Creative Synthesis Blog

Talking about Creativity as Combination, The thoughts and works of the Creative Synthesis Collaborative.
image from www.good.is

Documenting the Long Now

Posted on February 13th by Shae Davidson.
While exploring topics related to slow lifestyles, the folks at GOOD came up with an idea to help people visual the pace of change in their lives while giving ...
image from Science/AAAS

Slime Map

Posted on January 29th by Shae Davidson.
A group of researchers headed by Hokkaido University's Atsushi Tero have found an innovative and visually stunning way of exploring network development and social infrastructure.  The team arranged oat flakes ...
Image by Siim

Plastic Earth

Posted on January 22nd by Shae Davidson.
Headed by Takuzo Aida, a group of researchers from the University of Tokyo and Seoul National University have developed a formula for a plastic material made from water, clay, sodium ...

An Afterlife for Hotel Soap

Posted on January 15th by Shae Davidson.
I ran into a reference to the Clean the World Foundation a few days before the earthquake in Haiti.  The nonprofit grew out of the seemingly petty question that ...
imge by Holger Ellgaard

World Pulse Voices

Posted on January 8th by Shae Davidson.
As part of its mission to promote transparency and democracy while exploring world events from the perspective of women, World Pulse magazine recently initiated the first of a series ...
Image from www.miket.co.uk

Blood Light

Posted on January 1st by Shae Davidson.
Mike Thompson’s Blood Lamp offers users a gory way to explore the issues of power consumption and planned obsolescence. Users break open the vial-like lamp and mix a few ...

Reimagining a Cold War Icon

Posted on August 18th by Shae Davidson.
A group of companies in Germany has announced plans to produce an electric small family sedan with solar panels providing additional power for accessories such as air conditioning. The ...
//www.we-make-money-not-art.com

Fallout Cubicle

Posted on August 10th by Shae Davidson.
Sofia-based media artist Petko Dourmana recently exhibited the Post Global Warming Survival Kit at SIGGRAPH 2009. Dourmana's work appeared as part of the BioLogic juried ...
image from mouscacho.files.wordpress.com

The Value of Empty Space

Posted on July 27th by Shae Davidson.
Concerned about the the effects of the print-and-forget approach to document use, Utrecht-based SPRANQ created a typeface that saves ink. Ecofont incorporates small holes throughout each character. ...
image from Lang's Metropolis found at www.stumfilm.no

A Rather Fickle Memory Hole

Posted on July 20th by Shae Davidson.
Two recent news stories offer quirky challenges to the conventional wisdom that new technologies--especially the Internet--have made it impossible to forget anything.  Raising questions about what we remember and how ...
image by Jer Thorp

Visualizing the New York Times

Posted on June 30th by Shae Davidson.
Earlier this year, digital artist Jer Thorp used the New York Times Article Search API to create visual displays exploring the areas of focus and interconnection found in ...
image by Amy Youngs

Carnival of the Animals

Posted on June 23rd by Shae Davidson.
Our perception of animals has changed dramatically over the last century.  The decline of agriculture and the expansion of the middle class have brought a view of animals that ranges ...

Evolving Art

Posted on June 16th by Shae Davidson.
To mark the bicentennial of Darwin's birth and the sesquicentennial of On the Origin of Species, an exhibit opening today at Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum explores the effects of his ...

Finding the Rhyme in Education Policy

Posted on June 9th by Shae Davidson.
In its search to bolster the faltering public school system, California has given new life to a quote attributed (with some variations) to Mark Twain:  "History doesn't repeat itself, but ...