Who Can Design A Sunset?

If man invented sunsets, only the rich would ever see them. Thankfully, this magnificent art is a free gift from our Creator.

I was recently looking at sunset photos I captured during my years spent in Phoenix, Arizona. Doing so, I realized how many memories of those glorious moments I have. Indeed, those sunsets are of greater significance to me than any movie or television show I've seen. Perhaps there is an as yet undiscovered emotional benefit that comes from appreciating a beautiful sunset. After all, who of us does not like to receive beautiful gifts? This priceless gift is a daily reminder of our Creator's love for humankind.

See more Arizona sunset photos in my photo blog stylepeterson.com. This photo was captured in Papago Park, Phoenix, Arizona. Sunset colors reflect on a palm tree lined fishing lagoon in this desert park.

Who Designed It?

Where is the best place to look for inspiration when designing a sturdier, more energy efficient, and environmentally friendly vehicle? Well, research and development chief chief for Mercedes Benz, Dr Thomas Weber, looked to the clumsy looking boxfish! Why?



The boxfish can swim fast, covering a distance of up to six times its body length each second. Surprisingly, its cubelike shape actually enhances its aerodynamic qualities! In fact, engineers tested a model of the boxfish in a wind tunnel found that its boxy design slips through the air far more efficiently than compact cars do. Also, its shape stabilized the boxfish when encountering turbulence, and contributes to its maneuverability and protection from injury.

Using the boxfish shape as a model, Mercedes was able to design a prototype vehicle that achieves more than 70 miles per gallon with a four cylinder engine. It also can reach 62 miles per hour in 8.2 seconds. In fact, at a steady 55 mph, it achieves an amazing 84 miles per gallon.

The boxfish is a model of energy efficiency, aerodynamics, and stability. Did it come about by chance, or was it designed?

Design Is More Than Packaging . . .

"Properly used, design thinking can weave together elements of demographics, research, environmental factors, psychology, anthropology and sociology to generate novel solutions to some of the most puzzling problems in business." This quote, from the article entitled "Design Is More Than Packaging" in the Business Section of the New York Times, provides a fascinating look into the expanding role of design in corporate America. "Clearly, if all your competition is doing the same, then differentiation is tough. In order to innovate, we have to have new alternatives and new solutions to problems, and that is what design can do.”" Read the full article here.

Those Were The Days . . .

One of the great reasons to visit Phoenix, Arizona this summer was the recent "Curves of Steel" exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum (discussed in a recent blog). This exhibit celebrated the "streamlined" design trend in automobiles of the 1930's. I revisited this show on its final day, to marvel again at the sheer beauty of the automobile designs on display. This was the sort of show where, as a designer, I found myself grinning uncontrollably for the duration of my visit. The sheer depth of style and elegance inherent in these classic automobile designs from the 1930's made me realize that beauty, refinement and style as design principles are losing their significance in modern graphic design. It is a sad loss too. Good taste used to be (and not so long ago) a sign of education and culture. It was something aspired to. Now, our design vocabulary is more often punctuated by words like shock, street, extreme . . . we seem more interested in assaulting public sensibilities with the coarsest elements of our culture. Good taste has suffered a terrible beating and may never recover. It is a trend seen not only in design, but also in music, movies and television programming. Sigh . . . It may well be that truly good design is becoming a thing of the past . . .

CBS News has an online video on the "Curves of Steel" exhibit that gives a nice overview of the event. The photo above shows one of the most beautiful and popular cars of the decade, the 1939 Lincoln Zephyr.

Digital Retro?

Digital goes very "old school" in this design exercise done for Kodak by industrial designer Lindsay Pickett. The "Kodak 1881" digital camera, is reminiscent of a Victorian-era heirloom locket. "Inspired by the emotional connection and careful framing of locket photos, 1881 strives to create a more precious medium through which to share your memories, whether at home or on the street," says designer Lindsey Pickett. Specs and other details are scant, but the locket-cam can be opened to reveal an LCD screen. Can a digital camera pocket watch be far behind?

World's Best-Designed Newspapers

I have always felt that web designers can benefit from studying the best examples of design in other disciplines. Newspaper design is one such example. The Society for News Design has selected four newspapers (from 351 worldwide candidates) as the "World's Best-Designed Newspapers." This creative competition judges newspapers on design excellence including typography. The judges, meeting in Syracuse, New York, selected four European newspapers as their winners. The Society for News Design website features the results and the basis for selection. This is worth the attention of web designers, as newspapers, like content rich websites, must show a mastery of layout and typography. My personal favorite among the winners is the German Frankfurter Aligemeine Sonntagszeitung for its inventive use of graphics and airy typography.