Featured Sites
It’s Nice That “Daily blog launched in April 2007 by designers Will Hudson and Jez Burrows to locate, collect and share nice things within the creative world.”
10x10™ “An interactive exploration of the words and pictures that define the time. The result is an often moving, sometimes shocking, occasionally frivolous, but always fitting snapshot of our world.”
Added July 5, 2005
2point8 “Wide-open view on the practice of street photography by Michael David Murphy”
Added April 1, 2007
3rd Look Image Gallery “Images, articles, comments and any other fun stuff we can dream up from the 3d virtual world of Second Life.”
Added June 1, 2005
Action Plagiarius “Initiated already back in 1977 by Prof. Rido Busse, the negative award "Plagiarius" serves to inform the public about the problem of fakes and plagiarisms and the negative impacts they have on not only the economy as a whole, but also on small companies and designers.”
Added May 29, 2004
Ad*Access “A pilot project to make a selection of historical advertisements available for study and research. The project draws on part of a large collection of magazine and newspaper ads within the Duke library's J. Walter Thompson Company Archives. The project includes over 7,000 ads, mainly from U.S. publications dating between 1911 and 1955.”
Added February 26, 2002
All Roads “National Geographic initiative supporting films by and about indigenous groups and under-represented minority culture filmmakers.”
Added October 1, 2005
Alvin Lustig Archive “With more than 425 design examples, www.alvinlustig.com is the premier, educational online archive dedicated to the life and work of Alvin Lustig.”
Added September 2, 2006
American Memory from the Library of Congress “Provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.”
Added January 19, 2008
American Museum of the Moving Image “The American Museum of the Moving Image is dedicated to educating the public about the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media, and to examining their impact on culture and society.”
Added February 26, 2002
Artlog “A social web application developed to map and support the art ecosystem. Artlog combines user-generated content with aggregated directory services, news, events and multimedia content.”
Added January 19, 2008
ashes and snow “Photographer and filmmaker Gregory Colbert travels the world photographing encounters between humans and large animals. Now his unusual work has found a similarly distinctive forum: the Nomadic Museum, a large stack of cargo containers now residing on pier over the Hudson River in Manhattan.”
Added May 25, 2005
Bauhaus Archive Museum of Design “The Bauhaus Archive / Museum of Design in Berlin is concerned with the research and presentation of the history and impact of the Bauhaus (1919
Added July 5, 2001
Beginnings—World Treasures of the Library of Congress “'Beginnings' is an apt first presentation not only because it marks the initiation of an ongoing exhibition devoted to the Library's rich international collections. 'Beginnings' also draws on a rich trove in the Library's world collections that relate to the origins of civilizations and cultures. It explores, from the viewpoint of more than fifty cultures, accounts and depictions of the creation or the beginning of the universe; explanations of the earth and the heavens; fundamental or key myths and stories on the founding of civilizations, societies, and cities; and examples of early writing and printing.”
Added July 24, 2001
Bennett Robot Works “These robot sculptures, created by Gordon Bennett, are made from a mixture of found objects which are both old and new. They are inspired by Norman Bel Geddes and Raymond Loewy whose visions of the 'Modern Age' helped shape industrial design of the 40's and 50's.”
BetterWall “Your exclusive source for authentic street banners from museums around the world.”
Added August 5, 2007
Bobanddenise.org “Was developed to complement the production of Learning from Bob and Denise, an upcoming feature-length documentary that examines the personal, academic and professional lives of the two influential designers and thinkers, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown.”
Added December 19, 2005
Book By Its Cover “I wanted to share all the nice books I regularly notice and have collected over the years.”
Added November 25, 2007
bookendless “books on art, photography, design, mode, architecture / urbanism ... from my bookshelf to the information and knowledge on the web.”
Added January 25, 2008
Breathing Earth “This presentation displays the carbon dioxide emission levels of every country in the world, as well as their birth and death rates—all in real-time.”
Added April 1, 2007
CarType “A comprehensive collection of emblems, car company histories and logos, reviews of typographical and graphical applications, design features and just about anything that is car related.”
Added October 1, 2008
Chronopolis “Chronopolis' main objective is to rethink the clock from the perspective of the accelerated, informatic city. The project has a phased approach, taking place both in physical space as well as online. In physical space, Chronopolis will take the form of a series of site-specific, computer-mediated interactive installations in various international cities. It may run simultaneously in different sites or sequentially, with each interface scaled and 'customized' to a specific site.”
