Design Observer: Observed

Eero Saarinen in New York

2009-11-11T08:12:53-05:00

"Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future" opens in New York. Reviews by Nicolai Ouroussoff for the Times and Justin Davidson for New York. And some thoughts on Saarinen's enduring legacy from the DO archives. [MB]

Soviet Commercial Advertising

2009-11-10T17:53:38-05:00

Little-seen commercial advertising from the Soviet era. [MB]

Montana License Plate

2009-11-09T17:51:02-05:00

Montana reverts to its original license plate design. Aaron Betsky approves. [MB]

Berlin Wall, Before and After

2009-11-09T12:53:50-05:00

The Berlin Wall: before and after, and a diagram of the wall's design. More great work from the design team at the New York Times. [MB]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-11-09T09:52:41-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in NYC, Milan, Toronto, Portland, Cincinnati, Stuttgart, Cambridge, Madison and SF. Companies hiring include Gap Inc., Design Group Italia, TrialPay, Tandem, Puma, GigaOm, BlackArrow, Aruliden and Rayovac. Post your job today. [JSC]

Bauhaus at MoMA

2009-11-07T09:53:33-05:00

"The German art school that closed 76 years ago is still determining what your coffee cup looks like." "Bauhaus 1919-1933: Workshops for Modernity" opens this weekend at MoMA, reviewed by Nicolai Ouroussoff in the New York Times and Candace Jackson in the Wall Street Journal. DO's newest Contributing Writer, Alexandra Lange, tracks the influences for New York Magazine. And a look behind the scenes with MoMA's graphic design department. [MB]

He's a Real Nowhere Man

2009-11-06T12:01:22-05:00

Remarkable photographs from Liu Bolin, a Chinese camouflage artist who has himself painted to match the colors and patterns of his environment. (Thanks to Juanita Dugdale.) [JL]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-11-06T11:02:36-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Boston, SF, Boulder, Lancaster, NYC, Shanghai, Austin, Portland and Amsterdam. Companies hiring include Nokia, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Comcast, Converse, Macy's, Incase Designs, DGI and Victoria University of Wellington. Post your job today. [JSC]

Fritz Kahn's Amazing Diagrams

2009-11-06T09:29:15-05:00

The amazing cutaway diagrams of German scientist, gynecologist and author Fritz Kahn (1888-1968) finally get their due in a new book. Do not miss this. [MB]

10 Design Principles of Dieter Rams

2009-11-05T23:40:12-05:00

Always worth revisiting: the ten design principles of Dieter Rams. [MB]

No Small Matter

2009-11-05T16:51:55-05:00

The world at nanoscale. [JL]

New Design Initiatives for 2010

2009-11-03T14:32:42-05:00

Help set the priorities for the U.S. National Design Policy Initiative in 2010 by voting here before December 9, 2009. [JH]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-11-03T11:45:53-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Madison, NYC, Milan, Austin, Portland, SF, Cincinnati, Atlanta and DC. Companies hiring include Procter & Gamble, Stella & Dot, Cal Arts, GigaOm, Modea, Crayola and University of Kansas. Post your job today. [JSC]

Riverways

2009-11-02T15:16:40-05:00

There are many reasons to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s arrival at New York Harbor â�” not least because it inspired a project by Pentagram Architect’s James Biber and the architect and historian James Sanders to create a system of elements offering improved access to the Hudson River. [JL]

Relative Size Interactive Infographic

2009-11-01T17:31:20-05:00

Just what you needed: a cool interactive infographic demonstrating the relative size of, among other things, a carbon atom, a red blood cell, and 12-point Times Roman. Eat your hearts out, Charles and Ray Eames! (Thanks to Dean Morris.) [MB]

Hey Jude Flow Chart

2009-10-31T09:15:00-05:00

Hey, Jude: the flow chart. [MB]

Thought for Food

2009-10-30T10:20:54-05:00

WHY, the nonprofit founded to fight hunger and poverty, recently launched its first public service campaign to raise awareness of hunger in the U.S. The spot was developed by Duncan/Channon. [JL]

Alan Fleming Archive

2009-10-30T09:43:11-05:00

The papers of prolific Canadian designer Allan Robb Fleming. (Thanks to James Allan.) [JH]

