboration project with Greenpeace.

We both enjoyed teaching for many years while living in The Netherlands. Dan taught in the Interaction Design department at ArtEZ in Arnhem for 8 years and Lizzie in the Graphic Design department at the KABK in The Hague for 4 years.

Lizzie is now teaching in the Communication Design master at the Glasgow School of Art.

In the past we have given workshops and lectures at a number of other institutions including The Glasgow School of Art, London College of Communication, Sandberg Institute, Berlin Weißensee, Svenska Tecknare, l'ÉSAD Valence

NEWS + RESEARCH + UPCOMING

We will keep this space updated with snippets from ongoing projects, new ventures, and resources.

06 August

In August we’ll welcome our first ever intern the excellent Samuel Snyder who will join us for 3 months as part of his course at the KABK in The Hague.

01 July

Finally we’ve moved into a new studio space on Washington Street close to the river in Glasgow.



05 December

Feeling dejected about the world, we decided to do something positive and release a project we’ve had in the pipeline for a while. All proceeds to charity! The Fuck You Mug

01 December

This month we’re exited to work with Sophie and Solveig from A Satellite Studio who have have been publishing the bilingual journal Concrete Flux for several years. We are collaborating to bring the journal online, navigating accessibility and censorship.

17 October

This month we begin working with our friend Judith Browning on her PhD thesis, Mouthwork: Staged Presentation and Laboured Expression. We are helping to develop a tool that she can use during the last phase of her research, that will enable a non-linear digital version of her final written work.

10 October

For a while now, we have had an idea for a sound powered writing tool. Think fax machine meets etch-a-sketch. We are working towards turning this into an performance installation. Lots more research on sound synthesis and score generation to come.