Added June 3, 2002
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum “The only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to the study of historical and contemporary design, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum recognizes that individuals, societies, and the natural environment are linked through design.”
createmake “A blog-ish venture towards graphic design, typography, illustration, photography, product design, architecture, film, fashion design, music and art founded and maintained by graphic designer Ragnar Freyr.”
Added April 18, 2008
Creative Time “For nearly 30 years, Creative Time, a New York-based nonprofit organization, has commissioned and presented adventurous public arts projects of all disciplines. From the Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage, Grand Central Terminal, and Times Square to milk cartons, the Internet, and billboards, Creative Time has supported artists in invigorating our urban landscape.”
Added June 10, 2002
Design and Design “Is first of all a daily competition of a large and growing international community of designers competing to be awarded the designer of the day. Then every design of the day gets to be promoted for 24 hours on our homepage. Dedicated to two projects, one in graphic design and the other in product or packaging design.”
Added March 1, 2009
Design for Chunks “How other designers would illustrate the usually plain inflight sickbag.”
Added June 5, 2002
Design for the Other 90% “Of the world's total population of 6.5 billion, 5.8 billion people, or 90%, have little or no access to most of the products and services many of us take for granted; in fact, nearly half do not have regular access to food, clean water, or shelter. Design for the Other 90% explores a growing movement among designers to design low-cost solutions for this 'other 90%.'”
Added September 22, 2007
Doodleblog “You are never more than two metres from a doodle(TM). Proliferating in phone pads, cutting into meeting agendas, nosing from the dreadful nests in the last pages of a school exercise book. This site is a continuous celebration, analysis and personal contribution to the plague.”
Added September 1, 2007
Doodles, Drafts & Designs “This exhibition presents examples of industrial drawings in the collections of the National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Some are working drawings, ideas sketched in pencil or ink. Others are more finished, designed for presentation. A few are printed, either as sales material or as part of a patent application. They visually document American industrial creativity, from inventor's hand and investor's boardroom, to patent office, factory floor, and manufacturer's showroom.”
Added April 23, 2005
Drawger “A central spot on the web where illustrators are writing about whatever it is they're writing about at the time, and showing stuff as well.”
Added November 4, 2007
Experience Music Project “Interactive music museum located in Seattle, Washington.”
Added July 1, 2004
Faces in Places “A photographic collection of faces found in everyday places.”
Added October 26, 2007
Fantasy Design “Fantasy Design is a project in which schoolchildren are the main actors and producers of design. Fantasy Design is a three-year design education project consisting of activities aimed at schools and special training and teaching materials for teachers. The immediate and most visible result of the project will be an international touring exhibition of works by schoolchildren.”
Added August 19, 2005
Farnsworth House “Built by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1951 and located near Plano, Illinois, is one of the most famous examples of modernist domestic architecture and was considered unprecedented in its day.”
Added May 29, 2004
Faveup “A simple gallery of inspirational design. Everybody gets designer's block sometimes so it's nice to have somewhere to go to get your creative juices flowing again.”
Added February 6, 2008
GUIdebook “Dedicated to preserving and showcasing Graphical User Interfaces, as well as various materials related to them.”
Added April 1, 2007
Hubble Heritage Project “The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a research tool dedicated to scientific studies of nature. Enroute to illuminating the forces shaping our cosmos, HST has accumulated a cosmic zoo. The Hubble Heritage Project sees this instrument also as a tool for extending human vision, one that is capable of building a bridge between the endeavors of scientists and the public. By emphasizing compelling HST images distilled from scientific data, we hope to pique curiosity about our astrophysical understanding of the universe we all inhabit.”
Added June 5, 2002
Infinite Race “The goal of IR will be the same—to expose the online community to intellectual and visual stimuli, while supporting the global network of artists, writers, educators, and organizations.”
Added June 4, 2002
Invincible Cities “A Visual Encyclopedia of the American Ghetto: Proposal for an Interactive Website and Book”
lettermade “This ongoing project, started in 1998, is aimed at documenting, appreciating, and recontextualizing vernacular letterforms and typography.”
Added December 1, 2008
lines and colors “A central spot on the web where illustrators are writing about whatever it is they're writing about at the time, and showing stuff as well.”
Added December 1, 2008
Magnum Photos In Motion “A photographic co-operative of great diversity and distinction owned by its photographer-members. With powerful individual vision, Magnum photographers chronicle the world and interpret its peoples, events, issues and personalities.”
