Apropos of nothing, really, but just because I love hypnotic design, here’s a lovely old-ish MTV spot:

I always love a good dive into learning not just the what and the how of how things—in this case materials from the US federal government—was designed, but why things were done that way.

This video’s all about the briefly groovy period in which Federal designers let it all hang out. From the NASA Worm, to the EPA’s funkadelic graphics, to, heck, the Department of Labor acting like it just took mushrooms, this was an unquestionably adventurous period. And then it stopped. What went wrong?

The Federal Graphics Improvement Program was an NEA initiative started under Richard Nixon, and its brief reign inspired design conventions, logo revamps, and graphics standards manuals. But it was also just a cash infusion rather than a bureaucratic overhaul. And as a result, we only remember toasty Federal Graphic Design, rather than enjoy its enduring legacy.

This is specifically designed to break my brain, isn’t it? Check out Jordan Fridal’s amazing MOCs that imagine World War 2-era aircraft in the style of Star Wars vehicles, all rendered in Lego! The Leia nose art below is just <chef’s kiss>.

[Via Henry Nack, naturally 😌]

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If I had just upsetting amounts of disposable income, I might have to get this for my son. 🙃

Beautiful, haunting mutations, envisioned by Elastic:

Hey friends—Happy New Year! I hope you’ve been able to get a little restful downtime, as I’ve done. I thought it’d be nice to ease back into things with these lovely titles from For All Mankind, which I’ve belatedly started watching & which I’m quite enjoying. The work is by Imaginary Forces, whom I’ve admired ever since seeing founder Kyle Cooper speak in the 90’s:

From the creators:

Lines deviate and converge in a graphic, tactile world that pays homage to the past while hinting at the “what if?” future explored throughout the series. Like the show logo itself, these lines weave and merge to create stylised representations of human exploration—badges, almost— ultimately reminding us of the common thread we share.

Whether or not you’re celebrating Christmas, I hope that you’re having a restful day & keeping warm with family & friends. Enjoy a couple of tidbits from the Nacks—including some Lego stop motion…

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…and that heartwarming Christmas classic, Die Hard. 😅

“Oh my God… Who is this Dave Werner guy and what kind of government lab built him?” So I raved back in 2006 (!). Dave was only a student back then, but his potential was obvious, and I’m so happy he reached out in 2012 and became the designer on my then-team. Now 10 years later, he reflects on his journey in this characteristically charming, inventive little video:

I loved this sharp, salty, and fast-paced takedown of Egypt’s new administrative center, “Where buildings are big and brains are smooth.” Even if you watch just part, I bet you’ll enjoy the design insights & deft turns of phrase.

Apropos of nothing (but who cares, I’m still on vacation 😛), I really dig the ways these guys make beats with a theremin (?) and drum kit:

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“Not a single keyframe of animation was set in the making of the title, created by tweaking and bending the alignment knobs of a vintage TV,” writes Anthony Vitagliano. “Instead, I shot it using a vintage Montgomery Ward ‘Airline’ Portable Television, an iPhone, and a patchwork of cables and converters in my basement.”

Check out the results:

See Anthony’s site for high-res captures of the frames.

Hmm—dunno whether I’d prefer carrying this little dude over just pocketing a battery pack or two—but I dig the idea & message:

Once set up on its tripod, the 3-pound, 40-watt device automatically rotates towards the wind and starts charging its 5V, 12,000 mAh battery. (Alternatively it can charge your device directly via USB.) The company says that in peak conditions, the Shine Turbine can generate enough juice to charge a smartphone in just 20 minutes.

I have just four words for this: Guaranteed To End Well. 😅🚁💀

I have no idea whether this is brilliant, terrible, or somewhere in between, but it’s interesting as a piece of design. Come on, let’s get yoked:

This kind of loving madness reminds me fondly of the papercraft animations that Adobe’s Russell Brown used to do for things like the Star Wars intro crawl.

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I’ve admired Theo Jansen’s weird & wonderful Strandbeest creations since discovering them some 15 years ago, even getting to meet some in person in SF with the kids in 2016:

Now these creatures are heading into the sky! Check out the vid below, or jump ahead to roughly ~2:35 to see the latest (initial Freudian typo: “lateest,” which I quite like!):

The San Francisco Soapbox Derby—going on tomorrow in McLaren Park—looks like a blast:

Here’s hoping that this year’s participants can capture some of past years’ old-school hippie charm. 😌

Did you think there is a world in which I don’t post this, my friend?
Happily, there is no such world. 😝

Per Digital Trends,

The coaster was constructed from just under 90,000 individual Legos, and Chairudo estimates that it took him about 800 hours to build. The mammoth replica is more than 21 feet long, four feet wide, and almost five feet tall, with a total track length of 85 feet. It’s so big, Chairudo had to rent a separate room just to construct it.

