Tag » clever

Virtual Keyboards

Virtual Keyboards

This article about virtual keyboards on iPhone and Android is a good case-study of how seemingly small changes can make or break a design.

It also contains this brilliant idea:

[David Pogue:] “Although you don’t see it with your eyes, the sizes of the keys on the iPhone keyboard are changing all the time. That is, the software enlarges the “landing area” of certain keys, based on probability.”

For example, if you type the letter «N», the next letter is unlikely to be «H», but quite likely to be «G». Accordingly, the iPhone will increase or decrease the target areas of these keys.

A washing machine that uses less water

Halle linked to this article about an awesome washing machine that uses only one cup of water.

It uses less than 10 per cent of the water of conventional machines and 30 per cent less energy by replacing most of the water with thousands of tiny reusable plastic beads to attract and absorb dirt under humid conditions.

I wonder how they manufacture these beads, and how durable they are. Hopefully the process is somewhat eco-friendly as well, lest the net impact be negative.

50 Cars = 1 Bus

Great ad for Stockholm’s Airport Buses to show that 50 Cars = 1 Bus. Make sure you watch the YouTube video at the bottom. Thanks Tom!

Eco cooker

Eco-cooker: save water and energy by cooking two items in one pot. I could use one of these.

Damian Ortega

damian ortega

Damian Ortega’s Champ de Vision (Field of Vision) installation was the highlight of my visit to the Musée Pompidou last Fall. You can see above that it’s beautiful; follow the link to find out why it’s also very clever.

Damian Ortega is previously known for his Exploded Beetle.

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Geared wheelchairs

Geared wheelchairs

The MagicSpeed wheelchair is a brilliant invention:

MAGICWHEELS™ – 2-gear wheelchair drive work very similar to a 2 speed bicycle allowing you to shift into a lower gear before you climb hills or roll over any type of uneven or rough terrain.

It’s always nice to see design well applied to good causes.

The Design of the Acropolis

The Design of the Acropolis

The Acropolis is full of thoughtful design details:

The columns of the Parthenon slope gently inward to correct the perspective when looking up at the temple that would otherwise make them appear to be crooked, leaning outward.

It’s almost too clever to be true.

Picture by Shelby Root

Virtual barbershop

Virtual barbershop

It’s amazing what you can do with clever algorithms: virtual barbershop.

Photo by Esthr.

A little advertising

A lot of people have linked to the UPS whiteboard ads, so I figured I’d post two recent commercials I find particularly imaginative: Nike Criket and Snickers Red vs. Green.

And then of course there’s this.

Wireframe art

I really like Thomas Raschke’s wireframe sculptures of common objects. If the world was a 3D model…