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Tech NewsDesignThis Throne of Books Is Your Own Private Personal Library
There’s an endless number of distractions that can prevent us from curling up with a good book. So the folks at the London-based design studio, Tilt, created the OpenBook chair. It’s an oversized comfy seat wrapped in an empty library that you can fill with your favorite books and magazines, creating an oasis of reading … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
This Ghostly, Abandoned NYC Island Could Become a Special Needs School
New York City’s North Brother Island has lived many past lives, as a shipwreck site, a smallpox clinic, a tuberculosis colony, and a drug rehab facility, for starters. The 20-acre island, which sits between the Bronx and Riker’s Island, has been abandoned since the 1970s. But two architecture students are hoping to change that soon, … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech NewsDesign
Pop Rocks to Slurpees: The Science of America’s Wackiest Summer Treats
Decades before molecular gastronomists were hawking vodka mist and caviar foam, we had food that was just plain fun: Pop Rocks, Magic Shell, and countless other strange creations that required a science lab to invent. We took a look into the origins of these wacky treats, and what we found were lab experiments gone wrong, … Continued
By Rachel Swaby -
Tech NewsDesign
8 Designs That Rethink the Way We’re Buried
The way we bury our dead hasn’t changed much over the past two thousand years. But it needs to change soon, according to a group of designers, philanthropic foundations, and funeral directors who sponsored a recent design competition to rethink burial traditions in the face of emerging problems with the status quo. It’s a less … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
This Wooden Bicycle Is Beautifully Impractical
There’s a natural charm to cycling that allows you to feel at one with the environment that surrounds you—but if that’s not enough, maybe you need this bike that’s made from the environment that surrounds you. There’s no way around the fact that a wooden bicycle isn’t as practical as its metallic brethren. Wood just … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
These Gaze-Sensitive Garments Move When They’re Looked At
Staring at another person’s clothing is generally considered rude—in fact, the mere concept of gaze has its own history and critical literature. But in this particular case, it’s recommended: These two dresses, by Montreal designer Ying Gao, aren’t really complete unless someone is staring at them. Gao works with extreme materials—including things like light-sensitive textiles … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
It’ll Take Months to Get a Bride Out of This Lego Wedding Dress
Japanese artist Rie Hosokai, of Daisy Balloon, created this amazing piece of high Lego fashion for Tokyo’s “Piece of Peace” charity exhibit at the Parco Museum. Structurally it’s simply stunning (albeit a bit Disney Princessy). The construction, contour and shape are based on Hosokai’s balloon dress. As an item of haute couture, it’s not so … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
Position These Lamps To Shine A Light On Corruption, Or Just Anything
Some spaces are awkward. Dark corners or cavernous closets that could really use some light. And tap lights don’t always cut it in terms of brightness or aesthetic quality. But Australian designer Flynn Talbot is working on the situation. His aluminum and steel lights, called Latitude, can go anywhere and point in any direction. The … Continued
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Tech NewsDesignA Typeface Designed To Thwart Spying Computers
If people are snooping on your textual communications and you don’t like it, there are a couple of things you can do. You can try to block the prying eyes, you can stop saying things you don’t want to be seen, or you can make your messages make no sense to the outside. The anti-authoritarian … Continued
By Eric Limer -
Tech NewsDesign
Chairs Designed By Little Kids Are Hideously Adorable
An eye for good design isn’t something you’re born with; you’ve got to learn it. But everyone has to start somewhere, and this is what it looks like when kids take their very first awkward stabs at furniture design. The results are sort of horrifyingly cute. The little experiment was orchestrated by Kingston University students … Continued
By Eric Limer -
Tech NewsDesignMost Beautiful Items: June 15 – June 21, 2013
It’s the longest day of the year, so I don’t really know what you’re doing not being outside right now. But since you’re here, take a moment to check out some of the best pieces of art, architecture, and design, we found this week. Artists Are 3D-Printing a Room That Looks Like An Alien Cathedral … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech NewsDesign
Wine Bottles Can Perch On Any Wall Now
If there’s one thing you might actually want in your face or protruding into your kitchen, it’s a bottle of wine. An aggressive reminder to take a load off is always welcome. And these wine holders can be arranged so the bottles form any shape you want. Wine Cell created by Fiduz, a Danish design … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
Inside the Guggenheim Museum’s Glowing, Ambient James Turrell Skylight
The atrium of New York’s Guggenheim Museum is usually a bustling space, filled with crisp light and crowds of visitors. You wouldn’t have known it from the scene yesterday, as the museum opened its long-awaited James Turrell show: saturated in shimmering cobalt light, visitors quietly sprawled around the space, gazing up at Turrell’s “skylight.” The … Continued
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Tech NewsDesignThe Wildly Functional Studio of Video Wizard Casey Neistat: Part III
For the final leg of our tour, Neistat brings us into his studio within a studio, where work and play collide. From a old-timey fire extinguisher, to a foldaway speed-bag, the miscellany extends from floor to ceiling, reflecting the same personality that comes across in Neistat’s movies. This is part three of a three-part video … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
Digg Reader Hands-On: Your Google Reader Life Raft Is Here
Here’s the good news: Digg Reader is a real thing in the world that exists, and at the very latest, you’ll have access to it by next Wednesday, June 26th. I just landed at an early invite page for the service, and with a click, imported my 500 or so feeds from Google Reader in … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
A Space-Inspired Floating Playground That Puts Visitors Into Orbit
Tomás Saraceno‘s M.O. as an artist is to make you float—either on top of millions of yards of plastic, or inside of hexagonal sky pods, or on top of an inflatable balloons. His latest Jules Verne-tinged installation, which opened today, is no different. In Orbit, as the piece is called, took three years to design … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
This Insane Carbon Fiber Hammock Bathtub Is the Epitome Of Relaxation
The eternal debate—of whether to soak in the tub or lounge in a hammock—has just been rendered moot, thanks to this stunning carbon fiber hammock tub that lets you do both at the same time. Made by the UK company SplinterWorks, it’s called the Vessel, and it makes for an awesome centerpiece for your bathroom, … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
How the Design of Soda Cans Have Changed Over Time
Things change over time. Famous logos morph from black and white text into ornately embossed colorful graphics. Home screens go from a few icons to pages and pages. Phones go from bricks with numbers to slates with touchscreens. It’s just what happens. Little tweaks become overhauls. Just look at how your favorite soda cans have … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech NewsDesignThis Tiny Wooden Speaker Turns Your Glasses Into Equalizers
Chances are you’ve used an equalizer before, and chances are there was a lot of blindly turning dials and hoping something good happened. The Timbre Speaker embraces exactly that kind of blind experimentation by using nothing but two glasses for its sound control. Designed by industrial design student Casey Lin, the speaker appears to be … Continued
By Eric Limer -
Tech NewsDesignThe Wildly Functional Studio of Video Wizard Casey Neistat: Part II
Being creative doesn’t mean having access to the latest and greatest gear. It’s often a matter of thinking outside the box to find the best solution. Casey Neistat’s studio—including his self-built shooting table—is a perfect example of that. https://gizmodo.com/the-wildly-functional-studio-of-video-wizard-casey-neis-513828366 This is part two of a three-part video series taking you inside the studio of Casey … Continued