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See some of the world’s most beautiful abandoned places Take a tour of the world’s apparently robust supply of empty castles, power plants, and churches—and witness the surprising grandeur of dilapidation. A tired screenwriting trope is to use abandoned places as settings where one’s gory horror scenarios might unfold—the house nobody has been inside for years, the decrepit mental hospital kids dare each other to sneak into. But “abandoned” doesn’t always mean “scary.” In fact, in some cases, it can be downright breathtaking—and not in a strangulation kind of way. See and read more here.

See some of the world’s most beautiful abandoned places

Take a tour of the world’s apparently robust supply of empty castles, power plants, and churches—and witness the surprising grandeur of dilapidation.

A tired screenwriting trope is to use abandoned places as settings where one’s gory horror scenarios might unfold—the house nobody has been inside for years, the decrepit mental hospital kids dare each other to sneak into. But “abandoned” doesn’t always mean “scary.” In fact, in some cases, it can be downright breathtaking—and not in a strangulation kind of way.

See and read more here.

How An Ingenious App Hooks You On Drawing Pics Of Strangers

French Girls is a new, free iOS app based on the meme “draw me like one of your French girls”—which you may recognize from Titanic. Its premise is simple. You upload your photo. People draw it.

But what makes it so brilliant—and the content you receive generally amusing—is its simple, well-planned interactions.

Read more about French Girls here.

An Amazing Map Of Every College Mascot

The Chart of Collegiate Sports Teams is the latest from Pop Chart Labs, a massive map laying out the mascots for over 1100 schools from Division I to Division III. Unsurprisingly, a good deal of real estate is dedicated to animals. It’s there you’ll find the Wolverines (in the “weasel family” subcategory of the “mammals” section), along with big names like the Minnesota Golden Gophers and some lesser-known ones like the Rhodes College Lynx. Bulldogs and Tigers are both significant hubs, though the Eagle looks to be the most popular mascot of all, with 60 schools claiming it as their avatar.

Here’s more.

Infographic: The Grinders Vs. The Dreamers. Who Wins? To be great at your job, you have to embrace the grind. But the very word implies pulverizing something into nothing, as if with every type of your keyboard, your fingers flake away, until work has consumed your wrists, elbows, shoulders and chest. Sorry! Don’t think about that visual! Here’s a better one, by Joey Roth, that imagines the grind not as a platform for powderization, but as the step-by-step means to ascension. By ‘grind’ I mean a combination of work ethic and improvised strategy that becomes a daily ritual, and ensures progression or improvement over time, regardless of an individual day or even week’s outcome.” Here’s the full story.

Infographic: The Grinders Vs. The Dreamers. Who Wins?

To be great at your job, you have to embrace the grind. But the very word implies pulverizing something into nothing, as if with every type of your keyboard, your fingers flake away, until work has consumed your wrists, elbows, shoulders and chest.

Sorry! Don’t think about that visual!

Here’s a better one, by Joey Roth, that imagines the grind not as a platform for powderization, but as the step-by-step means to ascension.

By ‘grind’ I mean a combination of work ethic and improvised strategy that becomes a daily ritual, and ensures progression or improvement over time, regardless of an individual day or even week’s outcome.”

Here’s the full story.

A Band Visualizes Fans Sharing Its Music Sharing music online is a social activity that can quickly escape the bounds of real-world connection. After a few degrees of separation occur—say, after an MP3 passes beyond your sister’s co-worker’s boyfriend’s friend—it’s impossible to know where it might eventually end up. The Beginnings And Endings Project, a web app designed by the Australian band Brightly, visualizes the journey of their first single as it’s shared across the web. Find out how they did it here.

A Band Visualizes Fans Sharing Its Music

Sharing music online is a social activity that can quickly escape the bounds of real-world connection. After a few degrees of separation occur—say, after an MP3 passes beyond your sister’s co-worker’s boyfriend’s friend—it’s impossible to know where it might eventually end up. The Beginnings And Endings Project, a web app designed by the Australian band Brightly, visualizes the journey of their first single as it’s shared across the web.

Find out how they did it here.

fastcodesign: A Look Inside The Sketchbooks Of 10 Terrific Creatives “A sketchbook is like a valve, a pressure release system,” the German designer Daniel Kluge tells Richard Brereton, the author of Sketchbooks: The Hidden Art of Designers, Illustrators & Creatives. “Instead of weighing things up in my head, I give them a place in my sketchbook. Sketches are like embryos, and as soon as they have been realized, they are born and start to live.” And here is the full story and more sketches.

fastcodesign:

A Look Inside The Sketchbooks Of 10 Terrific Creatives

“A sketchbook is like a valve, a pressure release system,” the German designer Daniel Kluge tells Richard Brereton, the author of Sketchbooks: The Hidden Art of Designers, Illustrators & Creatives. “Instead of weighing things up in my head, I give them a place in my sketchbook. Sketches are like embryos, and as soon as they have been realized, they are born and start to live.”

And here is the full story and more sketches.