Watch: Total Luxury Spa's Daniel DeSure at Insights 2021

Note: if you’d like to read the chat Q&A with the speaker from the live event, please watch this video on YouTube and remember to activate the chat replay.

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In this lecture film created by the designer exclusively for the Insights Design Lecture Series, Daniel DeSure chats about meditation, process, and the intersection of community and design—digging into the genesis of his studio Commonwealth Projects, fashion line Total Luxury Spa, and health food initiative Tropics.

About the Speaker:

After studying experimental film and video at the California Institute of Arts, Daniel DeSure immediately began producing videos and art installations, collaborating with an international array of galleries, museums, and artists. This practice led to the creation of Commonwealth Projects, one of the leading creative agencies in LA, specializing in everything from environmental installations to event production, publishing and communications design. Daniel’s clients include Nike, Rimowa, Sonos, Sundance, Olafur Eliasson, the Underground Museum, and Saint Laurent, just to name a few.

And while his reach is global, Daniel has become known for a multidisciplinary practice that embodies his relationship with his community, and the larger city of LA where he’s from. Tropics, for example, is a juice bar and wellness initiative that he cofounded with a young skater and entrepreneur, which is intended to bring healthy food and meditative practices to their local communities. His internationally recognized fashion brand, Total Luxury Spa, specializes in progressive and esoteric messages about everything from self-healing to water conservancy, often donating select proceeds back to local initiatives and businesses. Through both Total Luxury Spa, and his practice as a whole, Daniel seems less interested in making political statements that hit you over the head, and more interested in simply uplifting his friends, family, and community.

Part of the Insights 2021 Design Lecture Series

Copresented by the Walker Art Center and AIGA Minnesota.

Image of shop room with tiled walls and blue floor — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

Image of six men standing outside of juice kiosk — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

Image of model wearing graphic tshirt and patterned pants, standing at the base of a staircase with pictures on the wall — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

Closeup image of purple typography-only book cover for "Young Blood" — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

Image of two books with blue painted page edges — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

Image of entrance to gallery, with a tall sculpture on the wall and exhibition text in the foreground — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

Image of room with seating and wall graphics — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

Image of gallery space with walls covered with white wrinkled practice — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

Image of promenade with red beams and white tiled seating structures — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

Image of brightly colored book cover for "Made in LA 2018" — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

Image of suspended cube within a gallery with images projected on each surface — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

Image of cube structure in gallery with images projected on to the sides — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

Image of lobby space with images and mirrors laying against walls — Courtesy Daniel DeSure.

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Watch: Total Luxury Spa’s Daniel DeSure at Insights 2021