What is dork?

In short, we're a print and digital publication exploring the intersections of design, nature, and culture. dork is a communal effort. We invite collaborators, mostly designers or people intersted in design, to share research, half-baked thoughts, and random musings. Together, we discover the connections between our own practices and the spaces we inhabit, eventually refining our thinking into a body of publishable media. dork is the co-creative design process applied to a design and culture publication.

Why the name dork?

Because we love having obscure passions. Whether dissecting the exact beige on a highly gendered subway ad or memorizing alpine tree classifications, we're dorky people and are so satisfied with it.

Why we started dork?

dork all started as a conversation. Or rather, an ongoing series of conversations between us (Tas + Peter), observing the strange, fetishized, and often inexplainable oddities of the designed culture of NY.

At first, we wanted to make a podcast. A space where we could break free of the limits of our own commercial design practices and openly dissect the processes and impacts of design and design culture. We later booted up a personal slack workspace, finding ourselves energized by sharing articles, ideas, and little observations.

Our collaborative research broadened and narrowed, eventually landing on a series of topics we just couldn't stop thinking about. People started looking over our shoulders, wondering why we were hoarding swatches of warm pastels. Late one night, we realized that it was almost selfish to try and keep these conversations to ourselves. We have so many friends and acquaintances who would love to join the discussion as well, and our own conversation would be enriched by their perspectives. We needed more minds at the table.

So we switched gears, mediums rather, and decided to launch a publication.

We call it dork.

Who is Tas?

Tasnima Tanzim is an immigrant designer raised in the boroughs of New York City and in the golis of Jhenaidah, Bangladesh. She sees design as a tool to open conversations and shape culture.

Who is Peter?

A diehard Seattleite, Peter is an interaction designer now working in New York. He strives to use design as an instrument to encourage positive interactions between people, nature, and culture.