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Designers

Kayak may be the best way to explore the climate change memorial of the future.

Anthropocene

What Will the Memorials of the Future Look Like?

From underwater trees to mechanical parrots, the memorials of tomorrow don’t look much like the ones that exist today

Smart Startup

Designing Classrooms For the 21st Century

By being a “Pinterest for teachers,” room2learn provides ideas for improving classroom layout and functionality

This shopping bag was designed by the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union and handed out to shoppers in front of department stores around New York in 1964.

Cool Finds

Fuel Your Design Obsession With 200,000 Newly Digitized Artifacts

Explore 30 centuries of design at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum without leaving your computer

Participants in "The Leading Strand" project share their prototypes with each other.

Art Meets Science

Here’s What Happens When Neuroscientists and Designers Team Up to Explain Scientific Research

A new interdisciplinary project results in a moving sculpture, an animated piece, a song that evolves and more

Imagine a meta-memorial of the National Parks that projects high-definition video and recordings in metro stations, examining the role of wilderness in times of social inequality and ecological change.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

What Will Future Monuments in the Nation’s Capital Look Like?

Changing times and tastes leave little room for monolithic marble on the Mall

Architects Reimagine Detroit

A new exhibition in Venice showcases how 12 teams would reinvent four sites in Detroit badly in need of facelifts

Sita Bhaumik, Saqib Keval, Jocelyn Jackson and Norma Listman (People's Kitchen Collective)

The Smithsonian Gets Experimental and Field-Tests a New Forum for Bringing Artists to the Public

A Two-Day Festival in the historic Arts & Industries Building brings community, artists and scholars together for a “Culture Lab”

Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic Dome, 1967 World Exposition, Montreal

A Photographic Tour of the Wonders That World’s Fairs Leave Behind

Jade Doskow goes to old World’s Fair sites and photographs the remnants of once glorious visions

Sewer in a Suitcase: This handy kit shows people where water goes after it goes down the drain.

These Kits Beautifully Explain How City Sewers and Zoning Laws Work

New York’s Center for Urban Pedagogy uses art and design to help people better understand complex laws and systems

Cool Finds

These Temporary Tattoos Can Help ID a Food Allergy

Plus, the tattoo is inspired by historical Japanese prints

Cartoonist and concept artist Jean Giraud.

Cool Finds

Meet the Man Who Helped Define How Science Fiction Looks

The renowned cartoonist Jean Giraud had a hand in some of science fiction’s most iconic films

Alex Hudson wearing Specs4Us glasses

Designing Glasses That Fit Individuals With Down Syndrome

Optician Maria Dellapina started Specs4Us when her daughter struggled to find a pair of glasses that wouldn’t slip

Bison sculpture by Emily White, Big Timber Lodge

How to Maintain Your Garden Zen at the Philadelphia Flower Show

A Smithsonian gardener with a long history of touring the show gives tips

This Morphing Mannequin Could Transform the Fashion Industry

Created by Hong Kong professor Allan Chan, iDummy can be programmed with any measurements

This kindergarten in Fredericksberg, Denmark was inspired by how a child might draw a house.

Cool Finds

How Children’s Imaginations Inspired This Cool School

A new Danish kindergarten was envisioned by the way a child might draw a house

"You & I," by Pranita Kocharekar.

Cool Finds

This Company Transforms Indian Taxicabs Into Original Artworks

Intricately designed fabrics help taxi drivers stand out from the crowd

The branching routes to Rome, as visualized by a design team

Cool Finds

The Many Roads That Lead to Rome, Visualized

Caveat: not all cities named Rome are in Italy

The mockup of a Heat Harvest-enabled table

One Day, Your Cup of Coffee Could Charge Your Phone

A pair of students has proposed the idea of embedding furniture with pads to absorb latent heat and convert it into electricity

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