50,000 Vinyl Records Digitized for the Internet Archive

Working from 200,000 physical recordings received through donation, Internet Archive (archive.org) has already digitized 50K vinyl records—many of which hail from before the ’50s. The organization is seeking to preserve genres that have received less attention, including yodeling, bluegrass and early blues. The process of digitization is quite complicated and requires landing the correct recording speed. Altogether known as the Great 78 Project, the resulting …

Electronics Sculpted from Biodegradable Materials

For his thesis project at Holon Institute of Technology, Shay Castel constructed a series of speakers, clocks and lamps from biodegradable materials. Each piece calls into question the amount of time consumers use products—here, allowing them to comfortably dispose of components when their time is up but also encouraging individuals to use what they’ve acquired while they last. The interior electronic components, however, can stand …

Pantone’s Purple Honoring Prince

Inspired by Prince’s one-of-a-kind Yamaha purple piano, a new standardized custom color has been released by the Pantone Color Institute and the Prince Estate. Instead of a name and numeric value, as is standard for Pantone, the deep, regal color is simply represented by Prince’s “Love Symbol #2,” which the artist himself used from 1993 to 2000. From the nickname the “Purple One” to his …