Reef Madness

2009-10-29T16:05:18-05:00

â�oeCoral: Symbol, Substance, and Significance,â�� a conference taking place at City University Graduate Center in New York, Oct. 30â�“31, will convene oceanographers, jewelers, conservationists and artists to explore coral’s place in the natural world and in culture and discuss how to protect and preserve it. [JL]

Senseable City Lab Bus Stop Innovations

2009-10-29T14:50:34-05:00

A new bus shelter design â�” as eyestopping as its name â�” is the product of MIT's Senseable City Lab. [JH]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-10-29T10:40:09-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Olympia, SF, Chicago, NYC, Burlington, Seattle, LA, Cambridge and Jacksonville. Companies hiring include Organic Inc, Tween Brands, Yext, New Balance, Potomac, JDK Design and Art Institute of Chicago. Post your job today. [JSC]

Gondry, Chemical Brothers, Star Guitar

2009-10-29T08:32:01-05:00

Revealed at last: the making of Michel Gondry's amazing video for Star Guitar by the Chemical Brothers, 2002. (I still don't quite understand how he did it.) [MB]

Don Ivan Punchatz Dies

2009-10-29T08:19:36-05:00

Don Ivan Punchatz, fantasy illustrator and the artist behind memorable National Lampoon covers and the first Star Wars poster, dies at 73. [MB]

D/R is Back!

2009-10-28T19:56:22-05:00

Design Research, architect Ben Thompson's late, great Harvard Square store that singlehandedly invented design retailing as we know it today, has been revived as an exhibition in its original location, on view (from the sidewalk!) starting tomorrow through April 2010.
[MB]

350.org Climate Action Day

2009-10-27T20:01:50-05:00

On Saturday October 24, 350.org held its International Day of Climate Action, featuring more than 5,200 events in 181 countries. People came with cameras and took over 19,000 photographs. You can see them all on the group's Flickr photostream. And on TreeHugger, you can read 350.org founder Bill McKibben, on the Science of 350. [NL]

Core 77 Salary Survey

2009-10-27T16:52:55-05:00

It's not too late to help contribute to the Core77 Salary Survey!
[JH]

Design Council's Slide Collection Now Online

2009-10-27T12:54:06-05:00

The Design Council's slide collection is now online. A great resource. (Thanks to Yotam Hadar.) [JSC]

Architectural iPhone App

2009-10-26T15:01:27-05:00

With the Museum of the Phantom City tool, iPhone users can scout over 50 unbuilt architectural sites around NYC, a feature describes each proposed project through the architect’s own notes. Sites include: Ron Herron's Walking City, the Buckminster Fuller Dome and Louis Kahn's Monument to F. Roosevelt. Download the tool here. [JSC]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-10-26T10:27:00-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Tokyo, NYC, Portland, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, SF, Cleveland and Brooklyn. Companies hiring include Philadelphia University, Creative Lift, 24 Seven, Mattel, Roll International, Progressive and Aardvark. Post your job today. [JSC]

Ryan Fitzgibbon's "Start Asking"

2009-10-25T10:34:27-05:00

"Start Asking" was Ryan Fitzgibbon's solution to the final challenge in AIGA Make/Think's Command X competition. See it here. [MB]

Steven Kolbert on Mayonnaise

2009-10-24T17:20:44-05:00

Steven Colbert makes mayonnaise hip, y'all! [MB]

News from PopTech!

2009-10-23T15:15:47-05:00

PopTech! conference on a roll in Camden, Maine. New Science and Public Leadership Fellows program announced. Luis von Ahn uses 200 million daily CAPTCHAs to read books. A sweet suite of innovation: dirt-powered batteries, roots of mushrooms to replace styrofoam; charcoal made from natural waste products, and the Spatial Information Design Lab. And the most powerful presentation of the conference: Chris Jordon on the deaths of birds in the mid-Pacific Ocean due to plastics pollution (warning: disturbing images). [WD]

Better Fonts on the Web

2009-10-22T16:12:27-05:00

Font designers imagine a better looking web. [JH]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-10-22T12:12:06-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Philadelphia, Chapel Hill, NYC, Shanghai, SF, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Jacksonville and Brooklyn. Companies hiring include Philadelphia University, Brew Collective, Thumbtack, Mayo Clinic, Pratt Institute, Nemours and Jen Kao. Post your job today. [JSC]

