The Khan Academy is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) with the mission of providing a world-class education to anyone, anywhere. The Khan Academy is being developed as an open source project, consider it a free classroom for the World. *This*, TED and Kickstarter are perfect examples why the internet had to been invented.
(thank you rachel)
My thesis was a 200 page book about “The beauty in the Ordinary”. It comes to no surprise that I love this project called The Search for the Obvious. The project is asking for your contribution: Think of a physical object or service that makes life better and has truly bettered the world. Then, upload a photo of your finding here.
The Search for the Obvious is run by the Acumen Fund, which is a pioneering not-for-profit venture fund that is changing how the world addresses poverty. Acumen Fund invests patient capital in business models that deliver critical, affordable goods and services to the world’s poor, improving the lives of millions.
(thank you Maria)
CreativeEveryone wants you to never miss a creative event again. It strives the be the go-to guide to all the interesting creative-oriented events happening in the UK and USA. If you would like to help them edit and curate the events listed on CreativeEveryone, you can become an editor. (The site is in beta, so be gentle on them if you discover bugs!)
My friend Jennifer spent the weekend with us and decided put her cooking hat on. She made a soup. No, not just a soup, the *best* soup I’ve ever had. Where did she find the recipe? On a blog called Bitchin’ Camero.
My hat tip off to both to Jen (the chef) and Melissa Camero, the force behind this impressive food blog. And now, here it is, the recipe to the best soup I’ve ever had: White Bean Soup with Mini Lamb Meatballs.
Remember I asked about the perfect camera bag a while back? The answers were overwhelming and I haven’t finished the blog post in which I am trying to summarize all your anwsers. (Check the comments here)
I just came across this beautiful looking camera bag that Incase created in collaboration with Ari Marcopoulos. Nice, no?
Being a complete iPad afficionado, I am thrilled to see concepts like this. According to this blogpost, BMWs will soon feature iPad docking bays on back seats, which swivel and rotate. Using ConnectedDrive, the car will act as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing iPads and other devices to connect online.
And by the way, I drive a BMW in my dreams, not in real life.
(via stilsucht)
This Image Search Tools post over at one of my favorite blogs called Brainpickings.org made me look. (If you’re not already subscribed to Maria Popova’s avalanche of awesomeness, please do so.)
CompFight is a Flickr search tool that also also doubles as a visual inspiration engine. It lets you search based on tag or text, spitting out a pleasant wall of thumbnails. Particularly useful: The CreativeCommons search option, which filters results by image rights license type.
I just received a mysterious hand-drawn poster by Absolute Sellout. I don’t really understand what the site is really about, but I must say, some of these objects are of a striking mundane beauty. Oh, the power of well-light product shots and LOTS of white space.
(Thank you Josh & Ben)
A winter-welcoming swissmiss thank you to “get addicted to …” for sponsoring this week’s RSS Feed.
Learning new snowboard tricks has never been that easy. Even if you’re right in your local park and want to improve your riding straight away, you just have to grab your iPhone and “LEARN TO RIDE Snowboard” offers everything you need from a revealing trick-tutorial. After downloading the app, there’s no internet connection required to check tricks!
To really help you out, your “LEARN TO RIDE Snowboard” teachers will equip you with currently 25 video clips including voiceover, which show you moves from different angles. Tricks will be added regularly for free! Check and perfect your stance and style, using the videos as your guide.
You can find the “LEARN TO RIDE Snowboard” in the App Store.
Peter Hossli is a curious reporter that always finds a good story. He was third speaker in the “FREITAG am Donnerstag” series that I curated for FREITAG. Peters talk (in German) is a wonderful insight into Peter’s personal approach to journalism. Peter believes that not newspaper/magazines are in a crisis, it’s the Journalist. He thinks journalists Google too much and don’t go out anymore and do their research. Insightful talk, watch it if you speak German:
After the DesignMatters taping with lovely Debbie Millman today, I had the pleasure to meet Eric Baker. While talking he mentioned TODAY, a daily visual email he used to send out. A daily curated set of images, delivered right to your inbox. Unfortunately he no longer runs TODAY but you can see quite a few of these fantastic emails over at the DesignObserver.
(A shame he ended it and Eric did this before tumblr existed. I want to add every other image to my ffffffound account.)