Added June 9, 2007
meatpaper “Print magazine of art and ideas about meat. We like metaphors more than marinating tips. We are your journal of meat culture.”
Added July 7, 2007
Meek FM “Interpretation of type as sound. Using new software and the M.E.E.K. typographic synthesizer, the musician/designer develops sounds and typographic visuals in parallel.”
Added June 27, 2010
Mies in Berlin and in America “The career of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969)”
Added August 22, 2001
MoAD “Collector of stories—a repository of information to be shared with all who wish to know about the African Diaspora.”
Added December 4, 2006
MoMA Workspheres “Work concepts originated by internationally recognized designers who address the unique needs of specific work scenarios, including the nomadic office of a business traveler; the domestic office; the virtual office; and more traditional offices in settings configured for group interaction.”
Added June 1, 2001
Museum of Online Museums “Here, you will find links from our archives to online collections and exhibits covering a vast array of interests and obsessions: Start with a review of classic art and architecture, and graduate to the study of mundane (and sometimes bizarre) objects elevated to art by their numbers, juxtaposition, or passion of the collector."
Added September 15, 2005
My Kid Took These “This site is a showcase of photos by the three-year old son of web designer and programmer Darian Wood and a window into the perspective of a child.”
Added September 1, 2008
Nasher Sculpture Center “Opening to the public October 20, 2003, the Nasher Sculpture Center is one of the few institutions in the world devoted to the exhibition, study, and preservation of modern sculpture.”
Added December 14, 2003
NoRelevance “Was created as a gallery of sorts to house some of the mountains of graphical ephemera that I collect. It was to be a way to give it some purpose other than to be sitting in boxes or scrapbooks and to serve as a means of sharing it with other like minded individuals. The appreciation of graphic design, whether good or bad, has reached the point of sickness with me. Typography distracts me at every turn of my life, it seems. What you will find on NoRelevance.com are some of those distractions.”
Added November 7, 2004
NPR StoryCorps Recording America “Since 2003, thousands have taken part in the StoryCorps oral history project, describing their lives and history.”
Added May 25, 2005
NYPL Digital Gallery “Provides access to over 363,000 images digitized from primary sources and printed rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more.”
Added September 15, 2005
On My Desk “Artists, illustrators, designers and creative folk share the stuff on their desks”
Added September 30, 2007
Panoramas.dk “Created by Hans Nyberg a commercial photographer in Denmark. My intention with this site is to make immersive panoramic images also called VR Photography more known among the general public.”
Added October 1, 2007
Paul Rand “This site is meant to honor and pay utmost respect to the life and work of Mr. Rand.”
Added January 6, 2008
Periodic Table Printmaking Project “Ninety-six printmakers of all experience levels, have joined together to produce 118 prints in any medium; woodcut, linocut, monotype, etching, lithograph, silkscreen, or any combination. The end result is a periodic table of elements intended to promote both science and the arts.”
Added February 23, 2008
Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames “The Powers of Ten journey shown by this exhibition involves astronomy, biology, design, particle physics, and much more, but though it concerns all of these, ultimately it is about scale. Scale is a remarkably useful and powerful way to organise information and experience. The purpose of this exhibition is to give you a sense of that power and meaning.”
Added October 25, 2001
Premiere Issues “A way of documenting these first issues, and providing an index and reference guide to some of the magazines we love, collect, subscribe to and read. Since magazines are about individual tastes, my concentration is mostly on fashion, design, art, culture, film, or related topics.”
Added March 1, 2009
Public Lettering, A Walk in Central London “Based on a walk by Phil Baines for his graphic design students which was then written up for the 1997 ATypI conference.”
Added January 2, 2004
Publishers’ Bindings Online, 1815–1930:The Art of Books “A significant digital collection of decorative bindings, along with a comprehensive glossary and guide to the elements of these objects”
Added February 1, 2009
re:constructions “An on-line resource and study guide, designed to spark discussions and reflections about the media's role in covering the events of 11 September 2001 and their aftermath.”
Added June 19, 2002
Return to Afghanistan “Video journalist Travis Fox spent three weeks in Afghanistan chronicling the country's attempt to build a modern political order on ancient foundations.”
Added December 14, 2003
Robot Hall of Fame “The Robot Hall of Fame recognizes excellence in robotics technology worldwide and honors the fictional and real robots that have inspired scientific accomplishments. It was created by Carnegie Mellon University in April 2003 to call attention to the increasing contributions of robots to human endeavors.”
Added May 6, 2004
Running from camera “The rules are simple: I put the self-timer on 2 seconds, push the button and try to get as far from the camera as I can.”