Artists Protest Guggenheim Design, 1956

2009-10-22T00:32:48-05:00

"The interior design of the building is not suitable for a sympathetic display of painting and sculpture." From 1956, an open letter from artists protesting Frank Lloyd Wright's proposal for a museum with curved sloping walls. Happy 50th birthday, Guggenheim! [MB]

How Design is Transforming Medicine

2009-10-21T23:45:46-05:00

How design thinking and body computing are transforming the world of medicine. [MB]

New Orleans Houses of the Future

2009-10-21T23:42:55-05:00

"Four years after Katrina, New Orleans is seeing an unexpected boom in architectural experimentation." Are these the houses of the future? [MB]

Change by Design by IDEO's Tim Brown

2009-10-21T15:25:51-05:00

IDEO's Tim Brown has a new book out: Change by Design. Interviews with the writer: Fast Company, the Brian Lehrer Show and BNET. Reviews of the book: Core 77, New York Times, Eric D. Brown, Otto, BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal and an excerpt. Peter Merholz pushes back here. And finally, a thoughtful "Design Matters with Debbie Millman" interview at Observer Media. [WD]

Mrs. Eaves, Meet Mr. Eaves

2009-10-21T15:25:05-05:00

Mrs. Eaves, you are no longer alone. Meet Mr. Eaves Sans and his good looking brother Mr. Eaves Modern. (Thanks to Yotam Hadar.) [JSC]

Not-So-Silent Night

2009-10-21T13:47:53-05:00

Xmas Declarations: Christmas ornaments shaped like hand grenades. Proceeds from the sale go to British social change/media group Ctrl.Alt.Shift. [JL]

Another "Appropriated" Obama Portrait?

2009-10-20T22:25:55-05:00

Tired of the never-ending saga of Shepard Fairey vs. AP? Meet Wall Street Journal "stipple" artist Noli Novak, who found her portrait of Barack Obama "appropriated" by "real" artist Jose Maria Cano. Disturbing. See also the granddaddy of the them all, the classic case of Art Rogers vs. Jeff Koons. (Thanks to Ben King.) [MB]

Stack America: An Alternative to Magazine Subscriptions

2009-10-20T17:32:02-05:00

Andrew Losowsky, co-curator of Colophon, the independent magazine biennale, introduces a new alternative to print magazine subscriptions: Stack America. Every two months receive a random assortment of independent magazines and 'zines. [JSC]

Styled for the Road, an Exhibition

2009-10-20T13:08:00-05:00

Styled for the Road: The Art of Automobile Design, 1908-1948, an exhibition at the Wolfsonian. [JSC]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-10-19T10:14:50-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Wellesley, SF, Las Vegas, NYC, Savannah, Chicago, Kansas City, Seattle and Boston. Companies hiring include Brightcove, Puma, Anthropologie, SK+G, Rocket Theme, Indigo Books & Music and Wellesley College. Post your job today. [JSC]

Albatross Crisis : The Photographs

2009-10-19T09:46:47-05:00

"The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young." Haunting and horrifying work by photographer Chris Jordan, and a stunning reminder that social change impacts the lives of animals and the fragile ecosystems in which they dwell so perilously. (Thanks to Andy Chen.) [JH]

Tax Dollars at Work: The Poster

2009-10-17T12:42:21-05:00

Death and Taxes: a complete visual guide to where your federal tax dollars go, all in one not-so-simple poster. (Via Andrew Sullivan.) [MB]

Steampunk Cakes

2009-10-17T07:51:52-05:00

Cake decorating, the steampunk way. [MB]

Jagger Briefs Warhol

2009-10-16T13:58:54-05:00

"Dear Andy, I'm really pleased you can do the art-work for our new hits album. Love, Mick." Jagger briefs Warhol, April 21, 1969. (Via Kottke.) [MB]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-10-15T18:29:04-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Seattle, NYC, Boston, Cambridge, London, SF, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Vancouver. Companies hiring include Google Inc, Target, Design Council, Dell, Publicis, Creative Lift and Emily Carr University. Post your job today. [JSC]

Aspen Design Summit & National Design Center for Rural Poverty Programs

2009-10-14T10:41:52-05:00

National Design Center for Rural Poverty Programs: Fast Company's Michael Cannell talks with William Drenttel about projects at the upcoming Aspen Design Summit, sponsored by AIGA and Winterhouse Institute with support from the Rockefeller Foundation. [JL]

