It’s through assigning priority to the information they want to convey. Designers effectively present content or information by following a visual hierarchy. They try to organize their content so to present the content with the highest priority first. This, in turn, will be the first item that will grab the eye’s attention, as the Interaction Design Organization details: 

“Hierarchy” is simply a nicer way of saying organized from most to least important. We also use “hierarchy” to show relationships (where relationships exist) between content blocks.

There are common patterns for hierarchy both on the printed page and for the digital page. These patterns are based on the movements that our eyes tend to make when presented with a fresh page. English, for example, is read from left to right. English readers have a set scanning pattern when facing a page of text. Arabic readers have a different pattern. Why? It’s because Arabic is read from right to left.

It’s important to understand how your audience processes information before adopting a hierarchy pattern. 

Check out the full piece here.

image via The Interaction Design Organization

This might look like an ordinary ring, but it’s more than just an accessory. The Oura Ring is a health tracker that has sensors on the inside, but the wearer won’t even notice it! The small tracker has been getting traction from being used by the NBA and WNBA as a tool for preventing outbreaks of COVID-19, as TechCrunch details: 

So what does the Oura Ring actually track? A lot of things, actually. It measures sleep, as mentioned, as well as various other metrics under two broad categories: Readiness and Activity. Sleep, Readiness and Activity all provide one overall summary score out of 100 to give you a topline sense of where you are, but each is actually calculated from a range of sub-metrics that add up to that larger score.

Oura’s sleep tracking is much more in-depth than the forthcoming Apple Watch sleep tracking that Apple is releasing with its next watchOS update in the fall. It monitors when you go to sleep, how long you sleep, how much of that qualifies as “deep” and how much is “REM,” and gives you a metric or you sleep efficiency, your time in bed, your total sleep time and more. Readiness tracks your ambient body temperature, heart rate variability, respiratory rate and your resting heart rate, while activity automatically measures calorie burn, inactive time, your steps and how close you are to your overall activity goal.

image via TechCrunch

There can only be too much decoration on your walls, right? If you feel like your home needs to be more lively but you don’t have any more available space, here's an unorthodox suggestion: try hanging decorations on your windows! Painter Chambers Austelle hung her artworks on her window frame. It might limit the view outside, but it can actually create a focal point in a room, as Apartment Therapy details: 

It also just might draw more attention to, say, a set of windows with pretty moldings. I probably wouldn’t pick a piece that’s going to totally obscure the entire window, blocking all natural light in the process. However, if you did have a not so great view, this is a decent fast fix for covering that up a bit.

Austelle herself was inspired by a pin she saw on Pinterest. “I love the look of artwork hanging on bookcases, but that wasn’t an option for me, as I don’t have a bookcase,” she says. She then realized she could create the same effect with this set of double windows on her porch.

“Just like you would on a wall, I used wire resting on a nail to mount the photo in the center of the windows,” says Austelle. You can also explore more temporary mounting solutions like Command Strips, too, especially if you choose a lighter, smaller piece. One other tip to keep in mind: This idea works best on undressed windows, so drapes and shades don’t get the way of your prized piece of artwork.

image via Apartment Therapy

According to meteorologists, the cloud isn’t really rare, we just don’t notice its appearance quite often. What looked like a long plank-shaped cloud was spotted in Birmingham, which caused the public to be curious about the odd object in the sky. The object is called an undular bore cloud, as Al details: 

An undular bore is not especially rare, but getting such a good look at one is, according to Gary Goggins, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Birmingham.

“An undular bore is basically formed when you have rising air parcels on the front end of an old outflow boundary or gust front from thunderstorms.  When the air parcels enter more stable air, that causes the air parcels to sink once again, causing the wave-like pattern at the front end of where the gust front used to be,” he said.

”It’s almost like a ripple in the water. Over time it goes out to where it’s almost like a wave on the outside part of a dissipating outflow boundary from old thunderstorms.”

This one formed from thunderstorms that rolled across north Alabama early this morning and dissipated just north of the Birmingham metro area between 6 and 7 a.m., Goggins said.

Image via wikimedia commons

I wish it could be though. Discharge is an art installation composed of approximately ten thousand pigeon feathers. The five-meter tall installation pours down from a built-in bookcase like water. Don’t worry, it is static, but artist  Kate MccGwire evokes the way water appears as it cascades down, as Colossal details: 

The delicate feathers are sourced ethically from pigeon racers who collect the plumes in August and October when the birds molt. MccGwire sorts the materials in her studio, separating the ones that curve left from those that bend to the right, before arranging them in captivating, color-specific patterns. “When visitors see the piece for the first time they are drawn to the phenomenal scale, rhythmic patterning, movement, and perfection of the piece,” she says of the mixed-media installation. “But are often perturbed and revolted when they understand what the material is,” which is exactly her intention. By juxtaposing the raw materials with the finished artwork, she asks viewers to consider the everyday beauty that’s often overlooked.

“Discharge” has been exhibited in an evolution of configurations in South Korea, Berlin, Paris, and now, Harewood House in West Yorkshire until August 14. 

Image via Colossal

If your house has an incredible air conditioning unit, or a good cooling system that can make you ignore the hot weather, then good for you! But what if your fan or AC isn’t enough to subdue the heat? Is getting sleep still possible? Yes! All it takes are some tweaks to your daily routine, as inews detail:

Firstly, keep your curtains or blinds drawn during the day to block out the heat. Open windows and doors throughout your home to get a through-draft.

Making sure you are hydrated throughout the day is also very important and keeping a glass of water by your bed is advised. Also, avoid spicy foods and eating too late at night as this can raise your body temperature.

Keeping your extremities, such as your head and feet, cool can also lead to a more restful night.