My friend Martina told me about the nifty webapp called Write Or Die. You need to get that article or blog post done but you are doing everything else in the world but write? Go to Write Or Die, put in length of the article (amount of words), set the ‘reminder’ and then the ‘grace period’ mode. And then: GO! Start writing. Whenever you stop for too long, (aka procrastinate) the site start flashing/blinking/yelling in your face so that you continue. Good way to make yourself hear that Clackity Noise.
While I think the idea is brilliant, I wish the interface was a little bit more ‘designy’.
David Rowan, Editor of Wired UK was the second speaker in the “FREITAG am Donnerstag” series that I curated for FREITAG.
We invited David to speak about his insights on the topic of Journalism. David spoke about how social media can save journalists’ lives. The talk was focusing on a rather dark side of the world of journalism and David was very well aware that the audience wasn’t necessarily expecting that, knowing that he is the editor of Wired UK. It is important that people like him, with such an audience and power, point out the dark and dangerous side of the life of a journalist.
Watch his touching talk below and read the entire transcript here.
A big thank you to Maria Popova of Brainpickings for making the introduction to David Rowan and therefore making this talk possible.
Thirty Conversations on Design 2010 just went up. Little & Company reached out to 30 creative thinkers in the creative industry and asked them two questions:
“What single example of design inspires you most?” and “What problem should design solve next?”
My favorite? Stefan Bucher’s passion for Humming Birds.
DUMBO Underwater from Eric Corriel on Vimeo.
Inspired by issues relating to climate change, DUMBO Underwater imagines what it might feel like if sea levels rose to the point where parts of New York City found themselves underwater.
Most scientists agree that sea levels are rising and that coastal cities, such as Brooklyn, are at risk for flooding. This being the case, it is worth considering the possibility that New York City, or some of its parts, may one day be underwater. This site-specific video installation uses the idea of the East River overflowing in DUMBO to transform this possibility into an experience.
A little unsettling, isn’t it?
(via brainpicker)
The Typeface Memory Game is the perfect gift for the Typography obsessed. It includes 25 variations of the letter ‘A’, each in a different letter type.
Typographic information about the letter is included on the card, and a separate folder provides a general history of the typography. Among the letter types included in the game are Akzidenz Grotesk, Baskerville, Centaur, Garamond, Helvetica Rockwell, Times New Roman, Univers and many more.
(thank you Joanna)
The Mighty Wallet™ is tear-resistant, water-resistant, expandable and, most importantly, recyclable. Made from Tyvek® (think express mail envelopes), the Mighty Wallet™ resists tearing because of thousands of interlocking plastic fibers spun in random patterns giving the wallet incredible strength. In time, the Mighty Wallet™ will gradually soften and patina but, even after years of wear, it will still offer surprise and solicit intrigue.
G has one and loves it. I have been looking for the right ‘decorative print’ and the CMYK version it is. Now, about to order one…
ps: The site I linked to is out of stock, but try the MoMAstore instead.
This playful, colorful stool is made from spruce wood covered in felt. Made by TemaHome, available at MoMAStore. A beauty.
So, I admit it, I am over portfolio sites. I can’t remember when I was last completely excited over seeing one. Until just now. Kelli Anderson emailed me and thanked me for blogging the Handkerchief Wedding Invitation Design a few weeks back. She pointed me to a blog post explaining the entire process. I then clicked to her portfolio site and clicked and clicked and clicked. I am impressed and am sending a big giant hat tip over to Kelli.
ps: Check out the Google Map inspired navigation on the homepage. Quite amusing!
Luke Geissbuhler took this video from a camera attached to a weather balloon that rose into the upper stratosphere and recorded the blackness of space. Is this for real? (jaw drop)
Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.
(via brainpicker)
This FastCompany article tries to explain how one can measure influence in social media. As example they are using Bono vs LadyGaga. The article is based on a whitepaper by social media monitoring firm Vocus. What is the main quality of an influencer? Excerpts from the article:
The key finding here is that there is a clear difference between “influence” and “popularity.” About 90% of respondents noted this distinction; however, 84% also said there is a correlation between “reach” and influence,” which adds a bit of ambiguity.
