It’s Christmas Season! Read about The Nightmare Before Christmas and why it’s a great movie with some unique and impressive design elements.
All by John Salmon
The Harp: A Perfect Union of Design Function and Form
The harp is a perfect example of the balance between design function and form. In this article, learn about certain design choices that make this instrument so beautiful to play, beautiful to see, and beautiful to design.
Optimization From Nature - Genetic Algorithms - A Brief Introduction
In this second part on optimization, the basics of the genetic algorithm are explored and explained, with an introduction to selection, cross-over, and mutation.
I see optimization all around. But while spending time in nature, I find its expression most beautiful and abundant. Let’s go on a hike together and talk about optimization.
Becoming a Slow Student
Even though the world is moving fast and perhaps even accelerating, it doesn’t mean we can’t be slow in certain ways. Becoming a slow student may be exactly what we need to do to stay at our peak performance in this fast paced world we live in.
Design Lessons from Movies: The Polar Express
It’s now December and we’re entering “the most wonderful time of the year.” It’s also time for my annual analysis of a Christmas movie. Today I want to share some interesting facts and thoughts about The Polar Express. I’ll also share lessons I believe we as designers can take from this movie.
Solar Eclipse Glasses: Design Considerations
A solar eclipse is an amazing phenomenon and truly unforgettable - just be sure to wear the correct eye protection when viewing one. Solar eclipse cardboard glasses may be cheap to buy, or even free, but don’t settle for a low quality design. Your eyes will thank you.
Book Review of Tim Harford's "Adapt"
If you want to succeed, you need to get some failures behind you. For anyone interested in how to fail better, fail faster, and fail successfully, Adapt is a great place to start.
Blind(s) to Design
The window blinds installed by the owner seem to meet our needs perfectly. I will briefly describe some of the main features we enjoyed and why I consider this a good design.
Good Design: The Ozark Trail 1-Person Backpacking Tent
Going backpacking this summer? Still need to buy a tent that won’t break the bank? Consider the Ozark Trail, 1-person backpacking tent.
Good Design on the Roads of New Zealand
The reason why we can see so much good design in the world is because many of the bad (or not as good) designs have been removed over time and replaced with something better. At any given moment or place, the observable products and processes generally represent the best designs that the local people or nation could adopt or afford.
How did ChatGPT Perform as an Author?
On January 24th, 2023 we asked ChatGPT to be a guest author of the BYU Design Review. This week we discuss the experiment and how ChatGPT performed. If you’ve somehow missed hearing about ChatGPT, here is another chance to learn about a new technology that might become a part of our everyday lives.
Public Sustainable Design Projects in California
Truly, California has beautiful weather, lots of people, and some unique ideas. Some of these ideas have flopped, but others are very intriguing and should be spread around. I find myself respecting their efforts to try new ideas and become early adopters on many things that other states should consider embracing as well.
I Can’t Look Away From the Design of Trash Cans!
Two more countries and many more garbage cans - which are indeed an interesting product. Every culture, every era, and every person has some interaction with garbage. How we dispose of our own trash in public spaces can teach us a thing or two about design.
Good Design: Garbage Cans In Brazil
I’m not usually fascinated with garbage cans… in fact, I’ve never been fascinated with garbage cans before. But the variety and diversity of garbage cans throughout the small city of Itacoatiara, on the banks of the Amazon river, was too great to ignore.
What is Systems Design? Part 2
This article continues the discussion on “systems design” and introduces the system design spectrum that is useful to understand where and why multiple people use the word “system” in multiple ways.
Ski Design for the Olympics
When designing a ski for the Olympics, you should know the precise conditions in which that ski will be used and design for those use cases. If not, a sub-optimal ski design will keep you off the podium.
What is Systems Design?
A lot of adjectives get placed before the noun “design.” This article starts tackling the special meaning and nuances when we use the term “systems design.”
Design in Christmas Movies: Elf and the Forced Perspective
Have you seen the movie Elf? If not, you’re missing out on a good story with some neat applications of forced perspective. The designers of the film did some good design.
The Tenth Face of Innovation: The Storyteller
The Tenth Face of Innovation is The Storyteller. Life is full of stories and being able to tell a good one can make all the difference in the world.