In a series of three annual city-to-city poster shows at Bumbershoot, an arts and music festival held at the foot of the Space Needle every Labor Day Weekend, Seattle curator and designer Daniel R. Smith has set out to explore the poster as a form of dialogue between the city and its supposedly metropolitan polar opposites: Havana, Tehran, and now, Moscow.

The Commodore Hotel in Astoria, Oregon (population 10,000) is not exactly conveniently located, tucked away near the ocean's edge at the mouth of the Columbia River. But the mysterious tale of the hotel's past is enough to draw visitors for a night or two in the now-modern quarters of the historic getaway.

Nowhere do the virtual and built environments come together as they do in the gaming world. Mirror’s Edge, a first person action adventure game recently released by Swedish studio Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment (DICE), is an example of next generation ‘virtutecture’, where the boundaries between the real and the digital blur on a gaming console.

From tagging city walls to decorating urban boutiques, hotels & restaurants: Sweden's Dizel&Sate have moved up from the streets & across media.

Roman Kalarus is from the generation of Polish poster designers mentored by the fathers of the Polish Poster School and who has himself taught several of the younger designers currently renewing the tradition. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow in 1976. He is currently a professor and head of a poster studio at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice. His work has been shown in major graphic design and poster shows in Poland and abroad.

2.5 metres of wire can go a surprisingly long way. For the recent Beefeater Design Challenge in Sweden ten young designers were asked to identify and solve a design problem associated with drinking in a bar.

IKEA and H&M are perhaps the most visible icons associated with Swedish design, known for its clean lines, functional form and accessibility. Much of this is the work of Swedish designers who graduated from the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design.

Furniture retailer Design Within Reach has announced the 50 finalists in its fifth annual DWR Uncorked competition. Entrants were invited to create an original miniature chair, no more than four inches tall or wide, using only the foil, label, cage and cork from no more than two champagne bottles.

There are no design critics because there are no students of design criticism. But that’s about to change. Three new master’s programmes will soon be training an army of critics and equipping them with the writing weaponry required for intelligent inquiry into all things design.

In the 20th century, Swedish design was dictated by functionality. But now a new generation of designers is turning traditional form and function on its head erasing the boundaries between art, design and handicraft.

Cardigans singer Nina Persson has been helping to turn Stockholm's most traditional department store into a hip, modern fashion house and art gallery - complete with severed eyes and distorted heads. Charlotte West checks out the new PUB.

Women’s influence on Swedish industrial design – both as designers and as consumers – is greater than ever. Design is becoming more universal and products are increasingly sensitive to the needs of both women and men.

The list of adjectives that has been used to describe Malcolm McLaren, the notorious manager of punk rock band the Sex Pistols, is long, and not entirely pretty. McLaren was one of the headliners at the sixth annual FutureDesignDays conference in Stockholm.

Exchanges are racing ahead to get more information out faster to meet ever-increasing market demands.

Investors are not the only ones diversifying their holdings. Exchanges are busy expanding their offerings to include the trading of new asset classes and more instrument types. This strategy not only minimizes risk and boosts earnings, but it also presents customers with more choices.

Football player enthusiast Charlotte West reveals her deep admiration for the ball juggling skills of male model midfielder Freddie Ljungberg.

As a designer, Bauke Knottnerus knows no bounds. The Dutch multi-tasker has been celebrated for his funky furniture, fashion arrangements and unique sensibilities with handcrafted objects and artisanship, but continues to defy both categorization and convention. Merging his background in industrial and furniture design with a passion for fashion, Knottnerus created Phat Knits, a collection of colorful, giant knots with the dual purpose of entertaining and providing a place to sit.

Ted Noten's Haunted By 36 Women show at Amsterdam's Galerie Rob Koudijs exhibits his characteristic avant-garde flair. Inspired by "archetypal perceptions of women"—the femme fatale, the girl next door, the fashionista, the suffragette—the collection includes assemblages and rapid-prototype pieces such as rings and brooches. With the role of the muse up for renewed discussion, we chatted with Noten about how he fell into jewelry design, his feminine inspirations and what he'd design for the First Lady.

In his recently published book, The Language of Things, London Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic writes: "The consequences of the transformation of fashion from a craft to an industry are still gathering pace. Because of its ability to co-opt and explore other forms of visual culture, fashion is transforming the way that art and design are understood." Attempts to define art, fashion and design are thus increasingly difficult — and decreasingly relevant.

