Doug Gilford has scanned 458 covers of the magazine Mad – basically all regular issues since 1952.
(via the ever fabulous gadgets.fosfor.se)
helvetica vs. arial
Helvetica vs. Arial: Directions: Move your Helvetica character left and right with the mouse, beat Arial by jumping on it using the mouse button. Helvetica moves faster in flight.
(tip from benedikt)
nadja
Excellent shot by my fabulous friend Nadja, over at Brainstore, Switzerland.
resist the future
A young person is constantly taking risks as a means to improve him or herself; an older person feels that he or she has taken enough risks already and is sated with his or her point of development.
Resist the future by John Maeda
renault car commercial
This is hands down the funniest and most unusual car commercial I have yet seen. View it here. (The last frame says: The most secure cars come from France.)
cube culture by kdunk
… I just moved desks at my office and inherited someone’s old cube. I’m pretty fascinated by how some people take cube culture so seriously. One woman on the floor has a cube full of birdhouses in various sizes. Another guy’s cube is a shrine to the New York Mets. Just the other day I walked down the hall to drop off a form at someone’s cube and she had a hot plate bubbling apple cider, tiny pumpkins lined up on her cube wall and was fluffing a frilly throw pillow on her chair. It was like a mini B&B. …
Morethandonuts – Cube Culture
ribbon campaigns
An article by Michael Bierut over at DesignObserver on those ubiquitous folded-over-ribbon bumper stickers.
And here, an impressive collection of hideousRibbon Campaign Logos. Somebody please make it stop!
animated trophy
Animated deer head with wireless microphone and remote control. At first glance, this appears to be the trophy of a successful deer hunt. But when activated by the included movement sensor or remote control, Buck The Animated Trophy™ entertains guests and friends for hours with witticisms and impromptu performances of six pre-programmed upbeat songs and ballads.
Who in the world produces something like this? Just imagine this conversation: “Hey boss, I have a really cool idea for a new product: “An animated deer head!”
the golden rule
The appeal of the divine proportion to the human eye and brain has been scientifically tested. Dozens of psychological tests, beginning with those of Gustav Fechner in the 19th century, have shown that, when subjects are presented with a range of rectangles, they invariably pick out as most pleasing ones whose sides are in the golden ratio.
But the most surprising thing is that a number deemed aesthetically pleasing by human beings also crops up in nature and science. Take the arrangement of leaves on the stem of a plant. As each new leaf grows, it does so at an angle offset from that of the leaf below. The most com mon angle between successive leaves is 137.5 – the golden angle. Why? Because 137.5 = 360 – 360/G, where G is the golden ratio. Why does the golden ratio play a role in the arrangement of leaves? It’s all down to the “irrationality” of the number. Irrational numbers are ones that cannot be expressed as the ratio of two whole numbers – for instance, 5/2.
The golden rule. It links art, music and even architecture. Marcus Chown on an enigmatic number
presentation zen
Article on Presentation Zen: Visual simplicity: Steve Jobs does it again.
erik spiekermann
Erik Spierkermann – Speaking up.
liquid sculpture
Liquidsculpture – A site dedicated to artistic photographs of drops, splashes, and liquids.
(via paperholic)
big apple greeter
Are you going to visit NYC anytime soon? If so, make sure to read about the Big Apple Greeters! It’s a free public service that helps visitors discover the hidden treasures of New York City the world’s most exciting and diverse city. It’s a way for New Yorkers to show their pride in the city and its many neighborhoods and a way to give something back to the city they love.
google recruiting video
Want to work at Google? Watch the Google Recruiting Video.
(via Gadgets.Fosfor.Se)
studio ditte
I love this super simple wall-shelf-unit called “Boekenkast Kwan” by Studio Ditte.
personalized google home
I *love* the personalized google home pages. I was just talking about this with G over the weekend, and how we’d both loved it if we could add our own content streams. And what do I see on the top right corner of my google page last night? A button that says “Personalize Home”. Has this been around for a while and I just didn’t see it?
watchisimo
Amazing collection of vintage watches – Watchisimo
sorry, gotta go!
Sorry, gotta go! When you need to get off the phone!
html stamps
Html Stamps by twinsparc. This is excellent for handing off designs to programmers. Yay!
aesthetic apparatus
Michael from design*notes sent me this wonderful link: The Aesthetic Apparatus talk that happened in Edmonton for the GDC ABN is now viewable at http://abnorth.gdc.net/aa/.
This is excellent! I am a huge fan of Aesthetic Apparatus! Thank you Michael!