Places + Spaces: Lists

2009-10-13T23:25:07-05:00

Via landscape professor David Tulloch's blog Places and Spaces: Travel + Leisure's list of the world's ugliest buildings, and Planetizen's top 100 urban thinkers. [NL]

Knopf: Then and Now

2009-10-13T16:49:56-05:00

In New York on October 21, four legendary designers from Alfred A. Knopf will appear together on stage for the first time: Carol Devine Carson, Barbara de Wilde, Archie Ferguson, and Chip Kidd. Not to be missed. [MB]

Vote in Cooper-Hewitt People's Design Awards

2009-10-13T16:43:51-05:00

The Cooper-Hewitt People's Design Awards are now open for voting. Many nominations have been reported on by Design Observer: The Highline Project in NYC, Skin the maternity dress designed by Marisol Rodríguez, Float House, designed by Morphosis for Make It Right/New Orleans. You can also vote for Design Observer there too! [JSC]

Glaciers from Space

2009-10-13T12:30:11-05:00

Images of glaciers from space. Wow. (Via Kottke.) [MB]

Living Principles for Design

2009-10-13T12:13:19-05:00

AIGA’s Center for Sustainable Design recently unveiled "Living Principles for Design" a distillation of â�oethe collective wisdom found in decades of sustainability theories made accessible to a broad audience of design practitioners and their clients.â�� The site includes not only guidelines for action, but also a resources section and discussion forum. [JL]

This is Tomorrow

2009-10-12T16:38:20-05:00

Every page of This is Tomorrow, a catalog designed by Edward Wright for the historic 1956 exhibition of the same name by the Independent Group at the London's Whitechapel Art Gallery. Available today: the alarm clock. (Thanks to James Biber.) [MB]

O'er the Ramparts We Read

2009-10-12T16:03:56-05:00

Interview with legendary Ramparts art director (and celebrated illustrator) Dugald Stermer, timed with the publication of a new book about the counterculture mag. (Thanks to Bob Newman.) [JL]

Scrapbooks by Jessica Helfand

2009-10-12T13:30:21-05:00

Jessica Helfand wrote the history of American scrapbooks for Yale University Press, and is now teaching a course on visual biography at Yale as well. Meanwhile, Princeton discovers that some of its scrapbooks are radioactive. [WD]

Steven Heller and Visualizing Swine Flu

2009-10-12T13:21:21-05:00

"Despite a full court PR press by the pork industry to minimize the negative focus on their prized pigs, the term swine flu is easier to remember â�” and visualize." [JSC]

Can you tell Arial from Helvetica?

2009-10-12T11:53:50-05:00

Pop quiz: Can you tell Arial from Helvetica? (Thanks to Wynn Medinger.) [JSC]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-10-12T10:23:19-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Cupertino, Basel, NYC, Amsterdam, SF, Chicago, Blacksburg, Rochester and Atlanta. Companies hiring include Disney, Yahoo!, Netflix, Godiva, Apple, Konings and Savannah College of Art and Design. Post your job today. [JSC]

Michael Jackson's White Glove

2009-10-12T08:03:12-05:00

"On May 4th, 2007, we asked internet users to help isolate Michael Jackson's white glove in all 10,060 frames of his nationally televised landmark performance of Billy Jean. 72 hours later 125,000 gloves had been located." Here are some of the amazing ways that data set has been transformed. Don't miss Slinky by MIT Media Lab's James Seo. (Via MeFi.) [MB]

Under Construction

2009-10-12T07:04:21-05:00

Please be patient: this page is under construction. [MB]

Solar Decathlon

2009-10-08T23:25:59-05:00

Now happening, in Washington, on the National Mall: this year's Solar Decathlon. Begun in 2002, the international biennial event challenges 20 university teams to design and build the "most livable, energy efficient, and completely solar-powered house." [NL]

Kill the Kindle

2009-10-08T23:16:02-05:00

From the 20/20 presentations at AIGA Make/Think, book cover designer Charles Brock offers his opinion of the Amazon Kindle. [MB]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-10-07T18:46:06-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Philadelphia, NYC, Kansas City, Salzburg, SF, Brooklyn, Miami, Houston and Milwaukee. Companies hiring include Limb Design, Prudential, Huge, Kiska, The New York Times, Modea and Rochester Institute of Technology. Post your job today. [JSC]

