The science behind everyday design
Short, sourced answers to the design questions everyone has wondered about — traffic lights, road signs, the Tube map, the QWERTY keyboard, the floppy-disk save icon and infinite scroll — with the perception science that explains each one.
London Tube map history: why Harry Beck's 1933 diagram isn't to scale, and why that works
London Tube map history from the 1908 geographic maps to Harry Beck's 1933 diagram. Why it isn't to scale, how it shapes route choices and what research shows.
Who invented infinite scroll? Aza Raskin built it in 2006, and has spent years warning about it
Aza Raskin invented infinite scroll in 2006 to save clicks, and now regrets it. How it works on the brain, what research shows and how regulators are acting.
Why are stop signs octagons? The design rules behind road signs around the world
Stop signs are octagons so drivers recognise them by shape alone, even from behind. The history of road sign shapes, colours and lettering from 1923 to today.
Why are traffic lights red, yellow and green? The railway history and the science of seeing them
Traffic lights are red, yellow and green because road signals copied railway signals. The history, the physics of each colour and how colour-blind drivers cope.
Why is the keyboard QWERTY? What the patents, telegraphs and typing data actually show
Keyboards are QWERTY because of an 1870s typewriter, not a plan to slow typists. What patents, telegraph history and 136 million keystrokes reveal about it.
Why is the save icon still a floppy disk? The icons that outlived their objects
The save icon is a floppy disk because that is where files were saved when toolbars were designed. Why it survived, plus 10 icons that outlived their objects.
Why the human body is shaped the way it is: the design logic behind every part
Why is every body part shaped the way it is? Domes protect, tubes carry, folds add surface, levers move. The design logic of 164 parts, and which can be moved.