When tracing the history of groovy patterns and far-out typography unique to psychedelic design, the Doors of Perception don’t always open onto the 1960s.

The emotive faces from our keyboards are now literally plastered across a building in the city of Amersfoort in central Netherlands. The 22 circles relay 22 different expressions, from a smiling face to a grimacing face to a cool face with sunglasses.

Created in 2006 by multidisciplinary artist Kimsooja, he transformed the Palacio de Cristal into a multisensory sound and light experience. Outside light filters through the glass of the pavilion and reflects off the diffraction film. It diffuses into rainbow spectrums, transforming the external panorama seen from within the palace. The resulting effect is that the entire structure as well as the rays of colour reflecting off the mirrored floor.

“When branching out into a new artistic direction, simplicity is the word du jour. Michelangelo didn’t paint the Sistine Chapel the first day he picked up a paintbrush, much like you shouldn’t start with a very complex word for your first ambigram.“

The Department of Homeland Security's call for proposals for a wall to be built along the Mexico–US border elicited hundreds of designs. Here are six of them.

Over the last few years, I've been on a lot of podcasts (for a complete list, see here). When I'm interviewed about freelancing and consulting, I inevitabl

Fractals are patterns that repeat at increasingly fine magnifications. They turn up in the natural world and in artists’ work. Research suggests they contribute to making something aesthetically appealing. By Richard Taylor.

Samuel Coster

Nudibranchia or other opisthobranchia compared to the various looks of David Bowie.

In 2001, NASA physicist Robert Lang quit his job to focus on his one true passion: creating original origami designs. With a deep understanding of mathematics and materials, Lang's folding designs have now been incorporated into everything from spacecraft to airbags.

Denise Anderson, author of _Stand Out: Design a personal brand. Build a killer portfolio. Find a great design job._, shares expert insights on building a book of work that represents the style, type, and industry-specific work you want to do.

Lo and behold, flying machines straight out of a Jetsons cartoon are set to become a reality. Think Uber but as a boat which hovers above the water– so basically, a flying boat taxi, right here along the Paris Seine River..

Max Cooper, Tom Hodge, Kevin McGloughlin

Is it a color that means nothing — or is that the point? By Kyle Chayka.

Artist Jan Vormann identifies damaged buildings and plugs the gaps with brightly colored Lego bricks.

I wrote a book about autocrats’ design tastes. The U.S. president would fit right in. By Peter York.

Art Nouveau style

An archive of vintage letterheads belonging to various legends, icons and infamous characters through history, we can get a peek into the private world of their writing desks when letters were still king. Some fabulous typography and design ensues of course

Before screws, nails, glue and other fasteners, joinery was a matter of complex interlocking forms that shaped not only the structure but also the aesthetic of what was built. For generations, Japa…

What makes things cool? By Derek Thompson.