Professor Gary Greenberg searches through sand grains with acupuncture needles to find and arrange the fine crystals, which he then photographs.
Tiny treasures
![well-thats-pertty-neat:
thedailywhat:
All-Purpose Storm Photo of the Day: That photo you’ve seen everywhere, which alleges to be of “Irene hitting to coast of NC”? Yeah, it’s at least 2-1/2 weeks old — and supposedly from Florida. It might actually be even older, and most certainly does not depict a hurricane.
Also, while we’re at it, that shark photo is still fake. As is this crocodile one.
On the other hand, this photo of a Tomb Sentinel guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery during Hurricane Irene is very real:
And most of these are real as well.
[yfrog / snopes / reddit / facebook / instagram.]
I really wish I was there
Insane](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqnarxkPFd1qzpwi0o1_500.jpg)
All-Purpose Storm Photo of the Day: That photo you’ve seen everywhere, which alleges to be of “Irene hitting to coast of NC”? Yeah, it’s at least 2-1/2 weeks old — and supposedly from Florida. It might actually be even older, and most certainly does not depict a hurricane.
Also, while we’re at it, that shark photo is still fake. As is this crocodile one.
On the other hand, this photo of a Tomb Sentinel guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery during Hurricane Irene is very real:
And most of these are real as well.
I really wish I was there
Insane
via nprmusic: Some Music For Your Morning
First Listen: ‘Muppets: The Green Album,’ a new collection of Muppet songs covered lovingly by OK Go, Andrew Bird, My Morning Jacket and other artists. Enjoy!
This made me smile
Tube City: A sustainable water-purifying city for Delhi
Tube City is a design for a 21 km long tube running over the Yamuna River in the city of Delhi. Conceived by Abhinay Sharma, the tube itself would be a living sustainable city with in-house farms and residential, commercial and office zones. A central metro spine and road network would keep the tube well connected, and the structure could also draw in water from the river for purification and consumption.
(via Ufahari)
Sweet…
Design concept: accessibility
The usefulness of a product or design can be limited if it is not accessible by some groups of people. The most obvious grouping here is handicap access to public spaces.
I like to take a design concept and play around with it in my head.. What are the various ways this could be implemented into a design? Accessible… Often times a bad word when it comes to art, and a sacred word when it comes to public spaces (ok, perhaps that’s pushing it). The use of accessibility could either be intentionally inclusive… Or it could be intentionally exclusive. It seems that the more exclusive something is, the more it is appreciated by those that experience it. This, often times, becomes a selling point…. “only here can you see the bearded lady” …
It is no secret that secrets sell… Widely exploited by Apple.. Exclusivity is great for some things, and definitely part of the term “accessible”. Yes, some designs need wide usage with small possibilities of failure… But others… You need to work to appreciate it… So failure to achieve the experience only builds the anticipation… And often times increases the enjoyment as well.
Accessibility, then, can be built into the design in both directions. Widely accessible, or largely exclusive…
From t(he art),
Oesch
Design concepts
As I’m reading this book dedicated to 120-some elements of design… I thought it would be good to write about each one as I encounter them. If you read these posts, please respond with a corresponding image that indicates the element… Which will reinforce the use of said principle.
First element, the 80/20 rule! (the book is laid out alphabetically… So importance is in no way implied by occurrance)
80% of usefulness is found in 20% of the features. This is a concept that began via economics… Where 80% of the wealth was found in 20% of the population.
The concept spreads quite easily into any realm of design, as economics are able to be translated into any situation (e.g. Terms dealing with finance can be used for energy, emotions, people, or any other structure that has an intake or output… Which is everything)
How to utilize this in designing is to keep an awareness of the usefulness of the product.. To keep a constant “accessiblity” while the remaining room.. Is used for experimentation
example: an interface uses menus as its accessibility to its features… The most used features are in toolbars.
Most of the uses for this rule seem to be functional user interfaces, product placement, etc…
It can apply to art as well. Using different elements in a design that appeal to large audiences, with the rest of the design for different levels of appreciation. Prime example and master of this would be pixar. The design of their scriptwriting includes a majority of the humor and story directed towards kids… 80% of the population of viewers watch only for the story, animation, and catch phrases (20% of features) because they are not fully aware of all of the elements involved. The other 80% includes awareness of the choices made to tell the story, details of design, acting choices, color choices, adult humor so they stay as entertained as the kids, amongst the mutitude of other elements of design that go into a film such as those.
It seems to me that, if 80% of function is in 20% of design… The term “integrity” comes into play… Where, in the other 80% of the design, lies the integrity of the work. If it was only designed within the 20% of its usefulness, it was not designed for the sake of design, but rather to make a quick buck on the usefulness of those features. This leads to cheaply made products, where often times, even the features for which it was designed to fill, do not meet up to expectation or actual need. When care is taken on the rest of the 80% of the design, not only is the product much better, and more functional, but the integrity of the piece is upheld. It is more likely that the most useful functions are more reliable in a fully designed product. It is more likely to hold respect for a fully designed painting, for a well planned out and cared-for film… It is easier to trust the painter who paints the underside of the soffit, 35’ in the air, tucked behind shingles, than the one who says “they won’t see it from the ground”…
In this way, I challenge all artists and designers to always design for the select few, even if you market to the masses. Uphold your own design integrity… Because it is for certain that we need integrity in this world. Let it feed your souls as well as your art… For the two are NOT separate.
From t(he art),
Oesch
