A Netflix series attempts to avoid the tropes of "serious" design documentaries with playful profiles about the luminaries of modern design.

For something so ubiquitous and integral to global culture, the realm of design hasn’t received the same degree of attention, dissemination, nor criticism as the other pillars of culture: the culinary, the arts, and technology. As a practice, design has operated mostly invisible, despite its endless output and influence in everything we purchase and consume today. Scott Dadich ? the former creative director and editor in chief of Wired ? recognized an opportunity to pull the curtain back and reveal the creative process ? and the plethora of personalities ? behind design with his new Netflix series, Abstract: The Art of Design.
If you’ve watched Netflix’s Chef’s Table, the series’ vernacular ? both visually and in narrative ? will feel recognizable and comfortable. The show invites viewers to ?step inside the minds of the most innovative designers in a variety of disciplines and learn how design impacts every aspect of life,? with this first season dedicated to the likes of interior designer Ilse Crawford, portrait photographer Platon Antoniou, graphic designer Paula Scher, architect Bjarke Ingels, stage designer Es Devlin, Nike shoe designer Tinker Hatfield, and car designer Ralph Gille. The pace is snappy, the production engagingly playful, with each episode bespoke to each desig...