Stockholm Fashion Week showcases the hottest Swedish fashion right now. Charlotte West sat down with Liselotte Westerlund, the minds behind the +46 arena for “progressive fashion” and the growing Filippa K brand.

Swedish designers are sharpening their scissors, and the result could be seen at Stockholm Fashion Week. Charlotte West was on the scene to chat with four up-and-coming talents about their latest collections.

The first time I really ever paid much attention to the Nobel Prize was at my college graduation in Seattle in June 2002, where our commencement address was given by Leland Hartwell, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. He mentioned standing on stage with the king and queen of Sweden, and the statement grabbed my attention because I was planning to move to Stockholm the following autumn.

Social-networking technology has helped make geographic borders almost irrelevant for young people seeking information about education programs or staying in touch with peers.

Branding and marketing are no longer the exclusive purview of the business world. While individual higher education institutions have long been aware of the benefits of developing a strong profile, countries and regions are now jumping on the branding bandwagon.

For many students considering studying abroad, it’s not practical or feasible to learn Icelandic, Hungarian, or Dutch just to spend a year at a foreign university. To attract international students who would normally choose to study abroad in the United States or the United Kingdom, many European countries now offer full-degree programs in English.

Thanks to state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure and innovative public policies, Swedish higher education is going digital. Charlotte West looks at Swedish distance learning in International Educator.

When you're talking about international education, the word "study" means a whole lot more than just hitting the books, says writer and ex-international student Charlotte West.

With astronaut Christer Fuglesang as its poster boy, Swedish space science has recently stepped into the limelight. The town of Kiruna is home to the Swedish Space Corporation and the Swedish Institute of Space Physics.

As Nobel laureates, foreign media and a host of other dignitaries descend on Stockholm for the week of festivities culminating with the Nobel Banquet on Monday, Charlotte West recalls her conversations with two of last year’s winners about the real significance of Nobel Week.

Roger Kornberg, PhD, is no stranger to the limelight, but never before has this biology professor been hounded for autographs by enthusiastic fans camped outside his hotel. Kornberg and six other Nobel laureates visited Stockholm to receive their prizes.

Seattle’s got Starbucks, Microsoft, grunge, and yes, lots of rain. But it’s also got a whole lot more than that. There’s your standard tourist fare in the form of the Space Needle, Seattle Center and Frank Gehry’s monster of a museum, Experience Music Project, among others. But dig in a little deeper and you’ll find some hidden doors, some sultry sweet spots and some spectacular waterways. Here’s our guide to Seattle’s sexier side.

We scoured the globe until we found the 31 best new hotels for under $150. By Kate Appleton, Shoshana Berger, Elena Bowes, Jeryl Brunner, Naomi Lindt, Danielle Lipp, Mario López-Cordero, A. Christine Maxfield, Alison Rohrs, Rima Suqi, and Charlotte West; edited by Amy Chen, November 2009 issue

Anyone planning a trip to the Swedish capital might be a bit aghast at cost of a place to lay their head at night, but Creators Inn by Elvine - the world’s first hotel-in-hotel - might just sport the most shocking price tag of all.

The precise meaning of luxury is up for debate as consumers and companies struggle to find their footing in these troubled economic times, but newly opened hotel Rough Luxe offers a fresh take on the concept. Billing itself as "A little bit of luxury in a rough part of London. A little bit of rough in a luxurious London," the chic abode is a model of creative contrasts.

The 2012 Olympics are poised to ramp up London's appeal as a destination for large scale meets and conferences. Charlotte West reports...

Charlotte West scopes out Seattle, from eye-catching icons and architecture to classic clam chowder.

Charlotte West takes stock of the Swedish capital on a stroll through history, from ill-fated maritime hulks to the country's smallest statue.

The most spectacular views in Stockholm are not from the City Hall Tower, the cliffs of Mosebacke or even the Kaknäs Tower. The best way to get a bird’s eye view of the city is from the basket of a hot air balloon.

Refrigerated ice bars, rocking venues and royals getting tiddly the self-proclaimed "Capital of Scandinavia" is put through its pleasure-filled paces by local resident Charlotte West.

No matter what their beat, writers are always on the lookout for the next story. Industry events and trade fairs can be a great source of story ideas, but you need to know how to wade through the muddy waters of PR reps, press kits and product launches.