The New York Times delivers the goods yet again with this fluid implementation of the Olympic medal count-up. I love the transitions from year to year and the whole whimsical nature of the presentation. I can see the smoke coming out of Edward Tufte’s ears now, but who said information design has to be staid and methodical?

Welcome another high-end information design visualizer in the form of Virgin Eye, Richard Branson and company’s aggregator-slash-tracker-slash-gallery. It provides sweet eye candy and is functionally simple enough, though I’m not sure why the gallery is there. Its inclusion seems like an afterthought, melded on top of the experience, rather than integrated into it.

Performance-wise, it seems to be chugging along over my high-speed network and isn’t as responsive as I’d like. Perhaps that’s due to initial traffic hits. Otherwise, for a visualizer, it’s not bad, but it’s lack of features and additional views makes it a quick visit.

via Josh Spear

On display at MOMA (New York), Design and the Elastic Mind “explores the reciprocal relationship between science and design in the contemporary world by bringing together design objects and concepts that marry the most advanced scientific research with attentive consideration of human limitations, habits, and aspirations.”

“The exhibition highlights designers’ ability to grasp momentous changes in technology, science, and history—changes that demand or reflect major adjustments in human behavior—and translate them into objects that people can actually understand and use.” The Web site “presents over three hundred of these works, including fifty projects that are not featured in the gallery exhibition.”

Highly recommended for anyone interested in design and especially, information design.