Iona Holloway

Iona, an editorial intern at Fast Company, is into Crossfit, snark, maintaining her Scottish accent, and writing on her design blog. She's a Syracuse grad, All-American field hockey player, temporary U.S. resident and unicorn expert. She currently covers kook-culture for The Airship. She wrote the Daily Orange's sex and health column and blogged for the official Syracuse athletics website.

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01.13.14 | 6:00 am

The Year in Hackathons

The marathon coding sessions are hugely popular and growing bigger all the time–but what’s a win worth? Here are four of this year’s most anticipated events and what their recent champs are up to:

Fast Company Magazine

Come, Ye Brand Pilgrims

Lego bricks, meet concrete.

Fast Company Magazine

Copyright Class of 2014

The debate over copyright–its value and appropriate length–is far from resolved, but the anti-copyright crowd celebrates what it can. January 1 marks the fifth year of international parties (with the biggest in Zurich) for Public Domain Day, when works become open. A brief guide to this year:

Impact

These Adorable Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces Show The Food Chain At Work

The beautiful Chomp puzzle gives you a fun window into the deadly reality of animals eating other animals.

Fast Company Magazine

The No-Discount Club: Four Companies Doubling Down on Mark-Downs

Ron Johnson ended JCPenney’s markdowns–and then customers fled, and Johnson was fired. Only a few companies have successfully braved the world of always-full-price. Author Mark Ellwood details them in his new book, Bargain Fever (available on Amazon at a 35% discount).

Fast Company Magazine

One Small Step for an Ad, One Giant Leap for Advertising

This month, Russia sends the 2014 Winter Olympic torch into space (cosponsored by Coca-Cola). NASA refuses ads, but Russia’s Roscosmos shuttles are practically billboards.

10.03.13 | 10:20 pm

23andMe’s Genetic “Calculator” Patent Lands On A Sensitive Market

A 2008 patent application related to choosing the traits of unborn children got a fresh round of attention this week after it was awarded to the genetics company. Is it about “designer babies” or something else?

Impact

These Tiny Wooden Houses Are The College Dorm Of The Future

Housing is expensive. So why not have students live in cubes they can afford? That’s the idea behind the “smart student unit.”

Creativity

The Replicants Are Coming: An Artist Creates Creepy 3-D Printed Faces

Art student Lorna Barnshaw combines human faces with an imperfect assortment of technology to create surreal replicants.

Impact

This Giant Wall Made From Plants Isn’t Just Pretty: It Can Stop A Flood

A new living wall in London is essentially a giant sponge, ensuring that at least part of the flood-prone city is spared from the perils of having too much water.

Tech

Will This Interactive Device Finally Kill The Mouse?

A company called Ractiv thinks their new device, dubbed Haptix–which turns any surface into a 3-D multi-touch one–can eliminate the vestigial PC pointing device for good.

Creativity

The Scary Japanese Museum Where Kids Can Mess With Mona Lisa

At this interactive exhibit at Japan’s Museum Of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, kids become part of the art and scare the poop out of fellow patrons in the process.

Tech

Automate Your House Like A Boss With This Smart-Thing Platform

The Internet of things has a serious communication problem. WigWag, a Kickstarter-funded sensory device and app, aims to translate foreign smart-object chatter into meaningful conversation using a common platform based on DeviceJS. But what does a connected home even look like? We explore the use cases.

Tech

What If 3-D Printers Had An “Undo” Button?

3-D printing used to be a fixed medium. Now, graduate students have created a printer that can go back in time, make changes on the fly, and best of all, build objects in a weightless environment. Here’s how it works.

Impact

8 ways healthcare providers can build public trust about the COVID-19 vaccines

Impact

Hoffa: This holiday season, give essential workers the unions they deserve

Impact

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Iona Holloway

The Year in Hackathons

The marathon coding sessions are hugely popular and growing bigger all the time–but what’s a win worth? Here are four of this year’s most anticipated events and what their recent champs are up to:

Come, Ye Brand Pilgrims

Lego bricks, meet concrete.

Copyright Class of 2014

The debate over copyright–its value and appropriate length–is far from resolved, but the anti-copyright crowd celebrates what it can. January 1 marks the fifth year of international parties (with the biggest in Zurich) for Public Domain Day, when works become open. A brief guide to this year:

These Adorable Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces Show The Food Chain At Work

The beautiful Chomp puzzle gives you a fun window into the deadly reality of animals eating other animals.

The No-Discount Club: Four Companies Doubling Down on Mark-Downs

Ron Johnson ended JCPenney’s markdowns–and then customers fled, and Johnson was fired. Only a few companies have successfully braved the world of always-full-price. Author Mark Ellwood details them in his new book, Bargain Fever (available on Amazon at a 35% discount).

One Small Step for an Ad, One Giant Leap for Advertising

This month, Russia sends the 2014 Winter Olympic torch into space (cosponsored by Coca-Cola). NASA refuses ads, but Russia’s Roscosmos shuttles are practically billboards.

23andMe’s Genetic “Calculator” Patent Lands On A Sensitive Market

A 2008 patent application related to choosing the traits of unborn children got a fresh round of attention this week after it was awarded to the genetics company. Is it about “designer babies” or something else?

These Tiny Wooden Houses Are The College Dorm Of The Future

Housing is expensive. So why not have students live in cubes they can afford? That’s the idea behind the “smart student unit.”

The Replicants Are Coming: An Artist Creates Creepy 3-D Printed Faces

Art student Lorna Barnshaw combines human faces with an imperfect assortment of technology to create surreal replicants.

This Giant Wall Made From Plants Isn’t Just Pretty: It Can Stop A Flood

A new living wall in London is essentially a giant sponge, ensuring that at least part of the flood-prone city is spared from the perils of having too much water.

Will This Interactive Device Finally Kill The Mouse?

A company called Ractiv thinks their new device, dubbed Haptix–which turns any surface into a 3-D multi-touch one–can eliminate the vestigial PC pointing device for good.

The Scary Japanese Museum Where Kids Can Mess With Mona Lisa

At this interactive exhibit at Japan’s Museum Of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, kids become part of the art and scare the poop out of fellow patrons in the process.

Automate Your House Like A Boss With This Smart-Thing Platform

What If 3-D Printers Had An “Undo” Button?

3-D printing used to be a fixed medium. Now, graduate students have created a printer that can go back in time, make changes on the fly, and best of all, build objects in a weightless environment. Here’s how it works.

Impact

8 ways healthcare providers can build public trust about the COVID-19 vaccines

Hoffa: This holiday season, give essential workers the unions they deserve

What can Biden do to quickly stimulate the sputtering U.S. economy?

News

How to watch the 2020 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade live on NBC or free without cable

Last-minute ideas for throwing a great Zoom Thanksgiving

This pandemic bed-couch-desk-massager should be top of your winter wishlists

Co.Design

11 Black-owned businesses to buy from this Black Friday

The Netherlands is transforming old ashtrays into bike charging stations

Inside the race to save Notre Dame Cathedral

Work Life

Feel like you never have enough time? Try these 5 ways to cope with the anxiety

You too can be a great innovator, if you just learn to work with this

This one remote-work hack will make your virtual meetings more productive