Different Strokes: Strange Paintbrushes Promote Creativity
When something evolves to have such a long history as the art of painting, it falls on out-of-the-box thinkers to question the most basic elements of creation: tools. The designers ...
Author: Urbanist
WebUrbanist was founded in 2007 by Kurt Kohlstedt, who currently writes and edits articles and episodes at 99% Invisible and can be found on Twitter @KurtKohlstedtAll-in-One Bicycle Helmet: Sleek Integrated Lights & Signals
Bicyclists need this. Incredible design is not just about looking good (which this does) or working well (which this does), but weaving the solution so that each seems the natural outcome of the ...
Algae-Fueled Building: World’s First Bio-Adaptive Facade
Bio-reactors and micro-algae sound like the stuff of science fiction, but this is the real deal: biomass built into panel glass generates heat and power, also acting as a responsive light and ...
Symbiotic Design: Life-Saving Meds Hide in Spare Space
It is a strange fact that Coca Cola is so widely distributed it is easier to obtain in some places than clean water. That powerful distribution network has sparked a brilliant packaging idea: ...
Fill in the Blanks: Illustrated Sky Spaces Between Buildings
Street art uses roads, sidewalks, walls and infrastructure as canvasses, but one of the brightest and blankest slates of all may be the spaces in between. Thomas Lamadieu, a French artist, ...
Brand Re-Versioning: Trading Logos with the Competition
Our brains recognize brands before we even get to the text ... but what happens when that second of the process process yields the reverse of what we expect? In this series of experimental ...
Origami Kayak: Packs Flat, Folds Up to Form its Own Case
Portaging in the wild is one thing, but try walking your canoe or kayak down the street (let alone through an airport) and you may smack someone right in the head - hence this city-friendly ...
Lunar Power: Solar Spheres Energized by Both Sun & Moon
Magnifying light by a factor of 10,000, this liquid-filled, sun-tracking, energy-harvesting glass sphere is so powerful that it can not only harvest solar rays directly but is even able to draw ...
Seconds to Years: 2 Scales of Time-Lapse Photography
With the rise of digital technologies, photographers are finding increasingly fascinating ways to capture minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and even entire years. Here are just three ...
Perfect Pitch: Impossibly Starry City Skies in Blackest Night
Massive power outages give us rare glimpses of darkened cities, but in normal conditions, there is simply no way to see the starry skies above the typical urban metropolis - but one photographer ...
