Ken Carbone

Big League Chew: Phils Out-Spit Yanks

Are the Yankees and Phillies actually playing baseball on Ken Carbone's widescreen TV? To him they're just hocking high-def loogies.READ»

• Ken Carbone's Yes to Less blog

Creepy, Crawly, Crafty: A Tapestry Woven by Eight-Legged Artists

What could possibly drive two men to spend $500,000 of their own money over four years, become employers of a million female spiders, and rekindle an indigenous tradition on the island of Madagascar?READ»

• Ken Carbone's Yes to Less blog

Designed to be Wild: Full Throttle Choppers In Vermont

Ken Carbone takes a field trip to a Vermont museum and becomes enthralled with the sleek elegance of the motorcycle.READ»

• Ken Carbone's Yes to Less blog

A Better Way to Health Care Reform: We Need an Information Design S.W.A.T. Team

Long before the current debate, an op-ed piece appeared in the Washington Post positing that the U.S. health care system was critically ill. The diagnosis? Terminal Information Design.READ»

• Ken Carbone's Yes to Less blog

Les Paul: The Guitar, the Logo, the Legend

A tribute to the Architect of Rock & Roll, who died yesterday at 94.READ»

• Ken Carbone's Yes to Less blog

Bill and Kim's Excellently-Posed Adventure

What's up with that photo of Bill Clinton and Kim Jong Il that was released yesterday? Ken Carbone has some careful analysis.READ»

• Ken Carbone's Yes to Less blog

Ron Arad at MoMA: Who Needs Discipline?

Designer Ron Arad’s exhibition at MoMA is a lot about "no." No limits. No right angles. No expense spared.READ»

• Ken Carbone's Yes to Less blog

François Robert Finds a Face for FLOR

The unintended consequence of industrial design and manufacturing is the parallel humanity that lives in the objects of our lives. It's a global population and they surround us. A wall outlet seems to be expressing a face of fear. A ...READ»

Architecture in Golden Gate Park: A Matter of Life and Lifeless

Two San Francisco museums offer two drastically different versions of institutional architecture.READ»

• Ken Carbone's Yes to Less blog

Dear SyFy, Imagine Greater - Please!

The Sci Fi channel announced that it was changing its name to SyFy a few months ago, and the switch happens tomorrow. Unfortunately Bruce Willis is not going to rescue us from this colossal attack of bad branding and phonetic foolishness.READ»

• Ken Carbone's Yes to Less blog

Design Roundtable: What Will Cell Phones Look Like 10 Years From Now?

We're back with the final installation of this week's cell phone roundtable. We choose the topic, put forth a few questions to our panel, and bring the most provocative answers back to you. This week, with more details about the ...READ»

• Design Roundtable: How Have Cell Phones Changed Our Behavior?
• Design Roundtable: How Can Cell Phones Improve the World?
• Design Roundtable: Why Do Cell Phones Go Out of Fashion so Quickly?

Design Roundtable: Why Do Cell Phones Go Out of Fashion so Quickly?

Once again we've got our favorite design experts gathered around our virtual roundtable, talking about cell phones. Here's how our design roundtables work: We choose the topic, put forth a few questions to our panel ...READ»

• Design Roundtable: How Have Cell Phones Changed Our Behavior?
• Design Roundtable: How Can Cell Phones Improve the World?

Design Roundtable: How Can Cell Phones Improve the World?

With more details about the Palm Pre and some rumors about Apple’s 2009 iPhone event on Tuesday, it seemed a good time to gather our design experts together and ponder some issues about our love affair with mobile. Today's question: How can cell phones be used to improve the world?READ»

• Design Roundtable: How Have Cell Phones Changed Our Behavior?

Hot Diggity Dog! Design That's Good Enough to Eat

Take one baguette, slice it in half, impale it on a warm spike, add any of six sauces into the resulting cavity, insert one of five grilled sausages and serve. That's DOGMATIC: the Gourmet Sausage System. If you're looking for ...READ»

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One in a Billion: iHandy Level - A 'Yes to Less' Review

Thirteen-year-old Connor Mulcahey made headlines last week when he downloaded the billionth app in Apple's "Billion App Countdown Promotion." As the grand prizewinner, he's now enjoying a bunch of Apple ...READ»

• Viva Le Louvre! At 20, I.M. Pei's Controversial Pyramid Defies Critics
• Flawless to Clueless, Part II: The Fender Telecaster
• Flawless to Clueless, Part III: Peanut Birdfeeder

Flawless to Clueless, Part III: Peanut Birdfeeder

One of the great joys of living in Palisades, New York, is that it is teaming with wildlife. When I saw the Peanut Birdfeeder in the "Design Within Reach" catalog, it looked way too beautiful to actually work. I was skeptical, but decided to spend the $90 to give it a try.READ»

Flawless to Clueless, Part II: The Fender Telecaster

What constitutes a "game changer?" It's usually an idea so bold that its effect completely alters preconceived notions of what something can do or should be. Think Apple's iPhone, Toyota's Prius or even the font Helvetica. The Fender Telecaster changed the way musicians thought about the electric guitar.READ»

• Introducing Guest Blogger Ken Carbone: A Look Inside His Private Journals [video]
• Viva Le Louvre! At 20, I.M. Pei's Controversial Pyramid Defies Critics

Introducing Guest Blogger Ken Carbone: A Look Inside His Private Journals [video]

About a year ago, I happened by the offices of Carbone Smolan, a design and branding agency here in New York. Their work for clients ranging from Morgan Stanley to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was--is--wonderful. But I was most ...READ»

Viva Le Louvre! At 20, I.M. Pei's Controversial Pyramid Defies Critics

From the moment I.M. Pei's design for the pyramidal addition to the Musee du Louvre was introduced in 1985, it was the subject of controversy and international attention. Critics derided it as a violation of the museum's classical integrity. But two decades later, it is one of the top tourist attractions in Paris.READ»