Design is everywhere in our lives, perhaps most importantly in the places where we've just stopped noticing. 99% Invisible is a weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture. From award winning producer Roman Mars. Learn more at 99percentinvisible.org.

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Sounds Like Infrastructure by Ferrovial

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When working well, the infrastructure we use is all but invisible. Its seamless integration into our daily lives means we rarely stop to think "How did this get here?" Sounds Like Infrastructure reveals the secrets and stories behind some of the world’s biggest infrastructure projects. Learn more at Ferrovial.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Data Viz Today

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Helping you become a more effective information designer. You want to create effective data visualizations. That’s hard work. There are so many decisions to make, like chart type, annotations, and color! Will this podcast help? Host and fellow data viz designer Alli Torban is in the trenches with you. She shares the latest tools and methods that she’s discovered while on the job and interviewing top designers. If you’re an analyst, journalist, or designer who wants to hone your skills with specific tactics, then this show could be just what you need.

Twenty Thousand Hertz

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A lovingly crafted podcast that reveals the stories behind the world's most recognizable and interesting sounds.

99% Invisible-18- Check Cashing Stores

March 03, 2011 00:05:34 5.4 MB Downloads: 0

A few years ago, journalist Douglas McGray learned that the largest chain of check cashing stores in Southern California, Nix Check Cashing, was being bought by the nation’s largest credit union, Kinecta. The credit union thought it had something to … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-17- Concrete Furniture

February 25, 2011 00:07:01 6.79 MB Downloads: 0

The New City Hall, designed by Finnish architect Viljo Revell, was the first modern, concrete, civic building in Toronto. When it opened in 1965, it stood out very prominently in the traditional Victorian fabric of the city. The striking concrete … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-16- A Designed Language

February 18, 2011 00:06:22 6.17 MB Downloads: 0

The idea is simple and quite beautiful: if we all shared a second, politically neutral language, people of all different nations and cultures could communicate freely and easily, and it would foster international understanding and peace. This is the idea … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-15- Sounds of the Artificial World

February 11, 2011 00:05:19 5.16 MB Downloads: 0

Without all the beeps and chimes, without sonic feedback, all of your modern conveniences would be very hard to use. If a device and its sounds are designed correctly, it creates a special “theater of the mind” that users completely … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-14- Periodic Table

February 04, 2011 00:06:29 6.27 MB Downloads: 0

Everyone knows it when they see it. The classic “castle with turrets” periodic table is a beautiful and concise icon that contains a great deal of amazing information, if you only know how to read it. And even if you … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-13x-Game Over (Snap Judgment)

January 07, 2011 00:11:34 11.16 MB Downloads: 0

99% Invisible Extra! The tape rolls as we witness the tearful end of a perfect online world. This is a piece I did for Snap Judgment, based on a story from Robert Ashley’s brilliant A Life Well Wasted internet radio … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-13- Maps

December 16, 2010 00:00:00 0.0 MB Downloads: 0

I’m sorry, but if you don’t love maps, I don’t think we can be friends anymore. Maps are amazing. They are art and story. A representation of where we are and where we wish we could be. They’ve always had … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-12- 99% Guilt Free

December 03, 2010 00:04:57 4.81 MB Downloads: 0

“Sustainable Design is a design philosophy that seeks to maximize the quality of the built environment, while minimizing or eliminating the negative impact to the natural environment.” -Jason F. McLennan, The Philosophy of Sustainable Design I like McLennan’s definition of … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-11- 99% Undesigned

November 24, 2010 00:05:00 4.85 MB Downloads: 0

Almost everything in modern life is designed to waste energy. The whole system evolved on a false premise that petroleum is cheap and plentiful and will be that way forever. The awesome Lisa Margonelli, author of Oil on The Brain … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-10- 99% Sound and Feel

November 19, 2010 00:05:20 5.17 MB Downloads: 0

Chris Downey explains it like this, “Beethoven continued to write music, even some of his best music, after he lost his hearing…What’s more preposterous, composing music you can’t hear, or designing architecture you can’t see?” Chris Downey had been an … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-09X-99% Doomed

November 13, 2010 00:12:00 11.57 MB Downloads: 0

99% Invisible Extra! NASA is figuring out how to take the next great leap into space. The difficulty is, if we leap to Mars, we might not make it back. This is a story I produced last year (Summer 2009) … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-09- 99% Private

November 05, 2010 00:04:58 4.82 MB Downloads: 0

Privately Owned Public Open Spaces, or POPOS, are these little gardens, terraces, plazas, and seating areas that are private property, but are mandated for public use. City planners require developers to add these little “parks” to their buildings to make … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-08- 99% Free Parking

October 29, 2010 00:05:20 5.17 MB Downloads: 0

It’s weird how much anxiety comes from parking in a city. Beyond the stress of looking for parking, you must contend with the frequently unreliable meters. The signage can be indecipherable. As a point of interaction with your municipality, it’s … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-07- 99% Alien

October 14, 2010 00:04:58 4.83 MB Downloads: 0

Humans need a few basic things to survive- air, water, food, heat, shelter- but just surviving isn’t really enough. We also need familiarity, a little comfort, interaction, a small place of our own. When it comes to designing space habitat … Continue reading →

99% Invisible-06- 99% Symbolic

October 07, 2010 00:04:58 4.82 MB Downloads: 0

Before I moved to Chicago in 2005, I didn’t even know cities had their own flags. In Chicago, the city flag is everywhere. It’s incorporated into all different aspects of city life and the design elements are used on businesses, … Continue reading →