Hasta La Ideas

February is Black History Month, which can be traced back to 1915, when an organization called the ASALH, led by Harvard-educated historian Carter G. Woodson was formed. By the 1960s, the week had transformed into a full month of celebrations and was signified as a national observance in 1976.

Many organizations, outlets, and creators are honoring this month by supporting Black businesses, using TikTok to learn about it, and brushing up on Black literature.

As Dr. Cornel West said, “If your success is defined as being well adjusted to injustice and well adapted to indifference, then we don’t want successful leaders. We want great leaders who love the people enough and respect the people enough to be unbought, unbound, unafraid, and unintimidated to tell the truth.”

To celebrate Black History Month, we are highlighting some hardworking and artistic content creators who inspire us with their leadership and ability to use their content to connect and inform.

From fashion bloggers to photographers to creative consultants, here are some Black influencers and content creators you should be following.

#1 Michell Clark: Author & Digital Strategist

(@michellcclark)

#2 Tabitha Brown: “World’s Favorite Mom” on TikTok

(@iamtabithabrown)

#3 Christopher Griffin: A “Brooklyn-based Black queer non-binary kween”

(@plantkween)

#4 Ms. Kristine: Plus Size Influencer

(@trendycurvy)

#5 Amber Burns: Freelance Writer, Book Blogger, and Content Creator

(@byamberburns)

#6 Damar Little: Photographer and Graphic Designer

(@damarlittle)

#7 Polly Irungu: Founder of Black Women Photographers 

(@pollyirungu)

#8 Nana Agyemang: CEO of EveryStylishGirl

(@itsreallynana)

#9 Sofi at The Odditty

(@the_odditty)

#10 Jaimmy Koroma: Lifestyle Influencer & Art Director

(@jaimmykoroma)

#11 Candace Hampton: Fashion & Beauty Influencer

(@thebeautybeau)

#12 Terrell and Jarius: Content Creators

(@terrell.and.jarius)

#13 Ayana Gabrielle Lage: Blogger

(@ayanagabriellelage)

#14 Janelle Lloyd: Fashion Influencer

(@waityouneedthis)

#15 Donye Taylor: Creative Motivator and Consultant

(@donyetaylor)

Accompanying the announcement of Regina Spektor’s eighth album, Home, before and after, out 24 June, the lead single “Becoming All Alone” begins beautifully then blossoms into a grand, orchestral soundscape that buoys the singer’s compelling vocals. Spektor recorded the album, which she co-produced with John Congleton, in Upstate New York. She’ll soon embark on a tour to support it.

Energy efficiency and power are usually results of joint efforts of different resources. Turbines are just some of the more efficient producers of energy and we believe this technology will continue to be used. It will also improve and speed up for the better as more innovations and inventions are introduced by many companies.

Petrofac and Seawind Ocean Technology have started on a new partnership that will implement the use of two-bladed floating wind turbines. Petrofac will be using Seawind Ocean Technology’s turbines in many of its projects. The London-based company is known for its focus on building and operating facilities while Seawind is known for its turbines.

Designers: Petrofac and Seawind Ocean Technology

Seawind turbines can introduce improvements to most sea conditions including deepwater and cyclone-prone areas. The two-bladed floating turbines come with a concrete floating structure that can be used on most sea conditions. With a major partnership, Petrofac will help in the installation, assembly, and maintenance of the said turbines.

Seawind’s twin-blade technology can last up to 50 years. It can improve rotor stability and make generation more efficient. Officially called as the 6-126 turbine, this turbine comes with a teetering hinge that separates the shaft and rotor. Another advantage of Seawind’s tech is that the turbine is protected from harmful and heavy loads. The turbine also offers higher speeds as made possible by an active yaw control.

Seawind will benefit from the services Petrofac will be providing. Petrofac will offer design verification, engineering, procurement, and construction. This will be Seawind’s first-ever floating offshore wind turbine demonstrator in the European waters. We can expect the system to be operational by Q1 2024.

Petrofac will continue to deliver to clients results that are made possible by technology that works and innovation. Effective offshore application is possible with both Petrofac and Seawind’s efforts. The combined technologies and services will make harnessing energy with improved speed and efficiency. Another advantage of the system is that it can be assembled in a harbor with cranes. Sea installation won’t require any installation vessel.

Let’s take a look at the Seawind 6-126’s technical specs. Its rated capacity is 6.2MW while rotor speed is 20.8 rpm (rated power). The rotor’s diameter is 126 meters. The turbine can go beyond 50 meters and tip speed is 137 meters per second while the operating wind speed can go 3.5-25 m/s (12.5-90 km/h). It can withstand cyclones up to 70 m/s (250 km/h) with 90 m/s (325 km/h) gusts. All these are just numbers but we believe the technology will work and offer many benefits once operational.

The team-up of the two big companies is expected to succeed in this renewable energy project. Both have good track records in design and implementation. Petrofac, specifically, has obtained several contracts and partnerships with other groups in the UK and the global market that will support different projects concerning water, hydrogen, carbon capture, and storage. Seawind Ocean Technology, on the other hand, will continue to deliver strengthened execution capability.