Added November 11, 2007
SAFE: Design Takes On Risk “First major design exhibition at MoMA since its reopening in November 2004, presents more than 300 contemporary products and prototypes designed to protect body and mind from dangerous or stressful circumstances, respond to emergencies, ensure clarity of information, and provide a sense of comfort and security.”
Added October 22, 2005
Seattle Art Museum, The Conservator’s Studio “Shows how artwork is restored and repaired, as well as techniques to reveal the painting styles of Frida Kahlo.”
Added January 6, 2003
SFG Blank Book Project “For 500 days, a traveling sketchbook will be sent from Washington DC to 50 illustrators around the world. Once the book arrives, each illustrator has 7 days to complete a sketch and send the book on to the next illustrator. The book will reach its final destination approximately mid-December, 2008. The theme for this inaugural book is, 'Where I Live.'”
Added September 30, 2007
Similar Diversity “An information graphic which opens up a new perspective at the topics religion and faith”
Added September 2, 2007
Singing to the Deaf “Collection of visual songs. It is a boxed set of eleven posters, booklets and ephemera that use graphic design in place of music. Each set of lyrics has been presented in a form that seeks to best communicate its core concept—to give a 'body' to the 'soul' of the idea.”
Added October 1, 2005
Skyscraper Museum’s Visual Index to the Visual Archive “Innovative visually-based interface that uses a 3-D computer model of Manhattan as a click-on map, allowing Web visitors to view the city, present and past, and to access the Skyscraper Museum's collections through an on-line, searchable database.”
Added July 11, 2004
sleeveface “one or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion.”
Added February 8, 2008
Smithsonian Institution’s HistoryWired: A few of our favorite things “This experimental site introduces visitors to some of the three million objects held by the National Museum of American History, Behring Center.”
Added September 5, 2001
Street Use “This site features the ways in which people modify and re-create technology. Herein a collection of personal modifications, folk innovations, street customization, ad hoc alterations, wear-patterns, home-made versions and indigenous ingenuity. In short—stuff as it is actually used, and not how its creators planned on it being used. As William Gibson said, 'The street finds its own uses for things.'”
Added November 1, 2008
Styleboost “A gallery for showcasing beautiful web sites. It has been around since January 2001 and is created, designed and maintained by myself, Johan Bakken.”
Added September 30, 2007
Sugar Frosted Goodness “A creative community made with real member created artwork & illustrations. No artificial flavoring or preservatives. Not From Concentrate.”
Added September 30, 2007
The 1000 Journals Project “An ongoing collaborative experiment attempting to follow 1000 journals throughout their travels. The goal is to provide a method for interaction and shared creativity among friends and strangers.”
Added September 30, 2007
The Changing of the Avant-Garde “Visionary Architectural Drawings form the Howard Gilman Collection”
Added December 16, 2002
The Chicago Athenaeum “An International Museum of Architecture and Design, appropriately based in the world's first city of modern architecture and design—Chicago. Founded in 1988, the Museum is dedicated to the Art of Design in all areas of the discipline: architecture, industrial, and product design, graphics, and urban planning.”
Added June 12, 2001
The Children of Angola—Photographs by Sebastião Salgado “If children could choose where they were born, there are few worse options than Angola. Consider this: the average Angolan child has a one-in-three chance of dying before the age five from easily treatable diseases that rampage unchecked by a ruined health system. The two who survive have only a one in three chance of attending school—where they'll share a classroom with about 90 other kids, 60 of whom will drop out before completing fifth grade.”
Added July 25, 2002
The Curated Object “A non-profit media project that offers a comprehensive list of decorative arts and design exhibitions. 'The Curated Object will become an important resource for collectors, designers, journalists, and enthusiasts from across the spectrum of design. At last, the design world will have its own clock,' according to Ellen Lupton, Curator, Design journalist, Writer, Critic and Proprietor of Design, Writing, Research.”
Added January 26, 2008
The Design Museum “One of London's most inspiring attractions. Concerned as much with the future as the past, a programme of highly acclaimed exhibitions capture the excitement of design evolution, ingenuity and inspiration through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.”
Added June 12, 2001
The International Biennale of Graphic Design in Brno “Founded in 1963, the Bienale is one of the longest running events of its kind in the world. The Biennale is held every other year in Brno, which is the second largest city in the Czech Republic—right in the heart of Europe.”
