Trends might seem completely random, but there are patterns to what becomes popular. Industrial designer Raymond Loewy created some of 20th Century America’s iconic looks, and his theory of coolness has been backed up by scientific studies. Derek Thompson of The Atlantic explains. Animations by Caitlin Cadieux.
That soy sauce bottle you see everywhere was designed by Kenji Ekuan, a former Buddhist monk. The elegant bottle is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Bark & Co. works with BarkBox customer research, a former LEGO designer, and stand-up comedians in its quest to make the best chew toy for every dog. Fetch more here.
In Islamic culture, geometric design is everywhere: you can find it in mosques, madrasas, palaces, and private homes. And despite the remarkable complexity of these designs, they can be created with just a compass to draw circles and a ruler to make lines within them. Eric Broug covers the basics of geometric Islamic design.
“A futuristic new food system aims to make convenient food that still uses fresh produce from a local farmers market,” writes Adele Peters:
“In the new system, a set of appliances is connected to an app that answers the perennial question of what to eat for dinner, and then makes it for you. The app considers the basic facts—maybe you ran for 32 minutes earlier in the day, the fridge is well-stocked, and you’re recovering from a cold, so you need a little extra vitamin C. Then it calculates the perfect meal.
‘Flavor pills,’ tiny water-soluble pods filled with organic spices and nutritional supplements, get added to one of the appliances along with fresh produce and some water. Using sensors and a microprocessor, the appliance cooks the food for exactly the right amount of time and at exactly the right temperature.
