Design History

Since its improvised creation at Microsoft in the mid-1990s, Comic Sans has become one of the most used and talked—about typefaces of the digital age. The subject of April Fools pranks and endless internet discourse, it has spawned a movement to ban it, inspired revivals and spinoffs, and continues to be widely promoted by educators. In this delightful history, bestselling author Simon Garfield tells the story of how Comic Sans emerged from speech bubbles on educational software to become one of the most recognized—and reviled—typefaces on earth.

Explore some of the world's most extraordinary bridges. This encyclopedia showcases centuries of engineering brilliance and architectural vision, presenting an intimate look at the structures that connect our cities and define our skylines. The comprehensive volume features over 50 remarkable bridges spanning six continents, examining each through the lens of both history and innovation. Rich with detailed architectural drawings, the book illuminates the physical grandeur of these crossings and their profound impact on the communities they serve. These pages tell the stories of visionaries ...

Against the backdrop of post-9/11 America, listeners are taken behind the scenes of some of the most important civil liberties cases in America. From the story of the "American Taliban" to the battle against the National Security Agency's warrantless spying program, In Defense of Our America tracks a roster of skirmishes in the larger fight for civil liberties in this country.

We may not often think of our clothes as having a function beyond covering our naked bodies and keeping us a little safer from the elements. But to discount the enormous influence of clothing on anything from economic cycles to the future of water scarcity is to ignore the greater meaning of the garments we put on our backs. Disrobed vividly considers the role that clothing plays in everything from natural disasters to climate change to terrorism to geopolitics to agribusiness.

"With its scrupulously described, suggestive setting, thorough historical detail, and endless twists, the novel will please lovers of twisty political thrillers." ―The Prairies Book Review Facing an invasion, the Sultan appears less concerned—but that isn't the worst threat lurking...The Sultan’s secrets are at risk. With a palace celebration in full swing, he’s locked in a windowless basement making plans with his military. He’ll do anything to protect his son and heir. The Sultan has never faced the grim realities of his ascension to the throne, nor the potential danger posed to...

Restart: Designing a Healthy Post Pandemic Life addresses how to work through the stress of the past year, tend to our physical and mental health, and re-align our relationship with technology. Emphasis is placed on habits created during quarantine that may have an impact on mental and physical health. Tools for resolving stress, anxiety, and depression resulting from sheltering in place will be highlighted. Practical tips and tools help listeners walk through the development of norms that will help them live healthier embodied lives.

John Maeda is one of the world's preeminent thinkers on technology and design, and in How to Speak Machine, he offers a set of simple laws that govern not only the computers of today but the unimaginable machines of the future. Machines are already more powerful than we can comprehend and getting more powerful at an exponential pace. Once set in motion, algorithms never tire. And when a program's size, speed and endlessness combine with its ability to learn and transform itself, the outcome can be unpredictable and dangerous.

Most of our everyday life experiences are multisensory in nature. In recent years, many of these experiences have been increasingly transformed, and capitalized on through advancements that adapt the world around us, and to suit our ever-more computerized environment. Multisensory Experiences is a comprehensive introduction that takes the listener from the fundamentals of multisensory experiences and design, through the relationship between the senses and technology, to finally what the future of those experiences may look like, and our responsibility in it.

Discover the final frontier in a whole new way with Beyond Earth, a comprehensive guide to the history, science, and future of space exploration. From the very beginning of rocket science, to the race to launch the first astronaut into space, this eBook is your ultimate guide to exploring the cosmos. With detailed chapters on everything from spacecraft design and development to the science of planetary exploration, you'll gain a deeper understanding of how humans have come to travel beyond our own planet. But Beyond Earth is't just about the technical side of space travel. It's also a ...

Voici le livre de Loïc Prigent que tout le monde attendait : son histoire de la mode. Dans ce récit savant, personnel et aussi irrésistible que l'achat d'un vêtement superflu et donc indispensable, il dévoile la couture, du XIXe siècle à l'ouverture de la première boutique de Gabrielle Chanel en 1913. Des premiers grands couturiers (Worth) et des premières acheteuses stars (l'impératrice Eugénie) à l'industrie qui s'en mêle et aux débuts de la commercialisation de masse, nous découvrons les dessus et les dessous de cette folie française.

