Design

The Subtle Art of Breaking Building Laws

Building permits are wonderful things: They protect us from slum conditions and scammers, and they make money for our local governments. But permits can also pose a major financial hurdle for independent home builders—and rules are meant to be broken, man. There’s a rich, if somewhat under-the-radar, tradition of architectural loopholes out there, and it…

How a 1940s Gangster Film Foresaw the Surveillance Tech of Today

White Heat is a classic gangster film from 1949, starring James Cagney. It is a thoroughly Los Angeles flick, filmed almost exclusively in the Greater Los Angeles region, including scenes shot at Warner Brother Studios in Burbank. The film is considered a classic for many reasons—but what’s interesting in terms of Gizmodo is its depiction…

This Colorful Rubber Bike Rack Won’t Scratch Or Ding Your Favorite Ride

You might be able to get away with riding a scratch-free bike around the city, but locking up a scratch-free bike? Good luck, buddy; that’s gonna leave a mark. Ottawa-based design consultancy The Federal Inc. devised the colorful Loop rack to give your beloved frame a soft spot to rest against—a high-strength steel chain wrapped…

Archaeologists Uncover 300,000-Year-Old Kitchen in Israeli Cave

Sure, early hominins used fire for upwards of a million years. But when did early hominins start acting like humans—for example, cooking in the same spot each night? The new discovery of an old (really old) hearth at an Israeli dig site could hold the answer. The site is Qesem Cave—Qesem meaning “magic” in Hebrew—a…

This Beautiful Stationery Is Inspired By Stone

It might not look it, in bright and vibrant primary colors, but this beautiful new Babylon stationery range by Lexon is inspired by the striking forms found in rock strata. The brainchild of London-based designer Samuel Wilkinson, the Babylon range consists of a pen, pen cup, scissors, stapler, tape dispenser and an alarm clock, made…

How the Colors Got Their Names

Dating back centuries, the names of our everyday colors have origins in the earliest known languages. According to linguists: There was a time when there were no color-names as such . . . and that not very remote in many cases, when the present color-words were terms that could be used in describing quite different…

I Want To Live in This Pixelated Gotham

New York City can be cruel and punishing, but it sure looks delightful in these pixelated GIFs from designer Nana Rausch. Nobody likes a morning commute. But wait! In GIF form, the train looks so fun. And man, crossing the bridge during rush hour is such a pain. But animated, the busy BQE looks downright…

Why the Statue of Liberty’s Arm Lived In a NYC Park For Six Years

It took a very long time for the Statue of Liberty to find a home on Liberty Island. In fact, for several years, her creators showed off pieces of her body in NYC and Philadelphia in an effort to drum up funds to finance the statue’s completion. The picture above is from New York City’s…

The History of Invisibility and the Future of Camouflage

In 2004, the U.S. Army made a colossal mistake. It introduced a new digital camouflage called the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP), a single pattern designed to work across all environments. Only a few months later, however, as the war in Iraq was intensifying by the day, every soldier on the ground knew the truth: by…

Most Beautiful Items: January 17 – 24, 2014

All you see from your window might be ice, but from this screen you’re eyes will catch nothing but beautiful things. From the worlds of art, architecture, and design, here are the most lovely things we found this week. Don’t you dare go outside; it’s way too dangerous. A frozen Niagara Falls light show looks…

Using A Centuries-Old Printmaking Technique To Immortalize A New Museum

Photogravure is a printmaking technique that requires a hell of a lot of prep, but the ghostly effect of the finished work is awesome: it’s like part etching and a bit charcoal drawing, with the spirit of an old timey black-and-white. German photographer Antje Hanebeck and artist Fanny Boucher of studio Atelier Hélio’g in France…

3D-Printed Nails Are Way Crazier Than Your Typical Press-Ons

Man, I really love nail art. You might not share the same kind of enthusiasm for crazy custom manicures, but we can all agree that the Laser Girls’ 3D-printed nails are decidedly cooler than your average press-on acrylics. The Laser Girls is a collaboration by designers Sarah C. Awad and Dhemerae Ford. You can see…

These Intricate Collars Look Like Fish Bones, Are Actually 3D-Printed

These complex collars look like like they’re made from freaky shark jaws or the skeleton of some crazy underwater menace, but they were actually borne directly from a 3D printer. MadLab designer Madeline Gannon did start with an aquatic inspiration, though—the virtual movement of a digital squid. Reverberating Across the Divide began with a 3D…

An Incredibly Simple Way to Draw Your Hand in 3D

For millennia, when children traced their hands on paper the end result was always the same: a Thanksgiving turkey. Now we are on the brink of a revolution. Today, we have learned how to draw our hands in 3D—and are here to teach you [cue wild applause, the crowd goes bananas]. It’s so freaking simple!…

These Blossoming Flowers Are the First Inflatable 3D-Printed Object

Most objects created by 3D printers are made from hard rigid plastics, but as the hardware is continually being improved, new materials are coming into play. Believe it or not, at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Design, Richard Clarkson has succeeded in 3D printing these flowers from a soft rubber-like material that can actually…

Giant Spherical Wheels Let This Ride-On Toy Move In Any Direction

If America’s Funniest Home Videos taught us anything, it’s that traditional bike wheels will put amateur cyclists on a direct collision course with whatever’s directly in front of them. The Sperovelo Rider seems like a much better option for kids, since its large spherical wheels let it move in any direction, and more easily avoid…

A Home Designed to Stand Up to a Tsunami

Little can actually be guaranteed to survive the high-velocity wave walls and pummeling winds of a tsunami—but this house will at least put up a damn good showing. Designed by Dan Nelson of Designs Northwest Architects, this building has become known as the Tsunami House. It’s structure has been carefully created to withstand 7.8 scale…

A Single Man Spent 53 Years Building This Massive Cathedral

Very few of us will work at a single job our whole lives. Even fewer will work on a single, self-led project our whole lives. Spanish octogenarian Justo Gallego Martinez is an exception: He’s been the sole designer, engineer, and construction worker on a cathedral in Madrid since 1961. We first wrote about Don Justo…

Skywalk Through Outer Space With These Celestial Carpets

Hey hey stargazers and celestial daydreamers: Here’s your chance to walk barefoot above the heavens. Spacecrafted is a new collection of rugs from German designer Jan Kath that takes hi-res satellite images of the great beyond and turn them into super detailed wool and silk patterns. At first glance, the designs are tough to make…

At first glance, this winning design for a mixed-used complex in Zhejiang Province design by Liu Xisang seems like just another glassy tower project. But take a closer look at the facades, which are laced with a network of outdoor spaces spiraling upwards to connect the ground floor to the roof with a—nearly—continuous path of…