OrangeCoat

Self-aware robots must be stopped

Artwork by Roxy

At OrangeCoat we don't shy away from the important issues of the day in web design and development.For example, we continue to be on the front line in the battle against self-aware robots taking over the world.

What don't believe us? Just check out our archives on the subject.

David Lynch's Interview Project just killed about an hour and a half of my day. Sampling bias aside, it seems people around here are in rough shape.

Some fine photos from the 1st Annual Southeastern Beard & Moustache Championships.

Damn it people, it's almost like the millions of hours of Science Fiction produced each year are just being done for entertainment purposes. Have we learned nothing? Turning yourself into a half a robot is step one for the eventual take over by self-aware robots. Self-aware robots must be stopped.

"Mad Libs" Style Form Increases Conversion 25-40%

The women's Canadian hockey team knows how to properly celebrate a gold medal. (found via @Mr_Turtlehead)

A Photographer's Tour of Budapest

Our friend and yours, Daniel McCord, recently traveled to Budapest. He returned to the States with a hard drive full of photos. We asked Daniel to compile some of his favorites so we could highlight them on the blog. In these photos, Daniel shies away from taking too many "postcard" photos of old buildings, though some of those shots are too pretty to pass up, and instead he focuses his camera on the culture, people, and food of Budapest. It's these photos that first attracted us to his collection and we are very pleased he let us show off some of his work. After the jump are some of Daniel's favorite photos with his thoughts on each. more

ScienceAsArt.org is now live to the world, showcasing Clemson University's annual competition that celebrates the aesthetic beauty of scientific imagery. Although the project presented a few challenges, we're pretty excited about the results.

The main challenge we faced was to create a site that places emphasis on the art, not the site design—the site itself simply serves as a clean canvas on which the artwork can be displayed. White space and neutral grays maximize the visual impact of the submissions. A kaleidoscope of color draws attention to key areas, but they are employed sparingly as to not compete with the artwork.

Inspired by historical topographical maps, the covers of How and Why Wonder Books, vintage dissection graphics, rulers, beakers, and graduated cylinders, we decided to give the site a few subtle hints of personality. We created a navigation system that resembles a ruler, which reinforces the grid layout and supports the scientific theme. For the site's art gallery, Leonardo Fibonacci was our inspiration. Fibonacci was a mathematician whose work is utilized and enjoyed by painters, engineers, mathematicians, architects, web designers, pinecones, and the winners selected by the Science as Art judges.

Now what would happen if OrangeCoat was in charge of the judging? Here's our favorites:

• Jim  The Blue Frost: The blight is such a fright.
• Rick  Amphibian Ark: That's one cool cat.
• Adam  Fungi Help Fuel Our Future was the piece of art Lisa first showed me to explain Science as Art.
• Evan   The title, the colors, and the arrangement of the subjects—Ocean's Top Predator is a great photo.
• Roxy   Since it somehow survived as my desktop background for several months, we all know I'd be lying if I said Man on Fire Holding a Chainsaw wasn't my favorite.

And if a man on fire holding a chainsaw wasn't enough to get you to feel the spirit of science, try listening to this.

Who wouldn't want to watch a seven minute rap video on the opposing economic philosophies John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek?

Brand New does a fine job of redesigning Valentine's Day.