According to the survey, the top contributing factors that make a person or brand influential were all based on quality rather than quantity. Around 60% of respondents cited the “quality or focus of the network” (e.g. 4chan) and 55% cited the “quality of content” (e.g. Andrew Sullivan) for what defines an influential.
But the most important metric for measuring one’s influence online is also the most disagreed upon. With social media, there are so many methods of quantifying “influence” that respondents were fragmented. Close to 29% of respondents said “action” is the most important measure of the effectiveness of social media influence; however, more than one-third also said “action” was the least important metric. The number of “views” was ranked highest by 11%, tied with “click-throughs.” “Retweets” and Facebook “Likes” came in last place.
Unfortunately, when it came to Lady Gaga versus Bono, Vocus didn’t offer an end-all decision.
We have been talking about this topic quite a bit here at the studio. The most interesting experience we’ve had is when an aquaintance of ours tweeted about TeuxDeux and we expected to get a HUGE wave of retweets and overall echo in the Tweetsphere, given that this person has close to 500,000 followers. Not much happened at all. BUT, we had another person from the web-industry tweet about it, and the response was impressive. This person’s tweet follower count: 60,000. There you have it: Quality over Quantity.
Journalism in the Age of Data from geoff mcghee on Vimeo.
If you have a spare hour, then feast your eyes on Geoff McGhee’s video documentary “Journalism in the Age of Data,” which explores the exciting potential and occasional pitfalls of modern data visualization.
(via GOOD)
The Web Font Awards is the first ceremony to celebrate the newfound typographic freedom that Web designers are experiencing across the globe. The competition will recognize the designers and websites that are putting this emerging technology to greatest use. Aimed at promoting Web font awareness and adoption, the Web Font Awards is open to eligible users of any Web font service or technology that uses an @font-face declaration.
(via behoff)
I am happy to announce that LosAngeles/CreativeMornings will be kicked off next week. And I’ll make sure to be there for the occasion. West Coast, here I come!
My dear friend Jon Setzen who happened to have his studio one block over from me in Brooklyn and now is the CreativeDirector of SomethingMassive in LosAngeles, offered to run the west coast chapter. I couldn’t be more excited!
DATE
LosAngeles/CreativeMornings, October 8, 2010, 8.30am – 10am (rsvp will open up on wednesday, september 29, 2010 at 11am over at losangelescreativemornings.eventbrite.com. Space is limited and we will up quickly, so mark your calendars!
SPEAKER
We are thrilled (!) to have Zach Frechette of GOOD Magazine kicking off our LosAngeles/CreativeMornings chapter on October 8th, 2010.
Zach is one of the co-founders and the editor-in-chief of GOOD Magazine. He helped launch the magazine and has recently led the transition of GOOD from an editorially led magazine to a community-based web platform at the intersection of creativity and impact.
GOOD Magazine describes itself as “an integrated media platform for people who want to live well and do good. They are a company and community for the people, businesses, and NGOs moving the world forward. GOOD’s mission is to provide content, experiences, and utilities to serve this community.” We are incredibly excited to have Zach be our first ever speaker at LosAngeles/CreativeMornings. Please join us.
HOST
The event will be hosted at the Ford&Ching showroom in the historic Kim Sing Theatre in Chinatown. Ford&Ching creates an impressive link between emerging design, end users, people who specify, and people who love design. Not familiar with their space? Get ready for a real treat!
Tina (aka swissmiss) who started CreativeMornings two years ago in New York will be present for this first LosAngeles/CreativeMornings. (If time allows, we will organize some drinks the night before at some yet to be determined LA location.)
BREAKFAST SPONSOR
Breakfast will be generously sponsored by Something Massive a leading digital agency with offices in LA, NYC and Buenos Aires. They’re a full service agency offering digital strategies and engaging creative. Visit their site www.somethingmassive.com to learn more.
SIGN UP
You’ll be able to rsvp over at losangelescreativemornings.eventbrite.com starting wednesday september 29th, 2010 11am.
VOLUNTEERS
As we are kicking-off the LosAngeles chapter we are looking for volunteers. Would you be interested in assisting Jon Setzen running the LosAngeles/CreativeMornings chapter? For this particular event we are looking for folks that can help with taping and photographing the event. For upcoming events we need help finding sponsors, venues and speakers. Want to help? Email us.