Could this thing actually work? That’s hard to imagine, but the basic promise is amazing:

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Honestly, I don’t know whether these movie tributes are made with really good CGI or really good brick work, but either way I love ’em!

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Clouds & clouds of drones, specifically. It was fun to watch the Verge Aero team wow the audiences & judges alike with their choreographed aerial light show:

Happy Sunday. 🪨😌

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I’m surrounded by more than a few Xenomorph-obsessed folks, and this work should be right up their alleys—and potentially mine:

I know that we’re on a pretty dark timeline sometimes, but these little bits of silly (?) human ingenuity keep me going:

I am excited to share a new study led by Shachar Givon & @MatanSamina w/ Ohad Ben Shahar: Goldfish can learn to navigate a small robotic vehicle on land. We trained goldfish to drive a wheeled platform that reacts to the fish’s movement (https://t.co/ZR59Hu9sib). pic.twitter.com/J5BkuGlZ34

— Ronen Segev (@ronen_segev) January 3, 2022

Stephen Colbert & crew had some good fun with the news:

Let’s all ease into 2022 with a sensible breakfast of pure, brick-flavored weirdness:

I love hearing creators—especially obsessive ones like Denis Villenueve—discussing the details of their craft. Here the director takes us inside the making of one of Dune’s most memorable scenes:

Amazing work from Germany:

We use the lockdown for projects that we have always wanted to implement when there are no visitors. This week we broke the world record. A locomotive drives 220 meters of track through the entire Wunderland and strikes several thousand glasses, while playing a medley of well-known classical songs.

Speaking of spinning things right ’round, this demonstration of the Ames Window is a quick head trip:

For the last few years I’ve been curiously watching what I affectionately call “nerd terrariums” being erected on Google’s main campus. Now the team behind their unique roof designs is providing some insight into how they work:

These panels coupled with the pavilion-like rooflines let us capture the power of the sun from multiple angles. Unlike a flat roof, which generates peak power at the same time of the day, our dragonscale solar skin will generate power during an extended amount of daylight hours… When up-and-running, Charleston East and Bay View will have about 7 megawatts of installed renewable power—generating roughly 40% of their energy needs.

Check out a quick overview—literally:

Enjoy. 😌

For about two and a half minutes you’re gonna say, “Dude, this is the most boring content you’ve ever posted; thanks for wasting my time!” And then you’ll see why I posted it. 🙃

[Via]

My little brother is a trucker, and although I can’t imagine a solution like this working for the rural routes he drives, it’ll be interesting to see how it might work for long-haul highways. Check out the idea (not cheap, but potentially highly impactful):

For anyone who’s ever flown a drone but felt insufficiently self-conscious & at risk, let the good times fly!

The Jetson ONE measures 2,845 mm long, 2,400 mm wide, 1,030 mm high, and weighs 86 kg, and is capable of flying a pilot weighing up to 95 kg. It is also collapsible to 900 mm wide when not in use.

Includes LIDAR & a parachute for a cool $92k.

Finding my grandmother’s home in Ireland was one of the weirder adventures I’ve experienced. Directions were literally “Go to the post office and ask for directions.” This worked in 1984, but we visited again in 2007, the P.O. was defunct, so we literally had to ask some random neighbor on the road—who of course knew the way!

Much of the world similarly operates without the kind of street names & addresses most of us take for granted, and Google and others are working to enable Plus Code addresses to help people get around. Check out how it works:

Google writes,

Previously, creating addresses for an entire town or village could take years. Address Maker shortens this time to as little as a few weeks — helping under-addressed communities get on the map quickly, while also reducing costs. Address Maker allows organizations to easily assign addresses and add missing roads, all while making sure they work seamlessly in Google Maps and Maps APIs. Governments and NGOs in The Gambia, Kenya, India, South Africa and the U.S. are already using Address Maker, with more partners on the way. If you’re part of a local government or NGO and think Address Maker could help your community, reach out to us here g.co/maps/addressmaker.

I know it’s a little OT for this blog, but as I’m always fascinated with clever little design solutions, I really enjoyed this detailed look at the iconic SR-71 Blackbird. I had no idea about things like it having a little periscope, or that its turn radius is so great that pivoting 180º at speed would necessitate covering the distance between Dayton, Ohio & and Chicago (!). Enjoy:

Brilliantly inept. 😝

@emilyzugay

Reply to @mcdonalds easy

♬ original sound – Emily’sTikTok.edu

These 3D-printable pieces are pretty great to see, as is Lego’s introduction of a kid who uses a wheelchair.

[Via Khoi Vinh]