Design

U.S. Patent No. 207,559. The first appearance of the QWERTY keyboard.

Fact of Fiction? The Legend of the QWERTY Keyboard

What came first: the typist or the keyboard? The answer may surprise you

Lego’s new Mindstorms EV3 kit lets users build 17 different robots and program them directly through an “intelligent brick.”

How Lego Is Constructing the Next Generation of Engineers

With programmable robots and student competitions, Lego is making “tinkering with machines cool again”

Before There Was Photoshop, These Photographers Knew How to Manipulate an Image

Jerry Uelsmann and other artists manually blended negatives to produce dreamlike sequences

The tin tube was more resilient than its predecessor (the pig bladder), enabling painters to leave their studios.

Never Underestimate the Power of a Paint Tube

Without this simple invention, impressionists such as Claude Monet wouldn’t have been able to create their works of genius

These two identical brands are considered to be distinct based on their location

Decoding the Range: The Secret Language of Cattle Branding

Venture into the highly regulated and fascinating world of bovine pyroglyphics

Infrastructural graffiti in the streets of New Haven, CT (original photo)

Decoding The City: The Road Graffiti Placed by Utility Workers

These infrastructural lines mark the pathways of pipes and wires beneath the paved surface -- but what does each color mean?

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The 64-Square Grid Design of ‘Through the Looking Glass’

The sequel to Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland was designed to be a playable, albeit whimsical chess problem

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When Modern Art Met the Classic Chess Set

How far can you push the design of a knight before it stops looking like a knight?

Manassas Park Elementary School, Manassas, Virginia. Architect: VMDO Architects, PC.

Educating Americans for the 21st Century

Where Are the Greenest Schools in the Country?

The definition of being eco-conscious is so much more than having solar panels on a roof

A blank NFPA 704 panel

Decoding the City: The Fire Diamond

Just what are those red, blue, and yellow diamonds hanging outside warehouses and factories?

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Would You Like to Browse an Edo-Period Japanese Bookstore?

The brush to block revolution saw a flowering of Japanese popular culture that still intrigues and enchants

Traditional chess pieces in the Staunton design

How the Chess Set Got Its Look and Feel

The vaunted Staunton Chess Set, the standard chess set you probably grew up with, has its roots in neoclassical architecture

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Now You Know the History of G.I. Joe. And Knowing Is Half The Battle

The evolution of the All American Hero from artist's mannequin to action figure

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The History of the Minivan

The iconic car changed the way families drove

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The Debate Continues Over How to Rebuild New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward

Five years in, the merits of Make It Right's housing project are under new scrutiny

Koss SP3 headphones

A Partial History of Headphones

Modern headphones have their origin in opera houses, military bases and a kitchen table in Utah

A high resolution photo of the Chicago River on St. Patrick’s Day

A New Meaning to Green Urban Design: Dyeing the Chicago River

The story behind how the Windy City gets its yearly watery makeover

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Who Really Invented the Smiley Face?

It's supposedly the 50th anniversary of the original design of the iconic image, but its history since then is surprisingly complex with millions of dollars at stake

Jesper Kongshaug's Northern Lights display at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The Northern Lights—From Scientific Phenomenon to Artists’ Muse

The spectacular aurora borealis is inspiring artists to create light installations, musical compositions, food and fashion

Floyd Smith, patent 1,462,456 for a parachute pack and harness, 1919

An Early History of the Parachute

It wasn't a military expert or an aviation pioneer, but a Russian actor who developed the first viable parachute

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