Logos are a big deal, especially because they are often the first image your audience will see — that one chance to make your mark and grab their attention. These well-designed logos are great examples of capturing the essence of a business’s work and creating something that speaks volumes at a glance.
Have you ever wondered why the length of a CD is 74 minutes? Or why a snooze alarm is 9 minutes? Or why a text message is 140 characters? Here are the stories behind the numbers:
When Sony was designing an audio disc, the longest version of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was their point of reference. The slowest known version of Beethoven’s Ninth, at 74 minutes, was recorded in 1951 by the orchestra of the Bayreuther Festspiele — this is why you are limited to only 74 minutes on a CD.
When the snooze alarm was invented, clocks relied on gears. The engineers had to choose between 9 plus minutes or 10 plus minutes for the extra time for people to sleep. Due to gear configurations the engineers opted for 9 minutes. Even today, non-reliant on gears, a digital clock’s snooze is set at 9 minutes.
When developing a universal messaging format in the 1980’s, a committee of programmers considered two convincing facts. One, postcards often contained fewer than 150 characters and, two, Telex (a telegraphy messaging system for business professionals) contained about the same amount of characters. From that time forward, 160 characters were the character limitations for SMS.
This ring is a perfect marriage of function and style. Gear Ring goes for $165 and comes in limited sizes, and wow, is it ever cool! It boasts that it is designed as a highly durable piece of jewelry that is resistant to tarnishing, fading, scratching, and rusting, and backs it up with a lifetime warranty.
Take a look at this revolutionary structural design method of ‘board on frame’, made famous by IKEA. This smart design process has been documented so you can see it all happen in their European manufacturing facility. Enjoy!
This video is from National Geographic’s Ultimate Factories Program.
Growing up as a fan of Transformers and Mask, this Toyota concept car really hits home. The colors and features stir my imagination. Slide-out seating, large screen monitors, bike rack, energy drink dispenser; everything screams overkill.
