It’s like the ‘Wizard of Oz’ moment when they go from black and white to color.

Tal Leming, The changing typography of the Web

Flash on Android demo crashes twice. Speaker says “What site would you like to see?” Someone says “Hulu.” Speaker says, “Hulu doesn’t work.

Jeff Croft, On the Android Flash demo at FlashCamp Seattle

It’s not print vs. web. It’s attention vs. apathy.

— Derek Powazek [@fraying]

I’ve long admired the work Yves Behar, a Swiss-born, San Francisco based award winning industrial designer and founder of fuseproject.

Behar, a self-professed futurist, humanist and naturalist, is best known for his involvement with the One Laptop per Child organisation. In 2005 he became chief industrial designer of the XO-1 (AKA the $100 Laptop). His vast portfolio also includes work for companies such as Herman Miller, Apple, Coca-Cola, Puma and Google.

His set-top box design for Canal+, a French premium pay television service, is well worth checking out. The aptly named, ‘Le Cube’ is absolutely stunning.

fuseproject have most recently been involved with the ‘See Better to Learn Better’ programme that aims to provide Mexican school children with free eyeglasses.

The collaboration between the non-profit and Yves Béhar/fuseproject has lead to Collección Escolar 2010. A collection of customizable and iconic corrective eyewear that is specifically designed for students, ages 6-18 years old.

I want a black and white pair. Right now.

Jon, a New York based writer and director, has created this moving mini-documentary about the dying art of Ad painting. Set in the dizzy heights of New York City the short film tells of how a profession, that once dominated the billboard industry, has dwindled as a result of cheaper, easier, mass-produced methods coming to the fore. I guess progress isn’t always a good thing.

“[We do things the] same way Michelangelo did the Sistine Chapel. He did patterns, used charcoals and mixed his own paint. There’s no easier way to do it. That’s just the way it is.

Via: Chris Armstrong

Ireland’s a great place to live. It would also be a good place to start-up an umbrella manufacturing company. Imagine my delight when I discovered that it going to be possible to enjoy Irish home comforts in the sun. One day!

Some people see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not?

George Bernard Shaw

A simply beautiful water and light display from the United Arab Emirates. There is talk that Dubai are hoping to host an Olympic Games in the next decade or two. With this as a marker can you imagine how mind-blowing their opening and closing ceremonies would be?

Via: Chris Armstrong

Two of the lovely folks at FontShop, namely Stephen Coles and Chris Hamamoto, put together this video profile of Damon Styer and his crew at New Bohemia Signs, just around the corner from both FontShop and us as well (at least here in San Francisco). I’ve always wondered who did many of the amazing signage around this city and was pleased to find out so much of it was done by New Bohemia.

Naz Hammid, Weightshift

Okay. So, I’ve yet to get my hands on an iPad, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been on the look out for some nice accessories to go along with my future best friend.

Hard Graft, self styled purveyors of fine lifestyle accessories, have announced that they have a plethora of stylish iPad cases on the way. Time to save those pennies.

Craig Mod has followed on from last month’s “Books in the Age of the iPad” article with a journal entry that looks at “Embracing the digital book”.

Craig takes an in depth look at the shambolic state of current eReaders before outlining steps that their manufacturers (namely Amazon and Apple) could implement to improve readability on their platforms.

Logopond is a fantastic site for logo design inspiration. It has been in my bookmarks longer than any other showcase site.

Realising that Logopond was in need of a platform that works seamlessly on mobile devices, Sean Farrell and David Blanchet knocked their heads together and came up with these visuals for an app. Great work.

“What would you attempt to do, if you knew you could not fail?”

It’s no secret that Apple’s Jon Ive draws a lot of industrial design inspiration from the works of Dieter Rams. Last week, leaked images surfaced on the web depicting what is widely regarded as being the fourth generation model in the iPhone range.

With the device firmly established as the markets number one smart phone, it is safe to assume that Ive is now taking bolder steps in the direction of the Rams aesthetic.

I totally agree with what Todd Heasley wrote on his Posterous blog: “My gut says that, with the iPhone’s success established, we could be seeing an even more confident expression of Ive’s design vision.”

[Appearance is] not everything, but you cannot have depths without surfaces. [Clothes] communicate with what is within; between the two there is always a great dialogue.

Linda Grant, author of ‘The Thoughtful Dresser’.

Fellow Mad Men enthusiasts will be interested to know that its creator Matthew Weiner has said that the show will end after six seasons. While it’s hard to come to terms with that fact that we’ll not be seeing Don and the gang post-1965, it is a sign that the shows writers have a clear vision for where the newly-founded ‘Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce’ is headed.

The sixth season of Mad Men, due to air in 2012, will be its last according to the Mayan calendar if creator Matthew Weiner has his way.

If you’re a creative and you’ve yet to get hooked on Mad Men. You really need to sort that out.

Via: Kottke.

We live in a society that doesn’t readily embrace change. We live in fear of falling flat on our face. We embrace what’s comfortable; what we know. Eoghan explains in plain and simple English the importance of building products/services that are at least ten times better than that your closest competitors.

“Editing is to media as a performance is to a composition: It is an act of interpretation, rich with opportunities for personal insight, misguided judgments, or brilliance.”

Liz Danzico, Bobulate