History

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Art Design History

Kyle Bean, Mobile Evolution

Digging Kyle Bean’s mobile evolution Russian doll project. If you’re interested, Kyle makes many more incredible things out of a paper. (via bldg//wlf)

Art Design History

Writing Without Words by Stefanie Posavec

This image by Stefanie Posavec represents all of the sentences in On the Road by Jack Kerouac. Each line is organized according to the number of words per sentence, and the sentences are color-coded according to theme. This is only one of many killer infographics in Posavec’s Writing Without Words series in which she attempts to visually organize the language of books. Prints available. (via we find wildness)

Design History

Dazzle Camouflage Gives Warships an Unlikely Disguise

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while ever since seeing it on Graphic Hug a while back but it kinda fell off the radar. Dazzle camouflage was a technique used during both WWI and WWII to obscure aspects war ships.

At first glance Dazzle seems unlikely camouflage, drawing attention to the ship rather than hiding it, but this technique was developed after the Allied Navies were unable to develop effective means to disguise ships in all weather.

Dazzle did not conceal the ship but made it difficult for the enemy to estimate its type, size, speed and heading. The idea was to disrupt the visual rangefinders used for naval artillery. Its purpose was confusion rather than concealment. An observer would find it difficult to know exactly whether the stern or the bow is in view; and it would be equally difficult to estimate whether the observed vessel is moving towards or away from the observer’s position.

RISD also has a super cool online gallery on the topic. Great stuff. On a related note, and from a different war, see also Quaker Guns. (via graphic hug)

Design History

Dieter Rams Radios for Braun

Three radios designed by Dieter Rams for Braun between 1959-1963. While you’re at it, why not brush up on Rams ten principles for good design. (via annelinnting)

Animation History

Pražský Orloj turns 600

The Prague astronomical clock turned 600 this week, and why not celebrate one of the world’s most complex clocks with a craaaazy projected animation. I walked past this clock almost every day in 2004, wish I could have seen this first-hand. Projection work by Macula. (via kottke)

Design History

Visualizing One Million

One Million by Hendrik Hertzberg is a new edition of a 1970s book that helps the average joe comprehend just how large one million is. Each of its 200 pages has 5,000 dots and occasionally individual dots are highlighted for their statistical significance. (via fastco)