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Design

A Very Satisfying Piece of Hardware Design
One of my favorite possessions spends most of its time buried in my toolbox. Plus a new Inconspicuous News Roundup!
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Paul Lukas
8
The Curious Phenomenon of Faux Stitching
Manufacturers are trying to simulate a handcrafted look, even on products that we’d never expect to be handcrafted in the first place.
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Paul Lukas
7
A Sample Catalog for Something You Probably Never Thought About
If you’re giving out a diploma, certificate, or other fancy document, it likely needs a decorative border.
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Paul Lukas
9
How a Hornets’ Nest Totally Blew My Mind
I write a lot about human-designed products, the culture surrounding them, and the stories they have to tell (all of which led to a bit of…
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Paul Lukas
12
The Torpedo Bat Is a Classically Inconspicuous Design Story
The baseball bat’s shape has been essentially unchanged for a century — until now.
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Paul Lukas
12
The Binder Clip: An Appreciation
Seriously, is there anything this brilliant piece of design can’t do?
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Paul Lukas
25
Deconstructing “Folded” Logos
Can you recognize an iconic corporate logo when it’s broken down into its most basic shape? Plus a new Inconspicuous News Roundup.
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Paul Lukas
10
Let’s Check Out Some Cool Old Business Letters and Invoices
Each one provides a peek into a distinct little industry-specific world.
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Paul Lukas
17
A Very Unusual Traffic Light, and Some Additional Roadway Oddities
As we continue to discover, standardized highway signs and signals aren't always so standardized after all.
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Paul Lukas
17
The Amazing Variety of Parcheesi Board Designs
The popular game’s board has been rendered in a near-endless series of design variations over the years. Plus: The debut of the Inconspicuous News…
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Paul Lukas
8
The Pleasures of Vintage Billheads
You probably know about letterhead, but do you know about billheads? Let’s take a closer look.
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Paul Lukas
26
A Deep Dive on Air Mail Envelope Design
We all know what an air mail envelope looks like — or do we?
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Paul Lukas
8
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