Virtual Web World

Imagine browsing the web in a totally immersive world in which you can walk through and explore. Replacing links with doors and webpages with rooms, this is exactly what James McCrae has done. Using the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift, McCrae transforms the World Wide Web into a literal world with his project called FireBox. The potential of this amazing concept is vast. Online stores become giant super markets with merchandise that can be manipulated and previewed in 3 dimensions, chat rooms become virtual bars and websites like Deviantart becomes a massive art gallery. FireBox actually brings Futuramas's Infosphere into reality; this is the inevitable future of the internet. Watch a walkthrough below.

Face Hacking

Developed by Nobumichi Asai and team, he uses projection mapping coupled with real-time face tracking to create something truly exciting. This technology has tremendous applications in the storytelling and VFX industries, maybe even replacing CGI at times. Check out Bioluminescent Forest, a short film that exercises the possibilities of projection mapping.

Star Wars Episode II: Character Design

I am a huge fan of the special effects and character design in the Star Wars saga. The futurist visuals are much more exciting than the movie itself; the vision of Star Wars is incredible. In this little documentary we get to experience the process of characters being born as a concept, becoming a 3D clay sculpture, and then coming to life on the screen. I love the dialogue where the CG artists are discussing the authenticity of motion and spirit of Yoda compared to the Yoda before him (as it was the first time Yoda was rendered in CG); their passion and philosophy of character animation shines through when describing these little nuances. All in all I really enjoyed this little featurette.

Dynamic Logos

Joe Harrison explores a concept that is so simple yet so powerful, but it largely remains untapped. He calls it "Responsive Icons". Everyone's heard of responsive design, but Harrison takes it one more step further and makes the iconography scalable as well. Simply put, on a desktop you would see the most detailed version of a logo and on a mobile device you would see the logo reduced to its' simplest shape. This is what I consider to be intuitive design; little details that you would naturally expect to happen. When there is less room to work with information should become simpler, obviously. It makes sense, it is "intuitive". Refreshing to see designers thinking towards the future.

NASA's Future Airplane Concepts

NASA doesn't only work in space, they also contribute vastly to airplane technology. These concepts explore ideas of travelling at supersonic speeds over land, reduction of noise, increase of fuel efficiency and reduction of drag. I love seeing the traditional shape of airplanes being stretched and skewed, and the bright colors remind me of tropical birds. It would be cool to see planes like these in the skies in the near future.

Dirk Fowler: Analog Poster Design

I'm a huge fan of the flawless, clean-cut quality of digitally printed material, but there is something beautiful about a handcrafted poster. It seems more vivid, more tactile, more personal and less like you're viewing it behind a glass display. Dirk Fowler shares with us his philosophy on design and his process of analog printing.

Google Self-Driving Car

A couple days ago, Google revealed their first complete working prototype of their self driving car. The car itself looks so friendly and innocent, like a kid robot car. According to The Oatmeal, the car drives very timid and cautiously but the level of aggression can be ramped up within the software. The self driving car hasn't hit the road yet as it's still in testing, but this is an exciting leap forward. I envision a future where you could order a car to your house and tell it where you want to go while you sit back, chat, and enjoy the scenery stress free. Google is becoming one of the biggest brands that's gonna define our future.

Here's a test drive of one of the earlier prototypes.

What Is Life? Is Death Real?

Illustrated with flat minimilist infographics, this existential video by Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell will make you question your ideals about life. It questions if death is even real by highlighting the fact that on a microscopic level the threshold between dead things and living things are often blurry. They've done videos on a variety of science topics, my favorites are "Why You Are Still Alive", and "Atoms As Big As Mountains".

Reflective Houses

Two twin vacation houses covered in mirrored glass sit side by side in northern Italy. Designed by architect, Peter Pichler, the west face of the house elegantly reflects its' surrounding environment; while the east side features glass walls that provides a beautiful view to the mountains. Thankfully the glass has been treated with a UV coating that prevents birds from colliding into it. Wouldn't want bird guts on your house.

Designer Popsicles

The extremely modern and aesthetically pleasing popsicle Nuna; is the most beautiful snack food I've ever layed my eyes upon. Taking motifs inspired by architecture, it was designed by architect Manu Kumar and designer Stefan Gandl. It features flavors developed by internationally acclaimed master chef Heiko Antoniewicz, that seems to be out of The Jetsons, including N17, N61, and N65. With all natural ingredients and a sustainable bamboo stick, this is food of the future.

Iconic Movie Posters In Motion

The movie poster has been re-imagined as beautiful moving pictures. I can totally see these being on the fronts of theaters in like 5 years. Click here and here for more.

NASA's Design Language

I'm glad, although slightly surprised, to see that NASA is dedicated to good and consistent design. Regulation colors, minimum logo size, accepted typefaces (Comic Sans is allowed lol), layouts of publication and everything else is outlined in NASA's official style guide. I seriously love NASA's logo they humorously dub "the meatball"; it's the original logo from 1959 when space exploration was full of wonder and excitement. The logo is timeless; it works.

Aaron Draplin's Logo Design Walkthrough

Aaron Draplin shares with you his techniques on logo design. I love his workflow, very direct. You can view more of his work here.

Aaron Draplin Takes On a Logo Design Challenge from lynda.com on Vimeo.

Grotto Sauna

Created by the design group PARTISANS, the Grotto Sauna is a highly sculpted work of art located in Toronto, Canada. I love the contrast between the stark and rigid exterior, with weathered materials that blends into its' environment; and the vibrant interior, rich in movement and organic forms. The Grotto Sauna features the most beautiful use of wood I've ever seen.

Massimo Vignelli

Massimo Vignelli had the most impressive design career I've ever encountered. Working with his wife Lella Vignelli, he's created logos for top brands such as American Airlines and Bloomingdale's. He's designed the identity for the New York subway system, designed tables, the interior of a church, kitchen dishes, and much more. He believed in honest, functional design and was not a fan of unnecessary frills. It is well known that he only used around a dozen typefaces max and thought the rest to be utterly useless. You can read more of his design philosophy in his book "The Vignelli Canon" which is available for free on his website.