Image via wikimedia commons 

It seems that the futuristic concept of watching shows on a television with a transparent display is close to hitting the stores! Xiaomi has revealed a brand new HDTV with a transparent display. The 55-inch OLED display can blend into the surroundings when turned off, as BGR details: 

The set itself boasts a 150000:1 contrast ratio, DCI-P3 93% color spectrum support, an extra-wide color spectrum, Dolby Atmos support, and a 120Hz refresh rate. The TV won’t come cheap and will set you back about $7,200 when it becomes available in China next week. The downside is that you probably won’t be able to pick this up outside of Asia.

Xiaomi calls the TV design itself a work of art, and from the promotional pictures we’ve seen so far, that seems to be accurate. That said, there’s no denying that the main selling point of Xiaomi’s new HDTV is its transparent display. When turned off, the HDTV appears to be nothing more than a sheet of glass. What’s more, the display can simultaneously show images while remaining transparent on other parts of the display.

Image via BGR 

This personal cabin can be placed anywhere you like. You can have the Mountain Refuge airlifted into the middle of the woods or to a precipice looking over the ocean. Live the secluded life, or just throw it in your backyard as a personal hub where you can rest. That is, of course, if you buy this cabin-style micro home. The Mountain Refuge features light wood, rustic finishes, a small kitchen, and a sauna-like bathroom. The structure can stand alone or be connected to another structure! 

Image via Urban Daddy

Sugar Bean 슈가빈 shares a video of herself creating a lot of macarons for her store. Over a thousand macarons, on her own! I can’t even bake a simple treat for myself. If you’re looking for an inspiration for your stress baking sessions, this video might inspire you (or intimidate you). 

The world’s most expensive mask is made of gold and diamonds, with a price tag of $1.5 million. Don’t worry about stocks of the mask, as the mask is a work in progress. The 18-karat white gold mask will be decorated with 3,600 white and black diamonds and fitted with top-rated N99 filters at the request of the buyer, as The Huffington Post detailed: 

Levy, owner of the Yvel company, said the buyer had two other demands: that it be completed by the end of the year, and that it would be the priciest in the world. That last condition, he said, “was the easiest to fulfill.”

He declined to identify the buyer, but said he was a Chinese businessman living in the United States.

The glitzed-up face mask may lend some pizzazz to the protective gear now mandatory in public spaces in many countries. But at 270 grams (over half a pound) — nearly 100 times that of a typical surgical mask — it is not likely to be a practical accessory to wear.

In an interview at his factory near Jerusalem, Levy showed off several pieces of the mask, covered in diamonds. One gold plate had a hole for the filter.

“Money maybe doesn’t buy everything, but if it can buy a very expensive COVID-19 mask and the guy wants to wear it and walk around and get the attention, he should be happy with that,” Levy said.

Image via wikimedia commons

One side of the divided Cerro Lagoon turned purple and began emitting a foul odor. The other side has remained its natural blue. When one side of the lagoon turned purple, residents noticed that fish began dying. Experts believe that the cause of this phenomenon is pollution, not someone throwing purple ink on the river, no! Fox News has more details: 

“Three months ago, all the fish died in the lagoon, thousands and thousands of them,” resident Herminia Meza told the Associated Press. “The smell was unbearable, and we were overwhelmed by flies. About a month ago the herons died, and it turned a reddish color.”

Experts suspect pollution from the Waltrading SA tannery on the banks of the lagoon to be the cause.

Image via Fox News

David Rush was able to reclaim his previously-held Guinness World Record for most balloons popped with chopsticks in one minute. Rush was able to pop 40 balloons, beating previous record holder Ahsrita Furman’s record of 36 balloons. This isn’t even Rush’s only claim to fame. Actually, he has  broken more than 150 Guinness records to promote STEM education!

Image screenshot via UPI

Well, not exactly. Thanks to trading, Demi Skipper already has an iPhone and a minivan. The 29-year-old began a trading challenge with a simple hairpin. Skipper won’t stop until she gets a house. Now that’s dedication! Skipper was able to trade an iPhone 11 Pro Max for a van, as Sky News details:

Skeptics might wonder if her friends are helping her achieve her goal, but under the rules of the challenge she is forbidden from using cash or trading with anyone she knows.

Ms Skipper, who works for a restaurant reservation app, said she sends out around a thousand messages early in the morning and late at night, when her life is "all trades".

Image via Sky News 

If you’re tired of the quality smartphones come in nowadays, or would just like the idea of building gadgets on your own, the Zero Terminal project might catch your interest! The project is a Raspberry Pi Zero connected to a 5.5-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a 1,200mAh battery. It has a USB port, a microSD slot for the operating system, a mini-USB port, and a power switch. Input Magazine has more details: 

New in the latest iteration of Zero Terminal are 40-pin sockets that can be used to connect additional I/O connections, like extra USB ports or HDMI video out. In the video above showing off the device, the creator of the Zero Terminal connected a slide-out keyboard. The modularity allows for all kinds of possibilities.

You can't run some powerful operating systems like Windows on the Raspberry Pi Zero, of course – it has a very small 1GHz CPU and 512MB of RAM. But slap a radio on there and you can get a little mobile computer for completing basic computing tasks. Even from the Raspberry Pi OS, you could use the terminal to connect to services like Twitter and send out messages and then disconnect the radio to dip off the grid. If you really wanted to make this a powerful pocket computer you could use a Raspberry Pi 4, which features a quad-core ARM processor and supports up to 8GB of RAM.

image via Input Magazine

It’s a little closer to every cyberpunk fan’s dream. The construction for what looks like a massive Gundam model was finished July 29, 2020. The giant now stands at the Gundam Factory in Yokohama, outside of Tokyo, Japan. The Gundam robot stands 18 meters (59 feet) tall and weighs 25 metric tons (approx. 55,000 pounds).

image screenshot via CNET