Steven Heller Interviews Maurice Sendak

2009-10-07T14:23:00-05:00

On the occasion of the new film, Maurice Sendak, author and illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are, is interviewed by Steven Heller for Wild Things Week NYC. [JSC]

Feast for the Eyes

2009-10-07T10:11:45-05:00

Robert Newman dishes up a retrospective of Gourmet magazine covers. [JL]

Another Side of Ladislav Sutnar

2009-10-07T08:48:53-05:00

Another side of Ladislav Sutnar. [JH]

Obamas Choose White House Art

2009-10-07T05:56:28-05:00

Yet another example of hope, and it includes Ed Ruscha: the Obamas release their list of art for the White House, on loan from several Washington DC Museums. [JH]

World Monuments Fund Watch List

2009-10-06T11:48:23-05:00

The World Monuments Fund released its annual watch list of endangered cultural sites. Among the 93 venues in 47 countries judged particularly vulnerable are Machu Picchu in Peru, gingerbread houses in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, ancient petroglyphs in Pakistan and the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut. [JL]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-10-05T09:52:03-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in St. Louis, NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Providence, London, SF and Houston. Companies hiring include Comcast, Kohl's, Perficient, Converse, Creative Lift, Dead As We Know It, Newell Rubbermaid and Samsung. Post your job today. [JSC]

Lindsay Lohan, Designer

2009-10-05T05:44:53-05:00

Tough times for haute couture? "Hiring a traditional designer would not make enough of a difference," says Mounir Moufarrige, the new chief executive of Ungaro. So he hired Lindsay Lohan instead. [JH]

[murmur] project

2009-10-05T00:54:09-05:00

Mobile networking meets post-industrial North Jersey: the [murmur] project, carried out by high school students in Orange Township, consists of audio interviews with past and former residents that are accessible via cell phone. The goal is a collective oral history and enhanced civic identity. For more about [murmur], which originated in 2003 in Toronto, go here. [NL]

Echoing Green Fellowships

2009-10-04T16:55:56-05:00

Applications are now being accepted for Echoing Green fellowships, which offer up to $90,000 in seed funding and technical support for social entrepreneurs to â�oeturn their innovative ideas into sustainable social change organizations.â�� Between 12 and 15 two-year fellowships will be awarded for the year 2010. Deadline: December 2, 2009. Apply here. [JL]

Felt And Wire SHop: Open For Business

2009-10-02T10:52:37-05:00

It's never too early to get started on holiday shopping! Announcing the Felt & Wire Shop, the flagship retail enterprise from Mohawk Fine Papers. [JH]

Daily Drop Cap

2009-10-02T08:48:15-05:00

Daily Drop Cap: an illustrative initial every day. Lovely. [MB]

Donal McLaughlin Dies

2009-10-02T08:34:11-05:00

Donal McLaughlin Jr., architect, teacher, and designer of the original U.N. emblem, dies at 102. [MB]

Philip Glass on Sesame Street

2009-10-01T21:31:22-05:00

Philip Glass for Sesame Street: The Geometry of Circles, 1979. [MB]

Mad Men Parody Roundup

2009-10-01T20:39:20-05:00

Mad Men gets the Sesame Street treatment. See also: Meshugene Men. And, from SNL, the Mad Men meet the A-Holes. [MB]

Urban Design After the Age of Oil

2009-10-01T12:12:38-05:00

Now at the Municipal Art Society in New York City: Urban Design After the Age of Oil, an exhibition co-sponsored by the MAS and PennDesign. Related reading: The End of Oil? [NL]

Guilt-Free Jewelry Making

2009-10-01T11:58:05-05:00

"Radical Jewelry Makeover: A Traveling Community Mining and Recycling Project" is a 12-minute video about the connection between mining and jewelry making, with ideas for creating innovative jewelry from repurposed sources. The film is available for a suggested donation of $15 (including shipping) from Ethical Metalsmiths. [JL]

Kelp Forest Stamps Unveiled Underwater

2009-10-01T11:15:52-05:00

Today, in honor of the first day of Stamp Collecting Month, the United States Postal Service hosts the first day of issue ceremony for the Kelp Forest stamps underwater at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Watch the live webstream here. [JH]

