Author: Bo Nacy

From high school dropout to design legend, or what the Oxford English Dictionary has to do with iconic logos.

Remix culture is a frequent fixation around here and a central premise of my beliefs about combinatorial creativity. But while intellectual, academic, and legal debates about the role of remix in creative culture certainly have their place, the best way to appreciate the art of remix is through a brilliant manifestation. Case in point: Cookie Monster sings Tom Waits’ “God’s Away on Business” in the best mashup I’ve seen in ages.

What a 21-point scale of self-confidence has to do with Adolf Konrad’s carry-on and Picasso’s favorite artists.

Fascinating 2005 BBC documentary exploring the birth of the individual in modern society.

Our favorite contemporary manifestos that nudge your ideas out of your head and into the hands of the world.

Five fantastic reads on why we err, what it means to be wrong, and how to make cognitive lemonade out of wrongness’s lemons.

From body art to Thomas More’s Utopia, or what Moby Dick has to do with the nature of time

As far as odd bedfellows go, it hardly gets any odder than literature and action figures. Which is why we’re all over these literary action figures. Roam the wide spectrum of genres and time periods with Jane Austen, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde and, of course, William Shakespeare. Then of course, things can get ugly. Brönte Sisters power dolls, we’re looking at you: Also of note, though not action-capable, is this delightful and beautifully crafted series of Little Giants vinyl toys by Jailbreak Collective, available in a few collections: Writers (Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, Willam Shakespeare and… read article

Five cool, creative examples of using the iconic London Tube Map as a visual metaphor

If you think of nature illustration as the sterile visuals of a science book, you haven’t seen the work of Charlie Harper. The iconic American modernist, famous for his spunky stylized wildlife illustrations, spent more than six decades adorning books and posters with his highly distinctive artwork. In 2001, New York based designer Todd Oldham — a legend in his own right — rediscovered Charley’s work and decided to comb through his ample archive, collaborating closely with Harper to curate, edit and design a book that captures the iconic style of the great master. When Charley passed away in 2007… read article