The Revitalist

Yesterday I received my reminder mailing that the Edward Tufte one-day course Presenting Data and Information is returning to Boston next month. I'm tempted to go again. We have sent everyone from our office to the course. It is an eye-opener on the power of visual display and inspires us to communicate more effectively everyday.

 Along those lines, CoolTown Studios is launching their Cool Places Flickr pool. These are photos (anyone can contribute) that are meant to document and inspire good places: the "Wow, I wish that was in my neighborhood!" photos. CoolTown believes in the power of community conversation; so if you have a Wow place in your neighborhood, share it with the world and maybe they'll be inspired...

This isn't related to urban living, but it's an interesting exercise in comparative display: What Does 200 Calories Look Like? (via Dynamist). Each of the examples is staged on the same plate/bowl, so that they are comparable to each other. Personally, I would like a little human-scale context, so that I could  get a sense of whether I think that's a big or small portion. But besides being a cool display, it does make you think about the classic combination of food and design.