DESIGN
- ‘Design Is One of the Most Powerful Forces in Our Lives’ (via The Atlantic). “Book review” (sort of) of Alice Rawsthorn‘s new book Hello World: Where Design Meets Life. The article gives a compelling case for the book (and design!) and initially of course I wanted to read it. I did read a few Good Read’s reviews that say that it sounded like it was obviously not written by someone who practiced design. Which sounds kind of pretentious, but it was kind of described as historical overview and a “designers should do this” book. But perhaps not!
- 18th-century London paintings meet Google Street View – in pictures. These are so lovely, take a look. I was mesmerized and sometimes sad about how the world changed.
- Street Artist Creates Clever Urban Interventions To Get People Thinking. I thought they were cute & clever more than anything. Will take no time at all to have a quick glance.
- ‘Calvin & Hobbes’ Creator Pens His First Public Comic In 18 Years (via NPR). I guess this is just because I’m a Calvin & Hobbes fan and I just happened to read one of his books over Christmas break. So of course this article caught my eye. Also, did you know they made a documentary?!
- Kenya Hara on Japanese Aesthetics. Short but beautifully described.
SOCIAL
- #ITooAmOxford, #ITooAmCambridge – black and Asian students smash prejudice at elite universities. This was a really interesting project to me about some of the prejudices ethnic students face specifically in ‘ivy league’ universities where you would hope it wouldn’t be present. I have encountered this so much since I’ve been at CMU and have mixed feelings about how it should be addressed. I am certainly annoyed by it and hope that awareness of the subject would help, but I also don’t like the idea of shaming people who are sincerely ignorant of the issue. See more examples here.
- The Feelings In Facebook Status Updates Are Contagious And Spread Like A Virus (via Co.Exist). This was fascinating: How emotions expressed on Facebook have a ripple affect across the world. “If it rains in New York, people around the country become miserable.”
- Why Your Image of the Strongest Man in America Is Probably Wrong. Well done article/video on how prescribing gender roles affect both men and women negative.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
- What Shakespeare Plays Originally Sounded Like (via MentalFloss). Really interesting and worth a listen! (video above)
- 10 Reasons Why Handheld Devices Should Be Banned for Children Under the Age of 12 (via Huffington Post blog). This was alarming and a little alarmist, especially considering my project for studio is about toddlers and technology. I think maybe some of is a little excessive, but it was a good reminder that, just because it’s normal doesn’t mean it’s safe.
- Who Made That Progress Bar? (via NY Times). Carnegie Mellon pride! And interaction design love.
- This Small Brick-Shaped Device Can Help Get Millions Of Africans Online (via Co.Exist). This little brick helps fill in the connection gaps between internet signals for developing locations. And it’s well designed.
- Are Stonehenge’s Boulders Actually Big Bells? (NY Times). So neat right!? Check it out. Apparently these certain stones can sound exactly like bells when struck. Isn’t that incredible?
MEDIA
- ‘Happy’ In New York City Will Make You Very, Very Happy (via Huffington Post). This was just a very charming video based on 24 hours of happy project. It was so happy! And it made me miss New York.
- Andrew Stanton: The clues to a great story (via TED). Lovely to hear and remember regardless if your a self-titled “storyteller.” Because, hey, we all tell stories to each other, at work, and at school. There a way of making things a story.
- Where Would You Live on This Map of the Internet? Interesting bit of media/design. Map of the internet using a vintage design style.
- Infographic: The World’s Selfiest City (via Co.Design). Obviously super important. Lotsa selfies on the beach, I noticed.
- First Kiss. 20 strangers kiss for the first time. Very cute movie. Even though they didn’t know each other, you can’t help but feel there nervous excitement too.
STUDYING
- The Grammar of Interactive Design. Kind of the direction I want to go for my thesis. it’s an hour long so I don’t really expect you to watch it, but I want to catalogue it.
- So You Want to Build an Internet of Things Business: Smart Thinking. This is for my studio project. GROAN. Well, the articles ok, I’m just starting to loose steam on my project.
- Users don’t hate change. They hate you. This was an interesting article about the tension between innovation and resistance by users about change (think about all the revolts that happen when Facebook changes). It was written by Christina Wodtke who I saw at Interaction14. She was good then and she was good now. I like this quote she used: The moment you succumb to the notion that “users just hate change,” you’ve ceased designing for your audience. – Ryan Freitas
I’ve subscribed to this website called Gibbon which does “playlists for learning.” It offers low commitment, curated articles and media about subjects of your choice (mostly technology/design related). It’s been fun so far.