Visual Acoustics a Film About Julius Shulman

2009-10-01T11:11:47-05:00

The new film Visual Acoustics (directed by Eric Bricker,) celebrates the life and work of Julius Shulman. (Thanks to Jason Hashmi.) [JSC]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-10-01T09:41:03-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Milwaukee, LA, Chicago, NYC, Louisville, Berlin, Nashville, Boston and Scottsdale. Companies hiring include University of Wisconsin, Fry, Macys, Hewlett-Packard, Chronicle Books, Intel and The American Library Association. Post your job today. [JSC]

Warm Front

2009-09-30T20:47:01-05:00

IDEO launches Living Climate Change, a website that offers creative, positive insights culled from visitors for dealing with global warming: â�oeOn the eve of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, the Living Climate Change initiative aims to expand the dialog beyond policy and national sacrifice to point toward new possibilities, moving the debate away from what we have to give up and toward what we can create.â�� [JL]

Business Week on Design Thinking Schools

2009-09-30T18:21:30-05:00

For a special report on design thinking, (which is to innovation what innovation was to Six Sigma) Business Week lists the world's top design schools. (And no, Harvard Business School did not make the list this year.) [MB]

Chip Kidd: The Band

2009-09-30T17:45:41-05:00

Chip Kidd: the band. (Thanks to Kevin Smith.) [JH]

Lent Space

2009-09-30T14:45:28-05:00

There's a new site for temporary public art in Lower Manhattan: Lent Space, by Interboro Partners, is an exhibit and event site, plus a tree nursery, defined by a moveable art fence. Here's a slideshow, from the New York Times. [NL]

Random Idea Generator

2009-09-28T18:01:42-05:00

I would so, so, SO like to take credit for this! (Thanks to David Pease.) [JH]

Pepsi to Cease Advertising

2009-09-28T15:08:34-05:00

This just in: Pepsi to Cease Advertising. [MB]

Job Board Update #design #graphicdesign #jobs

2009-09-28T10:26:08-05:00

Design Observer's Job Board has new jobs in Houston, Portland, SF, Omaha, NYC, Boston, Tampa, Chicago and Indianapolis. Companies hiring include Eight Inc., Odopod, Cinco Design, Second Story, Kansas State Univeristy, Watermark Designs and Ziba Design. Post your job today. [JSC]

A Poster Child for Visual Literacy?

2009-09-28T07:39:21-05:00

The extraordinarily subjective practice of scoring tests when interpretation is everything: it's one thing to get an answer right or wrong, but what happens when the design of a poster is involved? [JH]

Food Flags

2009-09-27T20:26:57-05:00

Food Flags. (Thanks to Andy Chen.) [JH]

Infectious Power of Social Networks: Framingham Study

2009-09-26T12:46:41-05:00

Framingham MA health study, which began in 1943, is having lasting implications and still teaching us in 2009. Are we fat by association? Together we quit smoking, divided we fail? Are joy and happiness contagious? Two recent essays on the infectious power of social networks: New York Times Magazine and Wired Magazine. Worth the effort: powerful reading. [WD]

Maira Kalman on Clean Living

2009-09-25T05:40:56-05:00

Muck, sludge, weddings, dumplings and one "utterly adorable condensation pot": the latest from Maira Kalman. [JH]

Bjarke Ingels @ TED

2009-09-25T01:36:28-05:00

New from TED: tales of warp-speed architecture, by Bjarke Ingels, founder of the Copenhagen-based BIG, and author of the archicomic manifesto Yes Is More. [NL]

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Another Way

2009-09-24T19:16:15-05:00

Honda's electric unicycle. [JL]

Two Great New Books

2009-09-24T15:55:54-05:00

Two great new books from Design Observer contributors are now out. Graphic Design: A User's Manual by Adrian Shaughnessy with a forward by Michael Bierut and Art Direction Explained At Last by Steven Heller & Veronique Vienne. [JSC]

Top Design Case Studies

2009-09-24T14:57:40-05:00

IDSA and the industrial design firm RKS announce the 2009 Catalyst case study selections "showcasing design's power to effect positive change." No surprises here. The honorees for demonstrating the good design can do in terms of both profitability and social betterment are OXO Good Grips, Whirlpool Strategy, Black&Decker Dustbuster and Apple iTunes-iPiod-iPhone. [JL]