A Graphic Design Bible, Reissued

James Turrell's light prints, a $1 microscope, contamination-detecting chopsticks and more in our weekly look at the web

Before Helvetica, there was Standard Medium—and Standard Medium was leading subway riders the right way, according to the 1970 NYC Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual by Unimark’s Massimo Vignelli and Bob Noorda. The historical document is essentially a “Rosetta Stone” for graphic designers, and is now seeing a second life after a rare copy of the manual was found in the basement of Pentagram’s NYC …

Beans to Farts Explained

James Turrell's light prints, a $1 microscope, contamination-detecting chopsticks and more in our weekly look at the web

Many may wonder about the link between legumes and gas. Thanks to Men’s Health, Rami Niemi and this wonderful video the knowledge is now easily digestible. There are a lot of scientific facts across the one minute explanation, but the animation is also entirely endearing. It’s long-been one of life’s little mysteries, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, we now know the biology …

City Stream

James Turrell's light prints, a $1 microscope, contamination-detecting chopsticks and more in our weekly look at the web

Chinese painter Lu Xinjian creates mind-bending abstract images of city streets in “City Stream,” a series of urban impressionism paintings that are somewhat reminiscent of Magic Eye puzzles. Using basic shapes and colors, the jumble of geometric abstraction comes to life after a closer look, depicting cityscapes extruded from ariel views of streets and architecture throughout Shanghai. The images are at once 2D and 3D, …