In this interview conducted by International Design Media Network (IDMN) participant DESIGN> magazine, representatives of the branding company HKLM illustrate how African branding and design industries must address markets with both a local approach and an international level of confidence and self-assurance.

In this review of Richard Farson's book The Power of Design: A Force for Transforming Everything, Paul Nini describes how the author stresses the importance of design in the future of both the profession and society. Though perhaps not a typical design publication, Nini certainly recommends this book as a 'roadmap' for positive change.

For the design industry of the world, Israel is mysterious and fascinating. With modern Jewish immigrants and the revival of oral Hebrew, more and more people are interested in the tiny country. Mel Bayas, the author of The Design Encyclopedia, published in 2004, claims that Israel design is a secret to be preserved best in the world.

In an image-saturated world, type design can have a hard time standing out. In this Feature, Matthias Hillner looks at the new ways of using transitional typography and motion graphics to transmit information. With various examples of experimental work, advertisement strategies and signage, Matthias Hillner shows how innovative design has impacted us in the past, and where virtual typography might be headed in the future.

In honour of the fiftieth anniversary of Diseño Shakespear, an Argentina-based design agency led by renowned designer Ronald Shakespear, Icograda Past President Jorge Fascara has contributed week's Feature as a tribute to this significant milestone.

In this second half of the article, originally published in TYPO magazine, author Zdeno Kolesár looks at Slovak design from the mid-1990s to the present. During this time, younger generations have transitioned between traditional methods and more radical approaches, confronting typography and layout in ways that often received both international recognition and criticism from older generations.

This Feature is the first of two parts of an article published in TYPO magazine by Slovakia-based author, Zdeno Kolesár. Through analysing the development of communication design in Slovakia over the past two decades, the author shows its current influence on public life and premises that its role will become increasingly predominant, even as it becomes less apparent to the public eye.

Claudia Meyer-Newman and Nicholas Vanderschantz, Educational Symposium Speakers at the Icograda Design Week in Qatar 2009. Compiled and edited by Samara Watkiss.

While wayfinding tools for the sighted are advancing by leaps and bounds, how does this serve those who are visually impaired? This week's Feature article "The Sound of North", from the recent issue of segdDESIGN, looks at the work of David Sweeney, a Royal College of Art researcher using digital technology to provide wayfinding solutions for the visually impaired.

Interviews with Ibrahim Jaidah and Mark Kingwell, keynote speakers at the Icograda Design Week in Qatar 2009. Compiled and edited by Samara Watkiss.