Hasta La Ideas

Brainy nonprofit TED is following through on its promise to turn its passion for “ideas worth spreading” into slim volumes that it hopes readers will consider worth downloading—for $2.99 a pop or less, thanks to a new subscription model (three months, six books, $14.99). The technology, entertainment, and design mavens have launched an app that provides easy and instant access to TED Books, short (10,000 to 20,000 words) nonfiction works that are meant to explore one big idea in a way that can be absorbed in a single sitting. “TED Books are to books as TED Talks are to lectures,” according to TED’s Chris Anderson. The free app, designed for both iPhone and iPad, beefs up the images in TED Books while adding features such as video, audio, links to maps, online resources, search, commenting, sharing, and automatically updated editions. With 16 titles published—including Living Architecture by Rachel Armstrong—and an ambitious schedule that promises a new one every two weeks, now is the time for TED to do something about those still-cringeworthy virtual book covers.

Got an app we should know about? Drop us a line at unbeige [at] mediabistro.com

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• Do you enjoy the work of Damien Hirst but wish that it came with a Whopper? Have it your way in London, where the Burger King in Leicester Square has a spin painting—the artist’s “Beautiful Psychedelic Gherkin Exploding Tomato Sauce All Over Your Face, Flame Grilled Painting” (2003)—on view for the rest of the year. Turns out that Hirst is chummy with the owner of the franchise, which was recently remodeled as a ‘Flameship’ to showcase the brand’s flame-grilling cooking method, according to a report in Marketing. And have no fear about rogue ketchup packets or greasy fingerprints. The painting is behind a wall of reinforced glass.

• Congratulations to 99% Invisible, the self-described “tiny radio show about design” from producer Roman Mars and KALW in San Francisco. The scrappy podcast recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund its third season of “trying to comprehend the 99% invisible activity that shapes the design of our world” and surpassed its $42,000 goal within 12 hours. At last count, 2,097 backers had pledged $82,338 to support the production of future episodes. With 22 days to go on the Kickstarter campaign, Mars is now looking to reach 5,000 backers. “I want to make each person who listens to 99% Invisible understand that the simple act of supporting the show, with a pledge of any size, is meaningful,” he says. “This ambitious goal inspired Debbie Millman at her brand new Design Matters Institute to offer a challenge grant of $10,000 to motivate 5,000 people to show support for 99% Invisible at any level they can afford.” Learn more here.

• In other design business news, shelter mag Lonny has been acquired by Zimbio. The online-only publication was founded in 2009 by Michelle Adams and Patrick Cline. The acquisition includes the founding editorial team, the Lonny website, its library of backissues, and an archive of thousands of original photographs. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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From left, an evening dress designed by Coco Chanel, a Brooks Brothers top hat (c. 1890), and detail of a Chado Ralph Rucci ensemble in double-faced chartreuse wool/silk. (Courtesy Museum at FIT)

Among the current exhibitions at the Museum at FIT is the second installment of “Fashion, A-Z,” featuring highlights from the museum’s permanent collection of more than 50,000 garments and accessories dating from the 18th century to the present. Can’t make it to New York to examine the embroidered organza creation that Oscar de la Renta whipped up for his spring 2002 Balmain collection or showstoppers from the likes of Christian Dior and Charles James? A companion book from Taschen is due out this fall, but the real resource is already at your fingertips: the freshly relaunched Museum at FIT Online Collections. The new site is stocked with digital images and details of some 600 objects (double the number previously available), from 17th-century kicks with stylish red heels to a killer Rick Owens ensemble just a few seasons removed from the runway. The more integrated site also includes an array of options for searching and browsing the collection as well as the ability to create and save image sets for personal use. Watch for new objects and images to be added on a monthly basis.

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Ji Lee’s simple plug-in removes text from any site to let images stand alone

The endless stream of information available on the web can easily get clogged with an overload of messaging. To simplify your daily surfing sessions, former Google Creative Lab Creative Director Ji Lee—with the coding help of Cory Forsyth—has come up with the Wordless Web, a simple browser plug-in that takes any website and gets rid of the text, leaving only pictures. As longtime supporters of Lee’s “special projects“, we were keen to see a substantial array of websites’ content reduced to a context-free assortment of images with one simple click.

By presenting the Internet as a palette of pictures only, the website reader becomes a viewer. “No text means no context,” says Lee. “You’re free to enjoy the images in their purest form, without names, labels, definitions, or purpose. It makes the pictures we see across the web more mysterious and open to interpretation of our own imaginations.”

Although we love the clean look of most websites without words, we noticed an interesting effect that the “Bubble Project” founder has exposed as a true eye-opener. While some websites benefit from being free of text, others seem to turn into giant advertising billboards. Regardless of the outcome, Wordless Web is an interesting adventure in turning something so vital upside down. Give it a go yourself at Wordless Web.

Virtual decoupage? It’s an oxymoron come true thanks to John Derian. The New York-based purveyor of whimsical plates and paperweights, who has proven his range (and boundless appeal) in previous collaborations with the likes of Astier de Villatte and Target, has taken to the web with a collection of ephemeral yet fine stationery for Paperless Post. “My artistic vision of textures and colors has been translated into this collection of digital stationery in an amazing way,” said Derian in a statement announcing the collaboration. “I’m excited that people who enjoy my work will now be able to experience it so beautifully online.” His signature eclectic imagery—jaunty letters, sea creatures, ferns, a possibly enchanted frog—appears on 65 digital notecards, save-the-date cards, and invitations that Paperless Post users can customize and send (for a small fee). Derian joins a growing stable of guest designers that includes Thornwillow, Boatman Geller, and calligraphy god Bernard Maisner.

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