A weekly round-up of innovation, social impact, and design news from around the web.
1. Art in Globeville
Public art is everywhere in Denver and PlatteForum’s ArtLab has bringing even more visuals to the city. The latest mural, done by a group of students, can be found in the Globeville neighborhood at 46th and Lincoln at the I-70 underpass. As part of the process, ArtLab youth spent the early part of the summer researching the community’s history and hosting community meetings to plan and conceptualize the mural in a way that honors the history of the neighborhood.
2. A Colorado Rebrand
Under the lead of Governor Hickenlooper, The Making Colorado Creative Team has created a series of new state logo designs and slogans. To create their designs, the team started out by asking state residents various questions, including: “What makes Colorado Colorado?” With all of the marketing and tourism campaigns about Denver and Colorado out there right now, it’s interesting to wonder if these logos and slogans will help bring in more people, and economic impact, to the Centennial State.
3. No More Peanut Butter Knuckles?Peanut butter knuckles aren’t one of life’s most miserable occurrences, but they do have the ability to annoy. Researchers and entrepreneurs at NC State hope to solve the qualm with the push-pop version of a jar that will alleviate the social embarrassment of peanut buttered, or jellied, knuckles. Their website and video could use a revamp, but the content is a wonderful thought.
4. Meteorite Photography
Tucked away inside meteorites are worlds of colors and shapes from beyond the earth. Jeff Barton photographed the insides of these celestial objects and found what he calls “natural stained glass.” The photographs are more than just beautiful – scientists use the colors to identify the natural frequencies of the minerals contained within, which allows them to classify the specimens.
5. Impact Entrepreneurs
The Women’s Bean Project continues to help women transition to employment by teaching them valuable skills. They create and sell over 30 different food products through work of the women in the program. Within twelve months of entering, the organization seeks to keep chronically unemployed women, many of whom are recently released prisoners, into the workforce. Confluence Denver recently did a write-up of the process, and the concept, of the organization.
6. 3D Printing Patents and Future
At TEDxMileHigh: Values+Instincts, Easton LaChapelle spoke about his passion for 3D printing. In this article from The Atlantic, the process and benefits of 3D printing are described in detail. It is predicted that 3D printing technology will become more and more common next year as certain patents expire – jumbo jets, body parts, houses, food – all have the potential of becoming 3D printed in the mainstream.
7. A Patch to Combat Mosquito-Borne Illnesses
The world’s most dangerous creature is the tiny mosquito, which can carry some of the world’s most deadly diseases. For many years, researchers have been working to figure out to slow, or stop, the transmission of disease from mosquito to human. Now, a new startup called Kite has invented a patch that blocks mosquitos tracking receptors by using a patented compound for up to 48 hours. While the inexpensive patch isn’t a cure, it could be a major step towards the control of mosquito-borne illnesses.
8. Architizer’s New Site
Architizer has, for a number of years, been one of the web’s leading architecture resources and websites. They recently launched their brand-new website, which is a visual party in html5. The site’s clean lines, distinctive flow, and intuitive design compliments their design content. If you need a little inspiration, it’s worth a look.
9. Biennial of the Americas in Denver
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the happenings at the Biennial of the Americas, taking place in Denver until early September. As an ‘international festival of ideas, art, and culture,’ there’s a lot happening over the next month.
