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Meme Tree

I love this tree of variations on that Keep Calm and Carry On poster.

Christina Agapakis - Keep Calm

By Christina Agapakis.

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AndreaFeb 3, 2010
 
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What does China censor online?

David McCandless is at it again, lending his info-graphics-fu to the issue of Chinese censorship.

Chinese censorship online

There's some repetition in the graphic, but it made me look. I'd like to see a list of what's not censored.

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NickJan 28, 2010
 

Four Design Links: January 14, 2010

Thursday brings another Four Design Links, a look at some of the articles and sites we've been reading this week.

1. Philosophy is Back in Business

Are we ahead of the curve or what? First business needs design. Now it needs philosophy.

According to a recent article from BusinessWeek, organizations have lost sight of the big picture. Philosophy, which considers problems of values, character, and ethics, can put businesses on the right track, serving human needs and interests.

[C]orporations are promoting the notion that their mission extends beyond profit and provides new frameworks—transportation, fuel, manufacturing, and so forth—for improving existence. These assertions require supporting actions over the long term if they are to have merit. In our connected and transparent world, where so many can easily see deeply into our operations, it has become clear that companies and even nations have character—and that their character is their destiny. For institutions to ensure that their characters, or cultures, are consistent with their behavior, they need more humans within their organizations who can appropriately manifest the desired culture through leadership, business practices, and individual behaviors.

Looks like there's a future for philosophers in the boardroom as well as the classroom. We've been saying it all along. ;)

2. Zen Humidifier

Masuza Humidifier

Love this humidifier from Masuza. Made of Japanese Cypress, it uses no electricity. Water is naturally drawn through the wood and evaporated into the air. Minimal, beautiful, and natural -- this is a great little piece of design. Via.

3. Sheepthink

How much of popular culture is simply people following the crowd? Can advertisers get you to buy something by falsely telling you that that other people like it? Clive Thompson writes about a research study that attempted to find out.

In the study, a music store was set up with a ratings system and purchasing habits were tracked in a variety of scenarios. Unsurprisingly, the researchers found evidence that social pressure is real -- that popular music (as rated by other listeners) tended to sell better. Most interesting, though, was that when the researchers purposefully rigged the system to promote bad music, in at least one instance people lost faith in the system and bought less music overall. Another data point for honest advertising.

4. Letterhead Collection

O-So Grape Letterhead

Filed under Inspirado, I'm digging this collection of letterheads from Letterheady. Some of the older ones are especially neat.

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NickJan 14, 2010
 

Paul Rand’s business card

Brilliant, as expected.

Paul Rand's business card

Via.

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NickJan 12, 2010
 

Snowflake Study

Nice work by Andrei Robu.

Snowflake Study Poster by Andrei Robu

Via.

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AndreaJan 6, 2010
 

Picturing the Past 10 Years

Reflect on the last decade with this NYT graphic from Phillip Niemeyer.

Phillip Niemeyer | Picturing the Past 10 Years
Detail. Click here for full-size image.

See you in 2010!

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NickDec 31, 2009
 

Olivetti Lettera 22 Instruction Manual

Inspired by Paul's Monday post, I thought I'd share this gem.

Olivetti Lettera 22 Instruction Manual

From We Made This:

The Lettera 22 was the pinnacle of 1950s typewriters (MoMA even have one in their permanent collection), a true luxury item, and the manual testifies to this. The copy is peppered with proud sentiment, and includes gems like ‘The Olivetti Lettera 22 is quite clearly a portable typewriter of the most up-to-date design and fine workmanship’ and ‘A few minutes spent in reading this book will enable the novice and the experienced typist alike to get the very best out of this excellent typewriter’. It refers to itself as a book! You almost get the impression Olivetti decided to print a manual that people would actually want to keep and not throw away once they got used to their new typewriter. The whole thing could have been printed entirely in black, but pale greens, reds and turquoises pop up throughout, giving the manual a sense of luxury that elevates it from being just a utilitarian document.

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NickDec 30, 2009
 

The Perfect Billboard

This nod to American Psycho made me smile. It is a hell of a billboard.

The Perfect Billboard
Click to embiggen and enjoy.

Via.

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NickDec 28, 2009
 
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