Never Too Small: a new design obsession
A design-oriented YouTube channel with 3.3 million subscribers launched something even better.
Never Too Small is a YouTube channel that I ran into around the time of Covid. Each video presents the interior design decisions inside someone’s small apartment or house. Early videos were short, 5-10 minutes each, most from Australia or New Zealand, either having the owner or the designer present the concept and the end result.
I was hooked from the first video, but the books they’ve been releasing quarterly made me a long-lasting supporter.
In the videos, you see spaces made for living. You hear about the early constraints, about the neighbourhood, what informed the initial brief, and what the owner envisioned for the space. The background music is relaxing, the shots are clear and tied to the script, you see a before-and-after blueprint of the space and then you’re guided inside.
The narrator talks about materials, texture, aesthetics, personal quirks, lighting, ingenious design decisions for maximising space, how the space is used by the owner.
How often do you go into a new house? And how often do you understand why the house is designed in that way? It’s a designer’s dream to get inspiration from truly well-designed homes, but also understand all the reasoning behind the end product.
With 3.3 million subscribers and hundreds of videos presenting homes around the world, I make sure not to miss a single one. Now, they also share hour-long compilations with only apartments from the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, or Spain and 20-minute videos with “How I live small” always presented by the owner of the space.
As much as I liked watching their videos, their books are what I love most about NTS.
The first book was a guide for designing your living room. But the second caught my attention. Quirky typography, interesting layouts, bold imagery, small apartments, interviews and articles with artists, designers, architects on various topics. They pivoted from something very practical, which still suits the NTS spirit well, to something more artistic.
I missed the second issue, but the third one was about Japan. It caught me at a moment when I was planning my trip there and it clicked. One week after I got home from Japan, the Never Too Small issue number 3 arrived in the mail. It didn’t disappoint.
Funky cover made by a local illustrator. Check.
Bold colours and typography. Check.
Small apartments and unique homes. Check.
Showcasing designers, artists, photographers. Check.
Poster gift poster with the cover art or a Tokyo city guide. Check.
There’s something refreshing and inspiring about this series they are putting out. No chapter is like the others, yet each stays true to the NTS ethos. It has a common thread of showcasing all types of designers, homes, art, neighbourhoods while having fun in print.
They are designers writing designers, architects and other creatives. You can tell that an incredible amount of effort goes into each issue. Sourcing the photography, editing relentlessly, designing each page, and coordinating at least 20+ people.
As I’m looking to do some work in print as well, I kept coming back to NTS to study their craft. The cover has a grainy texture, the logo is embossed and glossy. Photography, layout, and typography are intentional and curated to fit each chapter’s character. I love how typography varies from chapter to chapter but it all feels seamless.
In Romania (or Europe), it’s not common to have this style of magazines or books. Or at least considering the €30-40 price where most fall, none felt as aligned to my interests and taste. After visiting Japan and regretting I didn’t buy Popeye or Casa Brutus simply for their lovely print design, I couldn’t miss these NTS issues.
It’s not easy or cheap to do this. When printing shops can and are willing to go to this level of detail, the price is quite steep, making it harder to see any profit. The market is small for similar books and considering the current state of things, the buyer imore careful about what they spend. From talking with more experienced people in this area, it’s tough to have a scaling business in print.
NTS shows it can be done and print can thrive again. I was glad to recently learn that up to 40% of their revenue is now made by selling these book issues.
It’s not often that I subscribe to a new service, but I’m all-in for being a supporter of whatever Never Too Small decides to launch next.