The post Petrofac and Seawind Ocean Technology join forces to deploy two-bladed floating wind turbines first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Tatra 77 homage pays tribute to the Czechoslovakian automobile that paved the way for the curvilinear cars we see today. Widely regarded as the world’s first serial-produced, truly aerodynamically-designed automobile, the Tatra 77 was designed in 1934 by Hans Ledwinka (an Austrian automotive designer) and Paul Jaray (an aerodynamics specialist and zeppelin designer). For that day and age, the Tatra 77 had a stunning drag coefficient of 0.2455 and was powered by a 2.97-liter air-cooled V8 engine.

The Tatra 77 Homage, however, brings a few upgrades to the nearly 90-year old automobile’s design. For starters, it comes with an electric drivetrain whose workings are made even more efficient by the car’s unbelievably streamlined body. If the original was designed by a zeppelin-maker, it’s not difficult to see that inspiration in the new Tatra 77’s design either, with its curved, bulbous front. In fact, the car’s silhouette is entirely comprised of beautifully aerodynamic lines that make it look like someone turned those smoke lines in a wind-tunnel-test into an actual automobile!

Designer: Radek Štěpán

The redesign for the Tatra 77 comes from the mind of Radek Štěpán, an automotive designer based out of Prague. Wanting to revisit one of the most iconic cars in his country’s history, Štěpán decided to redesign the Tatra 77 as if it were produced today. What started as a harmless exercise in 2020’s lockdown blossomed into an incredibly sleek and desirable car with a strong and memorable visual language, and some stunning details!

Aside from being an aerodynamic wonder, the Tatra 77 Homage really pays tribute to its ancestor, with the silver paint job as well as the circular element in the center, where the original car had its third headlight. This circular cutout, now, acts as the branding for the car, while the other two circular cutouts (sliced into semi-circles) become the car’s pop-out headlights, along with the slicing LED strip running along the front of the car. On the rear, the car sports yet another LED strip which becomes its taillight.

The way the Tatra 77 Homage deals with surfaces is sheer artistry. The car knows when to be curvy and when to have sharp edges, giving it an overall definition that’s instantly eye-catching. Every glass surface sits absolutely flush against the car’s body, with not so much as a slight depression or a visible parting line in sight. In fact, all the parting lines are crisp and thin, while details like the handlebars sit flush against the car’s body too. In fact, the only details emerging from the car’s design are the three cameras, two on each side of the vehicle (where you’d expect side mirrors), and one on the roof, right at the end, giving the rider a detailed rear-view of the road.

The post The world’s first mass-produced aerodynamic vehicle, the Tatra 77, gets a stunning electrified makeover first appeared on Yanko Design.

Take a second and think about the role creativity plays in your life. Do you consider yourself a creative person? Do you utilize your creative potential and carve out time for it? Do you wish you had more time to explore it within you?

While it may seem hard to describe, the dictionary defines creativity as “the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.”

We’ve outlined the importance of routines and how sticking to them will help you maintain your creative energy. Now here are some daily habits that you can put in place to help your creativity blossom—and thrive.

Journaling

As Joan Didion said, “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” Taking time to write down your thoughts not only helps your creative energy flow and gets your thoughts down on paper, but also is a therapeutic daily habit. When you dedicate time to focus solely on your thoughts, without putting too much pressure on the output element, you may come up with a brilliant new idea—or simply set time aside for yourself. In fact, there are many studies on the art of journaling and how it increases one’s daily functioning, improves communication skills, and improves one’s physical and psychological health.

Meditation

Like journaling, mediation is a time dedicated to sitting with your thoughts. This can have many benefits on your creativity, especially in a world that is keen on multitasking and constantly being plugged in. Meditation can quiet your racing mind and help you get to an imaginative and creative space. In fact, neuroscience findings show that it correlates with brain wave activity—which is increased in areas associated with the creative and mystical during mediation.

Walking

There has been a long history of researchers linking creativity with many kinds of movement. And this doesn’t have to be an extreme, strenuous workout. A recent Standford study proved that walking boosts creative inspiration, especially when compared to sitting down.

“A person walking indoors – on a treadmill in a room facing a blank wall – or walking outdoors in the fresh air produced twice as many creative responses compared to a person sitting down, one of the experiments found.”

Reading

Those who are avid readers may already be very familiar with the many benefits of reading: not only does it exercise your brain and improves your vocabulary, but it also boosts your empathy and imagination. People who read literary fiction specifically are more likely to understand the feelings and beliefs of others.

How does this relate to your own creativity? Well, the more imaginative you become through other people’s work, the better you’ll be able to carry out empathy—and creativity—in your own.

Unplugging from electronics

This one may seem like it goes hand-in-hand with every tip on this list—and it does, but its importance should only be reiterated. Unplugging from electronics—even if it’s just for thirty minutes to an hour a day—can radically improve your brain’s ability to generate original thought and find inspiration from within. While the internet can be a great place to find ideas from others, it’s important to carve out some time away from it too.

Resting

Last but certainly not least, and one you may not typically think of, resting is crucial to fueling creativity. The benefits of sleep have recently been examined more, as more than a third of Americans are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis according to the CDC. Neuroscientist Matthew Walker shares in his book Why We Sleep, “Sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body health each day—Mother Nature’s best effort yet at contra-death.”

If you make time for a full night’s rest or carve out thirty minutes for a nap, you are doing yourself—and your creativity—a favor. This will allow you to clear your mind, focus, and eventually become more creative in your day-to-day life.