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Screen Space
A review of Web design and resources.
June 2003
Coolcapitals.com
www.coolcapitals.com
The site provides suggestions of things to do in Amsterdam, Berlin, and
Vienna, with the focus on the hip and trendy. Topics are arranged by themes
such as art, design, food, music, architecture, shopping, and fashion. The
Berlin design section, for example, gives useful information about exemplary
hotels, museums, and stores. Its architecture resource showcases a handful
of must-see buildings, though it would have been more useful if locations
were given.
Infinite Matrix
www.infinitematrix.net
This constantly updated science-fiction Web zine features stories,
essays, and reviews--and is full of links to interesting sites. Metropolis
contributor Bruce Sterling keeps a daily Web log here, and well-known sci-fi
writers Rudy Rucker and Ursula K. Le Guin have written stories for the site.
In a world where telephones can take and send photographs, and the idea
of computerized clothing no longer seems far-fetched, reading science fiction
may be an immanently practical thing for architects and designers to do
as they imagine the buildings and products of the future.
Social Design Notes
www.backspace.com/notes
Activist and graphic designer John Emerson's Web log follows the role of
design in social activism, collecting little-known news items from around
the world. Recently Emerson has devoted much of his coverage to the war
in Iraq. He critiques the way newspapers and magazines use graphics to enforce
pro-war rhetoric and celebrates protestors who alter existing ads and signs
to get their message out.
Punch & Gum
www.page.sannet.ne.jp/hid
To be perfectly honest we aren't exactly sure what this Web site is. We
know that it's Japanese and very funny, and we're fairly certain that it's
an illustrator's site, but beyond that your guess is as good as ours. On
the opening page click on the second happy face from the top right. There
you'll find about a hundred cartoons, many with strangely poetic mistranslated
English text. Here is a typical example, accompanying an illustration of
a cheerful boy climbing stairs: "If I am going to be tired anyway,
I would like to becom [sic] tired beautifully and elegantly."
City of Sound
www.cityofsound.com/blog
London-based Dan Hill keeps a Web log of design news covering a broad range
of subject matter from scientific research--such as the study of insects--to
tips on how to extend the life of your iPod battery. The site has many thought-provoking
links. Noteworthy examples include the urban research initiative at New
York University and the OpenDemocracy news site. Headlines don't always
correspond to the content of the entries, but they often segue to interesting
tangents.
IDEC
www.idec.org
In addition to information on their annual conferences, continuing-education
programs, and the Journal of Interior Design, the Interior Design
Educators Council--founded in 1963 to improve instruction and research--now
has a green page on their Web site. Look for information on new courses,
useful links, a network of 600 green building resources, and news on sustainable
building design as well as related government and businesses issues. There's
also an extensive glossary of terms that are becoming part of the design
vocabulary.
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