art, ideas, medicine, nature

Art meets Science

virsculpt
Luke Jerram creates sculptures, installations, soundscapes, and live arts projects that investigate the mysterious process of how we construct inner worlds from objective reality. His work is inspired by such disparate areas of research as biology, acoustic science, sleep research, ecology, and neural pathways. Recently Jerram’s H1N1 sculpture was accepted permanently into the Wellcome Collection in London.

Visit the artist’s website.

ideas

Better design by natures influence

Forest

Take a walk outside and look around. You’ll begin building a deeper understanding and appreciation for subtlety. Nature can be loud, but it usually whispers. You’ll also sharpen your observational skills. Great designers are great observers. You’ll learn more about color than any color wheel or book can teach you. Lastly, you’ll clear your mind and fill it back up at the same time. Very few things can achieve a simultaneous refresh and refill.

Read more.

ideas

Somebody save me

signpdx

A very unique part of the Portland skyline. The lights were shut down last Thursday evening on the sign, and the future is unknown. The University of Oregon is at the center of this political mess.

Read more at Williamette week.

ideas

IQ vs. EQ Examined

iqeq

High IQ Doesn’t Equal Success, Focus on Your EQ. Researchers have studied this paradox and in the past decade have begun to question the correlation between IQ, success, and happiness. They’ve found another type of intelligence, one that has to do with emotions, may be a more important determiner of overall success in life.

Read more.

Test Yourself.

art, craft

Joel and Ethan Coen: Raising Cain film retrospective

coen_brothers_burn_after_reading_coming_sept_12_424x294

Though they’ve mined many genres throughout their careers, noir seems to be the Coens’ touchstone. From the gritty thriller Blood Simple to the luminous, moody Man Who Wasn’t There to The Big Lebowski with its Philip Marlow-esque “Dude,” they have done noir every which way, filtering its absurdity, sense of disorientation, alienation, and cynicism through their uniquely skewed sensibility. Yet the Coens also toss a funny bone into their movies, employing brazen slapstick, deliciously clever banter, gallows humor, and even sight gags with relish. Their films seem to embody the pure joy they take in their work.

For more info.

design

IPHONE 3G / 3GS RECESSION CASE

iphone_case

Times are tough shouldn’t your iPhone’s case be as well? Now you can protect your phone with cardboard and it’s cheap and can be recycled. Go to link to purchase.

computing

AMERICAN VICE: MAPPING THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

7maps-452x500

Courtesy of Wired Magazine and Kansas State University.

computing

Retro 80’s Mac Website

appl

What Apple’s 80’s product line web presence would have looked like today.
See the designers Twitter page.

craft

Infant co-sleeper

cosleep

I recently completed a project code named the sidecar, pictured above. It’s an infant co-sleeper built from Jatoba, a Brazilian hardwood species. The project grew challenging the minute I started cutting the material. Jatoba is a dense hard material. The size of the original uncut plank was roughly 17″ wide x 1/2″ thick x 10′ long. The wood was left untreated to avoid health issues relating to toxicity.

design, ideas

Spherical Ice

fds

In Tokyo, master bartenders know, a 2-inch diameter ball of cold has a lower surface-area-to-volume ratio than a typical cube. That means it melts more slowly, preventing vintage hooch from warming up and getting watered down. Japan’s mixologists hire apprentices to chisel perfect frozen spheres, but if you aren’t so flush, pick up DIY molds (two trays for $16) from the MoMA store.