Technology

John Thackara|Essays

From MySpace to Fake Space

Traveling without moving has become an economic and environmental imperative. Matter is more expensive than energy; energy than information; it is cheaper to move information, than people or things. So what is to stop us moving less and …

Adrian Shaughnessy|Essays

Look and Feel / Nip and Tuck

I first heard the term "look and feel" in the early days of web-design. I found it an odd phrase. When web developers used it I couldn't be sure if they were talking about graphic design or some new hybrid form of design for the web and …

Cheryl Towler Weese|Essays

Is Apple Soft on Crime?

In its now-ubiquitous campaign, the iPod holds the promise of cool: silhouetted figures dance on a colored field, brandishing their sleek white iPods, serving alternatively as dance partners, status symbols and fashion accessories. It's a …

Steven Heller|Essays

What's In A Name?

In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare wrote a "rose by any other name would smell as sweet," suggesting the meaning of something is more important than what it is called. By extension, the content of a blog post or comment is more …

Richard Turley|Essays

Off the Grid

Photo: Martin Godwin/GuardianSo there we were. Standing in a vast field at the Worthy Farm, the home of the Glastonbury Festival, armed with a laptop, rain pouring down, sodden jeans, welly boots welded to our feet, the ground turning into …

Adrian Shaughnessy|Essays

The 2012 Olympic Logo Ate My Hamster

Designers often bemoan the lack of coverage given to graphic design in mainstream media. Yet when design catches the attention of journalists and commentators it usually results in a vicious mugging rather than hearty praise.

Thomas de Monchaux|Essays

What If Apple Is Bad for Design?

Original Apple iPod, photo courtesy bioneural.net.Odds are you're reading this on a screen with radially-rounded corners; odds are the frame has a centimeter or so of pearly titanium grey, or milky plasticky white, or calfskin-smooth …

Rob Walker|Essays

Back to Basics Egg & Muffin Toaster

In a recent issue of The M.I.T. Sloan Management Review, Michael Schrage, a business writer and an M.I.T. researcher, challenged what Bruce Greenwald, has said about the fate of all innovative technologies: “In the long …

Debbie Millman|Audio

Jakob Trollback

On this episode of Design Matters with Debbie Millman, an interview with designer and filmmaker Jakob Trollback — who is also a DJ.

Michael Erard|Essays

Word Made Flesh

Diagram of quote attributed to Groucho Marx, "Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana," from Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences by Kitty Burns Florey, illustrated by …

Michael Erard|Essays

The G Word

Ten years from now, jokey newspaper articles about corporate follies will mention why the Chevy Nova didn't sell in Latin America, the hilarity that ensued when company names (e.g., Pen Island) became URLs, and how Google waded into the …

William Drenttel|Essays

What Ever Happened to Half.com, Oregon?

But back in 1999, in its Netflix-like heyday, Half.com was hot. And it did something quite remarkable. As a publicity stunt, it bought a town and renamed it. Someplace in Oregon. I wondered what ever happened to Half.com, Oregon — …