Archive for the ‘design’ tag

Retro Crayola #

June 4th, 2009 | In Worth Seeing 

The Dieline has some interesting photos of old Crayola crayon packaging. I think the prominent marking of them as “school crayons” is notable.

The Varieties of Human Design #

June 2nd, 2009 | In Worth Seeing 

Made manifest in the number of ways we can get on and off roads that don’t slow down.

(via kottke)

Why Are Browser Icons Round and Blue? #

April 23rd, 2009 | In Worth Considering 

As an IE hater, I’m a fan of the globe metaphor theory.

(via Gems Sty)

The Benefits of Slums #

March 9th, 2009 | In Worth Considering 

While they obviously have their nontrivial problems, unplanned urban development has some characteristic that unlikely people are praising:

Prince Charles of [Wales], who founded an organization called the Foundation for the Built Environment, praised Dharavi (which he visited in 2003) for its “underlying, intuitive ‘grammar of design’ ” and “the timeless quality and resilience of vernacular settlements.” He predicted that “in a few years’ time such communities will be perceived as best equipped to face the challenges that confront us because they have built-in resilience and genuinely durable ways of living.”

Readability #

March 3rd, 2009 | In Worth Knowing 

I was just thinking that all webpages should have a reading view — the way Hulu or YouTube allow you to dim light — and today everyone is talking about this superb-looking bookmarklet.

It has choked on a number of sites I’ve tried it with — spitting out a sidebar, the comments, or in at least one case, the header instead — but when it works it’s pretty good.

In Defense of Readers #

February 21st, 2009 | In Worth Reading 

In the most recent A List Apart, Mandy Brown says many of the things I’ve been thinking about reading on the internet over the last few months. If you’re interested in design, or the problems of reading on the internet, I’d strongly recommend it.

There are many dogged readers who will make this commitment whether or not the design of the page makes it easy on them, but as designers, there are a number of ways we can assist readers in the transition. Consider all of the elements that accompany an article and organize those that are most useful for gauging interest at the top. Summaries or pull quotes, as well as illustrations, allow the reader to quickly assess what the article is about. Categories and links to related content provide context. The name and affiliation of the author communicate the authority of a text. All of these elements combine to create an entryway into reading.

Where Signs Are Born #

December 21st, 2008 | In Worth Seeing 

Until I saw this Flickr set of the Washington State Department of Transportation’s sign shop, I’d never stopped to think about where exactly those road signs come from.

Also, the Washington State Department of Transportation has a Flickr account?

(via BB Gadgets)

Ciudad Evita #

December 21st, 2008 | In Worth Distraction 

There’s love, and then there’s commissioning a neighborhood in the shape of the profile of your beloved.

Office Snapshots #

December 6th, 2008 | In Worth Distraction 

Over the last 24 hours, I’ve wasted at least two staring at pictures of tech offices around the world. Perhaps I have a problem… There’s also the related Home Office Snapshots that I’m doing my best to resist.

Also: the left and right arrow keys save you from having to make thousands of mouse clicks.

(via Bill Israel)

A Broken Clock… #

December 6th, 2008 | In Worth Seeing 

An ephemeral art display explains the beauty of ephemerality. For those too lazy to find the translation in the comments, every twelve hours the wall reads:

Time passes, and each time time passes, something gets erased.

(via kottke)

How To Build an Igloo #

December 3rd, 2008 | In Worth Seeing 

Like Mr. Kottke, I had no idea that it involved a spiral. Also, school films from the 1940s and ’50s are a style that I may never tire of. And: the book that caused someone to dig out the video.

A Simplified Interstate Map #

November 26th, 2008 | In Worth Seeing 

This thing made me go “Wow!” It’s a map of America’s Interstate highways smoothed into a series of straight lines, like a subway map.

(via Snarkmarket)

Real-World Photoshop #

November 8th, 2008 | In Worth Distraction 

Everyone and their brother have linked to this by now, but I still can’t resist.

Redesigning The Atlantic #

October 13th, 2008 | In Worth Reading 

This stuff fascinates me. And the obligatory link to the Helvetica cover concept.

(via kottke)

Multicolr #

September 30th, 2008 | In Worth Seeing 

Gems Sty points to a very cool way to browse Flickr photos: by color. It even lets you do many colors at once.

Tiny Houses #

September 3rd, 2008 | In Worth Seeing 

There are no doubt hundreds of posts like this one floating around the internet, chronicalling all the small houses one can find within a few Google searchs. None the less, I really liked browsing through this one.

(via MeFi)

Awesome Bridges #

August 27th, 2008 | In Worth Seeing 

This bridges are literally awesome. If you don’t take a look, you’re really missing out.

(via Neatorama)

It Eats Itself #

August 26th, 2008 | In Worth Distraction 

There’s something about this “Anthropomorphic Cannabalism” Flickr set that’s undeniably good.

(via Boing Boing)

Urban Camping #

August 5th, 2008 | In Worth Distraction 

Sadly refraining from linking to the source, Gems Sty highlights a pretty clever idea: a tent that looks like a car covered by it’s obsessive owner, allowing you privacy on even the world’s busiest streets. (Well, assuming you can find a parking spot.)

Font Conference #

July 22nd, 2008 | In Worth Distraction 

I’m a little disappointed by how obvious all the character choices in this sketch were, but I did laugh a few times anyway.

(via Daring Fireball)