Tag: Design

Bad Mug

Some people  would look at a mug, and figure it’s the same as every other mug.  People have favourite mugs, but that’s just because of hte picture, right?  Or maybe it has some sentamental significance — it was a gift, or a prize or something. Maybe you think that mug technology has been perfected, and…

Bad Table

When considering something you’re going to use, it is usually worth it to spend the extra money to get something of good quality.  It’s worth paying a little extra to have that really nice chair, or the comfortable pants, or a warm coat. But while price can be a reasonable surrogate for quality, it is…

BOOKHUNT: Better Book Design

I’m on the 3rd book of Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen Series.  The first two books, Gardens of the Moon and Deadhouse Gates were rich reading experiences.  But the books are long, and a lot happens in them.  They are the kind of books where you can figure out what else happened or…

The Salad Bowl and the Drying Rack

If you look for pictures of “salad bowl on a drying rack,” there is a good chance you will find pictures of salad bowls, and pictures of drying racks, but you are not likely to find any pictures of salad bowls ON a drying rack.  WHY?  Because you shouldn’t do it.  Not really. Because people…

Rubber Spatula Design

I am often shocked when I enter another human’s kitchen to find that they do not own a rubber spatula.  Growing up, it seemed an essential tool in my mother’s kitchen doings.  The rubber spatula, more than any other kitchen item, allowed for the reduction of waste. Perhaps you don’t think that ‘waste’ is an…

[Astro Boy - "Here you go with some more energy!"]

Robot Design Considerations in 1957, Japan

This gem of a panel is from the story Ghost Manufacturing Machine in Astro Boy Omnibus 2 by Osamu Tezuka; pg 91, panel 2 (first published in a 1957 supplement edition of Shonen magazine).  This was one of only two English books in my hostel’s library.  The other was War and Peace.  It did not…