Design
November 25, 2010

Teaching Design for Change: TED

I was really moved by this TED Talk by designer Emily Pilloton. It's intriguing to hear how design can be used to teach different subjects at school and how that could lead to rebuilding a whole city. Pilloton moved to rural Bertie County, in North Carolina, to engage in a bold experiment of design-led community transformation.

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Portrait Photography
November 17, 2010

Wonderfully Refreshing Celebrity Portraits by Brian Bowen Smith

While we love seeing our favorite celebrities look dark and brooding or even upset (no, it's not the sadist in me), it's also wonderfully refreshing to see them like this – laughing, hamming it up for the camera or just looking lovely. These photos are by Brian Bowen Smith, an LA-based photographer who stumbled upon his profession by a chance meeting with a very famous photographer.

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Photography
November 10, 2010

Intricately Layered Street Scenes (14 photos)

I recently came across 30-year-old French photographer Fontas Nicolas' work and was instantly taken aback. His series, called Transparence, takes multiple street scenes in Japan and California (San Francisco, and Los Angeles) and weaves them together in a way that's completely mesmerizing. You almost have to spend a few minutes looking into each one to appreciate the stories he's brought together. Fontas tells us that he's been photographing for three years now.

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Art
November 9, 2010

Fighting Our Inner Demons (15 pieces)

When you first glance at Jonathan Bartlett's illustrations, they'll probably remind you of Norman Rockwell's classic paintings. They have that same sort of nostalgic feeling to them – the kind that makes you long for simpler times, when an ideal life seemed like it could exist. But look a little closer and you'll notice a darker theme running throughout.

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My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.