Space Shuttle Early Concepts

From the drawing board to outer space.

In honor of the space shuttle program coming to an end, I thought it would be fitting to share several photos of the original space shuttle design concept as well as some of the earliest images of the first mission.

Now I’m looking forward to seeing and reading about the new program concepts. Vacation to Mars anyone?

The Mother of All Infographics

Behold! The mother of all infographics: The Infographic of Infographics! Try saying that 5 times fast.

My favorite statistic from this one is that 85% of all infographics use sans-serif typefaces. Helvetica anyone?

Playing Cards Design

It’s funny how all regular playing cards have a similar design. Why not apply more creativity?

That’s exactly what New Zealand-based design company Dashwood did. They created a deck of cards that fused their love for design and typography. I would rather use these than my typical, boring “magic” card set.

Apple Can Now Buy the United States of America

Apple is the most profitable phone maker in the world. This may not come as a surprise to some, as it was uncovered last week that Apple now has more cash than Uncle Sam. Last quarter, Apple’s sales made up a sliver— just 5.6% —of global handset sales, across all manufacturers. And yet, it took home some 66% of all profits. Incredible.

Cats + Design = Love

Because anything that connects design and cats is amazing.

3 Innovative Uses of Social Media

In April of 2011, Porsche took their Facebook fans to a whole new level. It would be too much to literally say thank you to each fan so they decided to say thank you by placing every single fan's name on a car. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/04/porsche-puts-its-facebook-fans-names-on-a-911-gt3/1

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"Mello Yello recently relaunched its brand under the campaign “They Call Me Mello Yello,” which circles around retro kitsch and a remake of Donovan’s 1966 hit song. The brand is utilizing social media, especially Facebook, to spread its message."

http://melloyello.com/

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Johnson's Baby Canada tripled its fan base in 3 weeks by holding a baby photo contest on it's Facebook page. Fun for all!

http://www.facebook.com/johnsonsbabycanada

Design Process

The (very condensed) process of design at one of the world’s most reputable design firms: Chermayeff & Geismar.

Design keeps us alive. It saves us from dying of boredom. It makes us think and it manifests our creative side.

http://youtu.be/B6IenOAv6sQ

Art of the Menu [Design]

“Bad design screams at you. Good design is silent” (quote via @HermanMiller).

The creators of UnderConsideration and Brand New have developed another genius design-blog called “Art of the Menu” which has to do with (you guessed it!) the design of restaurant menus.

This just reinforces the idea that design can make a huge difference in our lives. Have you ever been to a restaurant that has a illegible menu because of bad design? Next time you go to a restaurant, pay attention to the design of the menu.

My theory is this: 99% of the time we’re not conscious when we’re surrounded by something we deem good design. But, our subconscious is. We are more likely to study better, sleep better, and focus better when we’re in a room that connects to our ideas of good design. Who knows? Maybe if a restaurant menu is designed in such a creative way, we’ll recommend it and go there more.

Typography Evokes a Feeling

Typography evokes a feeling. It’s important that we understand it.

http://youtu.be/eKKDL6lekmA