A new docu-series on design is set to premiere February 10th on Netflix. The title, Abstract: The Art of Design. Now for those of us who like to peek behind the scene or tap into the minds of the creators, the series should be a doozy! As for me, I’m looking forward to seeing the episode on Tinker Hatfield the architect turned shoe designer. His contribution to the Air Jordan III with the edgy color-ways and the addition of the iconic Jumpman logo has been hailed as visionary. Hatfield’s design savvy helped propel Nike footwear into the stratosphere!
Mondays might not be your favorite day of the week, but the good news is that we’re all in this together ladies and gentlemen. As purveyors of prime Grade A web content, the SolidSmack crew has done some of the heavy-lifting to make sure you get your Mondays started on the right track. Welcome to The Monday List. Each Monday, we’ll link you up with some of the most insightful, informative, and socially-relevant stories to keep tabbed, bookmarked, reading listed, pocketed, or what have you. Be sure to check in each Monday morning for a new crop of freshly sprouted words curated straight from the source of your favorite homegrown ‘Smack.…
He was a small man with a light complexion. Always wearing that hat. Always walking down the same street with that cane, and a jug of ice tea and a pocket of change to toss in the 172 fountains he would pass on his day long walk. A day long walk, in search of these links. Dominik Mayer – A beautiful amount of work with beautiful amounts of color. Ships and bots, and a strange preoccupation with elephants and flags being carried into battle. Outside – If I got outside more often, I imagine doing something like the odd installations of Miguel Marquez. Assuredly a delight to watch people’s reaction to these. Thread…
Back in 2015, Marin Troselj and his team from Croatia launched a successful Indigogo campaign to bring about STEMI–a six-legged BIY (Build it Yourself) educational robot. As the name implies, they’re a company aimed at creating products with a STEM emphasis in an effort to introduce kids to the sciences. Since then, they’ve sent out their first batch of kits and now want to bring the bots to market. STEMI is a hexapod robot, a kit complete with multiple components that users put together with the help of instructions and media-based lessons. According to the STEMI website, the idea is centered on ‘learning by creating’ and the approach that ‘will…
I found it interesting to see some long term patterns appearing in the 3D Hubs monthly trends report. The company operates as a kind of “community 3D print service”, in which willing 3D printing operations, small or large, can participate and thus make up a powerful 3D printing option for those who don’t otherwise have access to a 3D printer. While there are several “in house” 3D print services, 3D Hubs offers a lot of variety, local access and the ability for anyone with a 3D printer to start their own small 3D print service business. The trends report is published each month and is based on 3D Hubs’ now…
Graphene. That awesome meta-material that was identified in 1916, imaged in 1948, grown on substrates in the 70’s, and finally manufactured in 2014, has yet to be incorporated into any consumer market applications. Now, graphene has been developed into a structure stronger than steel and lighter in weight. A team of researchers at MIT found that when they compressed layers of the one-atom thick material and subjected it to intense heat, they could create a new 3-dimensional version of graphene with incredible strength and resiliency. To put that into perspective, the new sponge-like configuration had only 5% the density of steel but with ten times its strength. This new discovery…