You’ve probably heard of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum—the all-digital currency that isn’t centrally tracked by a bank. It has exploded in popularity over the past 10 years or so, but this post is not about that. It’s about the underlying technology—the “blockchain”—that is used to keep track of all bitcoin transactions, and also used… Read More
Yulia Brodskaya is a Russian-born UK-based artist/illustrator known for her elegant, handmade, and detailed paper illustrations. She folds and sculpts the pieces of paper into three-dimensional works. The colors that she chooses are so bright, beautiful, and full of enjoyment for any set of eyes to see. I have been following her on Instagram for… Read More
Amazon is by no means a leader in the design world. The website has always been — aesthetically speaking — dated, boring, bare-bones, and ugly. I suppose the nicest word for this design aesthetic would be ‘utilitarian.’ Even the current app icon (left) looks like it was designed in a bygone era. For a company… Read More
During the assault on the US Capitol on January 6th, videos showed rioters carrying several variants of the American flag. They all had stars, they all had stripes, but my sense was that none of the flags symbolized the wholesome Americana of apple pie, baseball, fireworks, and backyard barbecues. I did a little research and… Read More
Deniz Sağdıç is a Turkish multimedia artist. Most artists use graphite or paint to create realistic portraits, but Deniz chooses to use denim. Her work is created by upcycling various found pieces of denim fabric. She collects denim materials in a large variety of blue hues. She then cuts the fabric into squares, rectangles, and… Read More
Talk about a magic carpet! Spanish artist, Selva Aparicio has brilliantly transformed a wooden floor for her MFA thesis at Yale University into a magical, lifelike carpet. Aparicio creates ornately patterned carpets out of wooden floors. From afar, her carved creations resemble a real tapestry. When a viewer gets closer, they can see the intricate… Read More
I remember when I was in elementary school and we would all research our science, history, and book reports using the CD-ROM encyclopedia software, Encarta. If you don’t know what Encarta is, I don’t blame you. It was short-lived because the internet took over just after its creation. Moving on to middle school and high… Read More
The first weekend of 2021 revealed a rare sight along the Potomac River just outside of Washington, DC. A male Painted Bunting—native to Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Central and South America—was spotted on a rainy dreary day in a Maryland park. Once the word was out among birdwatchers, hundreds of enthusiasts ventured out to witness… Read More
Quick Response (QR) codes—those black pixel squares that you scan with your phone—seem to be having a resurgence. Outside of the design world, I never really gave them much thought. I most certainly didn’t use them on a regular basis. As a designer, I’ve personally hated QR Codes. I loathed having to place this large… Read More