Added January 19, 2003
The Miniature Earth “The idea of reducing the world's population to a community of only 100 people is very useful and important. It makes us easily understand the differences in the world. Website was first published in 2001, since than it has been seen by more than 2 million people around the globe and linked by more than 20.000 websites.”
Added October 23, 2006
The Morning News’ Galleries “Photo essays and interviews with artists of daily-published independent online magazine The Morning News”
Added August 2, 2009
The Museum Of Bad Art “MOBA is a community-based, private institution dedicated to the collection, preservation, exhibition and celebration of bad art in all its forms and in all its glory.”
Added January 25, 2008
The Superest “A continually running game of My Team, Your Team. The rules are simple: Player 1 draws a character with a power. Player 2 then draws a character whose power cancels the power of that previous character. Repeat.”
Added November 4, 2007
The Sweet Old Etcetera “An interactive web project created by Alison Clifford that sets the poetry of E.E.Cummings against an imaginary landscape. Initially, the landscape is bare but through gradual interaction, poetry grows from the landscape's soil and individual letters become protagonists of each story/ poem.”
Added March 1, 2008
The Typo Eradication Advancement League “TEAL is dedicated to a more perfectly spelling union.”
Added March 8, 2008
The Urban Landscape “Many web sites attempt to document pure "urban exploration", that is the conquest of places where one should not be. We like to think of urban exploration as a means to an end... a way to get us close enough to photograph the remarkable scenes of The Urban Landscape.”
Added January 19, 2008
The Work of Charles and Ray Eames—A Legacy of Invention “This exhibition brings together the sources of the Eameses' inspiration, the personal documents of their lives, and the finished products of their talent.”
Added July 24, 2001
theartofwhere “Refers to the act of documenting architecture. it is a continual process of communicating ideas through material relationships in space.”
Added December 9, 2007
THEBLOG WEEMADE “We find the artwork and creativity of kids inspiring, thought provoking, entertaining, and unpretentious. We think that reminding ourselves how children see the world is a valuable and enlightening process.”
Added March 8, 2008
Today’s Front Pages “The Newseum displays these daily newspaper front pages in their original, unedited form. Some front pages may contain material that is objectionable to some visitors.”
Added February 6, 2008
Today’s Inspiration “A place for those with an interest in illustration from the 40's and 50's to share their knowledge, views and opinions”
Added September 8, 2007
Torn Together “Utilizing found (literally) scraps of paper and other ephemera I assemble these usually small collages in a series of sketchbooks in my basement.”
Added December 2, 2007
United Nations Photo “The United Nations Photo Library holds a collection of approximately 200,000 photographs dating back to the mid-1940s and chronicles the history of the Organization and its work. Subjects include United Nations meetings and events. Photographs also depict the work of the UN and its specialized agencies in the field including peacekeeping, agriculture, health, natural resources, employment, industry, decolonization, education, environment, science and technology, housing, community development and community life.”
Added May 24, 2002
View the Wall “Search for the names of people who died in the Vietnam War, and see high-resolution, navigable scans of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.”
Added November 11, 2002
Vote: The Machinery of Democracy “Explores how ballots and voting systems have evolved over the years as a response to political, social, and technological change, transforming the ways in which Americans vote.”
Added July 5, 2005
What’s Going On? “A Non-Profit piece to help stimulate thought, educate and promote discussion surrounding New Orleans and its people. We hope you enjoy.”
Added February 6, 2008
WHEREWEDOWHATWEDO “A community-built visual database of the spaces in which we spend our days, nights or both doing whatever it is we do.”
Added July 1, 2008
Windows of New York by Graphic Designer José Guizar living in New York City: “The Windows of New York project is a weekly illustrated fix for an obsession that has increasingly grown in me since chance put me in this town.”
Added February 14, 2013
Writers on America—Office of International Programs, U.S. Department of State “This book originated as an intriguing suggestion by Mark Jacobs, a U.S. foreign service officer with our State Department staff who also happens to be a working novelist. If we were to ask a contemporary group of American poets, novelists, critics, and historians what it means to be an American writer, Jacobs proposed, the results could illuminate in an interesting way certain America values—freedom, diversity, democracy—that may not be well understood in all parts of the world.”
Added January 3, 2003
written in the city “someone is trying to tell you something. they don't know you, and it doesn't matter. they say it anyway, writing on the city itself, because the message is important. and so we're listening. what's your city saying?”
Added January 1, 2009
Design Thought Leader
Blog dedicated to fielding compelling ideas in the practice and theory of design—whatever the discipline. Read more.
