Editors' Picks

The History of the Lava Lamp

At 50, the legendary relic of the college dorm room is still groovy after all these years

The World’s Largest Collection of Coffee Cup Lids

With over 500 different disposable plastic lids, the architect-collector has pieced together a history of American innovation and culture

Designing a 51-State Flag

Even in 1958, the American flag was designed through crowdsourcing amateurs. If Puerto Rico joins the union, who will design the 51-star flag?

Arts & Culture Beats

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After a legal tug-of-war, Hershey's secured a trademark for the structural design of their classic chocolate bar
October 24, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

Politicians and parties may flip-flop but for more than 100 years, the political iconography of the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant has remained unchanged
October 23, 2012 | By Jimmy Stamp

In Building Stories, cartoonist Chris Ware presents the banality of everyday life as a stunning comic epic
October 18, 2012 | By Jimmy Stamp

Freshkills was once the biggest landfill in the world. Today, it's the biggest park in New York City
October 15, 2012 | By Jimmy Stamp

How citizens are using design interventions to shuffle social dynamics and change public space in cities
October 11, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

American football may have evolved from soccer and rugby, but it turns out that the football was never truly designed, it just sort of happened
October 05, 2012 | By Jimmy Stamp

From hand-cobbled beginnings, the football helmet has evolved to become one of the most highly designed pieces of equipment in all of sports
October 01, 2012 | By Jimmy Stamp

The radical, unbuilt high-rises designed by Rem Koolhaas are witty, subversive, and surprisingly simple
August 23, 2012 | By Jimmy Stamp

The area between the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Capitol has seen better days, but architects are vying to improve the nation’s front lawn
May 03, 2012 | By Megan Gambino

In 2050, Airbus hopes to fly you around in a see-through jet shaped like a bird skeleton, with morphing seats, spa treatments, and virtual entertainment
August 16, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

From pen-and-ink sketches to digital renderings, generations of Sherlock Holmes fans have undertaken to draft a version of the detective's famous London flat
August 14, 2012 | By Jimmy Stamp

How a three-time Olympic competitor designed an innovative new whitewater system using underwater bricks
August 09, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

Memorization may seem like a brain-based skill, but it has as much to do with our bodies and our buildings
August 06, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

The literary detective's hunting cap and cape came not so much from the books' author as from their illustrators
July 26, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

Infographic design first appeared at the Olympics in 1948, when the games were last in London.
July 20, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

Design innovation often seems like a path with no end, but in competitive swimwear, we've found the point where ingenuity fundamentally changes the nature of the sport
July 16, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

As the finale to our coffee series, we talk with Yeekai Lim, an entrepreneur from Los Angeles, about coffee, design, and the common ground(s) they share
July 13, 2012 | By Jimmy Stamp

A San Francisco coffee shop pulls back the curtain to expose the process behind each cup served in their expansive warehouse space
July 05, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

Single-serving coffee pods are the most recent form of instant coffee. Its history is much shorter than the espresso shot, though in its own way, just as inventive
June 27, 2012 | By Jimmy Stamp

What ever happened to the Starport, the brainchild of Jim Starry that re-imagined the airport?
June 12, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

Brian Eno's Music for Airports is a sound environment created specifically to complement the experience of waiting in an airport terminal
June 07, 2012 | By Jimmy Stamp

With Saab's new digital panorama, the local air traffic controller may soon go the way of the technical support specialist.
June 04, 2012 | By Jimmy Stamp

If you've flown Virgin America, you've seen its distinctive safety video. But what's the story behind it?
May 31, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

What flight attendant uniforms say about airline brand identity, cultural attitudes, and passenger psychology
May 29, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

A recent innovation in the design of the airline meal tray has resulted in massive savings. Maybe the next innovation should focus on the actual food.
May 17, 2012 | By Sarah C. Rich

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