Digital Amuse-Bouche: July 2016

How Music Taste Evolved: every top-5 song from 1958-2016, per the site, “so we can stop arguing about when music was still good.” Really fun, immersive user interface that shows when each song peaked to its top position and then dropped off the radar. The interface also keeps a tally of how many weeks an artist has a #1 hit song (predictable spoiler: Elton John crushes it). http://polygraph.cool/history/

 

Rich Cards in Google Search Engine Results – this is of particular interest to me as a search nerd, but chances are you, as an internet user, also noticed this (albeit with less fascination). Google has introduced a new format for search results on mobile that take the form of cards, rather than the standard blue web links that made Google…Google. Each card result features an image, title and sometimes an star rating. This new format is a pretty significant game changer in search: the highly visual nature of these cards make them far more enticing for users to click on. This new format combined with the limited (and thus uber-competitive) amount of screen space on mobile make this a big opportunity to stand out in search. https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2016/05/introducing-rich-cards.html

Google rich card results

Google’s new rich card results

 

Edgar Artis Paper Cut Outs – I could spend hours scrolling through Edgar Artis’ work on Instagram. He cuts out interesting dress silhouettes and “completes” the look by holding up the paper against various objects and settings. His creativity demonstrates an incredible use of designs and shapes of everyday life, breathing new perspective into such commonplace patterns. It’s a spin on design that elevates the beauty of ordinary things – who knew half-used matches could be so avant garde? http://www.boredpanda.com/paper-cutout-art-fashion-dresses-edgar-artis/

 

 

Laurel Marcus

...is a design and technology enthusiast. In real life, she is a Senior Manager of Data Insights and Analytics at Tank Design in Cambridge, MA. In her spare time, Laurel likes to cook, play volleyball, bike, listen to This American Life, StartUp and How I Built This podcasts, and look for coffee shops that serve café con leche.