Photo by Jasmine Deporta. All images courtesy of ÉCAL, shared with permission A team of industrial designers prototyped a furniture collection that dramatically transforms from flat sheets into fully functional objects, no tools required. Taking Gaetano Pesce’s spectacular “Up 5” chair as a starting point, Under Pressure Solutions (UPS) is an experimental research project helmed…
10 Cheap Ideas That Will Make Your Bathroom Feel More Spa-Like
Creating a relaxing and serene bathroom is an essential part of making your home more comfortable and calming. Making your bathroom feel more like a spa, however, does not always require spending more money. While an ample budget is always useful, you can also create a more serene bathroom experience with just a few well-chosen…
Hot Dogs, Rats, and Birkin Bags: Paa Joe’s Wooden Coffins Are an Ode to NYC’s Ubiquitous Sights
“Yellow Cab” (2024), Emele wood, enamel, cloth, acrylic, 92 x 27 x 44 inches. All images courtesy of Superhouse, shared with permission New Yorkers are known for their unwavering devotion to the city, but would they want to spend eternity inside one of its once-ubiquitous taxis or worse yet, in the body of a wildly…
Street Photographer Tony Van Le Captures Beauty in Brevity
“The Magic Number.” All images © Tony Van Le, shared with permission As John Koening writes in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, the term sonder refers to “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—an epic story that continues invisibly around you.” This profound feeling reveals…
With Few Glimmers of Hope, the World Press Photo Contest Documents War, Migration, and Devastation
“The Two Walls” by Alejandro Cegarra, The New York Times/Bloomberg. A migrant walks atop a freight train known as “The Beast.” Migrants and asylum seekers lacking the financial resources to pay a smuggler often resort to using cargo trains to reach the United States border. This mode of transportation is very dangerous; over the years,…
In Sicily, Mount Etna Blows an Unprecedented Frequency of Rare Volcanic Smoke Rings
Known to locals as the “Lady of the Rings,” Sicily’s Mount Etna is both the highest island mountain in the Mediterranean and the most active stratovolcano in the world. The magnificent landform has even more impressive qualities considering it emits elegant smoke rings, known as volcanic vortex rings, high into the sky. A video from The…
Thandiwe Muriu’s New Book Celebrates the Multi-Faceted Beauty of Kenyan Culture
All images © Thandiwe Muriu, courtesy of Chronicle Chroma, shared with permission In 2015, Thandiwe Muriu (previously) began CAMO, a series that takes a kaleidoscopic view of the lives of contemporary African women. Nearly a decade later, hundreds of self-portraits and photos are gathered in a new book from Chronicle Chroma that celebrates the project’s…
Researchers Uncover Hundreds of New Marine Species in the Underwater Mountain Ecosystems of the Pacific Ocean
A Chaunacops (a genus of bony fish in the sea toad family Chaunacidae) is seen at a depth of 1388.65 meters on Seamount SF2 inside the Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park. All images courtesy of Schmidt Ocean Institute, shared with permission Stretching thousands of miles off Chile’s coast to Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, the…
A Fast-Paced New Commercial by Early Man Film Celebrates the Cultural Rhythms of India
Through a catchy, rapid rhythm evoking the hustle and bustle of places around India, a new commercial for a steel company by Early Man Film highlights the endless applications of metal. Founded by Anand Menon and Ayappa KM, the Mumbai-based production studio specializes in advertising and documentary shorts, illuminating a wide breadth of lifestyles,…
A Fast-Paced New Commercial by Early Man Film Celebrates the Cultural Rhythms of India
Through a catchy, rapid rhythm evoking the hustle and bustle of places around India, a new commercial for a steel company by Early Man Film highlights the endless applications of metal. Founded by Anand Menon and Ayappa KM, the Mumbai-based production studio specializes in advertising and documentary shorts, illuminating a wide breadth of lifestyles,…