Only 30 years ago, rape within marriage was not a crime, Judges saw rape victims as complicit for wearing short skirts; teenage runaways were groomed, pimped and then arrested as ‘common prostitutes’, and harassment, stalking, forced marriage and honour-based violence were not defined or recognised as separate offences in law. Since then there have been important legislative reforms but the law is only as good as those who enforce it. Telling the stories of a series of ground-breaking cases, Harriet Wistrich illustrates how far misogyny is baked into our justice system.

Since 2010, it has been possible to determine a person's genetic makeup in a matter of days at an accessible cost for many millions of people. Along with this technological breakthrough there has emerged a movement to use this information to help prospective parents "eliminate preventable genetic disease". As the prospect of systematically excluding the appearance of unwanted mutations in our children comes within reach, David B. Goldstein examines the possible consequences from these types of choices.

All the Knowledge in the World is a history and celebration of those who created the most groundbreaking and remarkable publishing phenomenon of any age. It tracks the story from Ancient Greece to Wikipedia, from modest single-volumes to the 11,000-volume Chinese manuscript that was too big to print. It looks at how Encyclopaedia Britannica came to dominate the industry, how it spawned hundreds of competitors and how an army of ingenious door-to-door salesmen sold their wares to guilt-ridden parents.

A follow-up to her popular Encyclopedia of the Exquisite, Jenkins' new book offers a string of historical anecdotes structured around the hours of the day, celebrating the unusual, fantastic, and beautiful ways people have spent time throughout the ages.

Growing Up Gamer follows one gamer's relationship with video game consoles over the span of 30+ years, from the NES to the Nintendo Switch and everything in between. Relive fighting with siblings, joining local video game tournaments, and making new friends thanks to a mutual interest in Mario Kart. Explore the frustrations of trying to get into the game industry and then ultimately going at it alone as an indie developer on the Xbox 360 and Steam. Journey to China to teach English, where a Game Boy or Nintendo DS is sometimes the only thing keeping a lonely expat sane. Real and digital ...

An elegant essay recalling the tradition of Chesterton, Lewis, Merton, and Muggeridge, George Roche's A World Without Heroes harshly rebukes secular humanism as the most dehumanizing force of our modern age. This ringing defense of Christianity, humorous, insightful, and uncompromising, takes careful and timeless aim at those ideas which have shriveled the will of the West and the faith of millions.

Genesis, the seven days of Creation ... Where does the text that makes up the first part of the Bible come from? Is its text a mere introductory poem ... or is it a narrative? What's behind its words? Alberto Canen has found an alternative way to answer these and other questions in the Genesis. He has found a route no one had been to before, and invites the reader to discover it and make their findings with him. The author has found that hidden in the bottom of the plot there is someone. Someone who observes; someone who tells. Someone who tells what he observes. And a place, a location ...

More than 450,000 books sold! Genesis, the seven days of Creation ... Where does the text that makes up the first part of the Bible come from? Is its text a mere introductory poem ... or is it a narrative? What's behind its words? Alberto Canen has found an alternative way to answer these and other questions in the Genesis. He has found a route no one had been to before, and invites the reader to discover it and make their findings with him. The author has found that hidden in the bottom of the plot there is someone. Someone who observes; someone who tells. Someone who tells what he ...

A personal, expert look at iconic beauty products of the past, present and future from Britain's best and most trusted beauty writer. New beauty products are launched every day, but which ones really do the job, underneath all of the packaging? And which long-standing classics deserve to be dusted off before they are forgotten in amongst all the new trends?

Al di là di sedie, lampade o automobili, che hanno a lungo identificato il loro campo di intervento, oggi i designer progettano anche sistemi e servizi, dall'interfaccia del bancomat al car o bike sharing. Nuove tecnologie, nuovi modi di produzione, come la digital fabrication, consumatori sempre più evoluti, attenti ai valori della sostenibilità e della facilità d'uso dei prodotti, obbligano il design a confrontarsi con le possibilità inedite offerte dai fenomeni culturali e socio-economici dell'età contemporanea.