31 December 2014

Top 10 Most Popular Articles of 2014

[Click here to view the video in this article]



In 2014, the nature of Internet viral headlines were way beyond expected.



From cronuts to donut selfies, to celebrity nudes (whether they were leaked or deliberately orchestrated), to one very bizarre potato salad crowdfunding project, this year has truly been a colorful one for newsmakers, news publishers, and all of us on the Internet, really.



To end the year, we bring to you the top 10 most viewed and shared articles on DesignTAXI in 2014. They range from wildly unexpected to downright wacky.





Top 10 Articles Of 2014





10. Infographic: The World's Most Powerful To Least Powerful Passports



Click to enlarge



Click to enlarge



In our modern age of quick and easy travel across the globe, certain passports are still more highly valued than others, granting them the flexibility to travel into many countries without a visa.



Designer Ricky Linn for online publication GOOD has created a visual aid that investigates just how much ‘power’ each passport around the world holds.





9. Photographer Takes A Self-Portrait On Her Birthday In Her Underwear For 40 Years











For 40 years, San Francisco-based photographer Lucy Hilmer has consistently photographed herself nude on her birthday. ‘Birthday Suits’ is a series that explores “one woman’s journey through time”, and its Hilmer’s effort to shrug off society’s ideal of her as a ‘pretty girl’.





8. ‘Touch Me’, What Happens When Regular Individuals Meet Porn Stars (NSFW)











To promote the Barcelona Erotic Show, marketing company Vimema created ‘Touch Me’, where unassuming people were put together with porn stars. The porn stars requested for the people they were with to touch them in any way that they wanted to. Interesting reactions and awkwardness ensue.





7. The Client Is Always Right: Designer Turns Hilarious Client Quotes Into Posters







Bristol-based creative director Jonathan Quintin had pet peeve that quietly irked him: ridiculous client comments. That made him embark on a self-initiated project, turning the ridiculous things that some of his clients have said into colorful posters.





6. Chart: The ‘Best & Worst’ Sleeping Positions For Couples











First published on Swimmingly.com, this list of 10 “best and worst” sleeping positions for couples is hilariously spot on.





5. Apple's Forgotten Designs











Apple is synonymous with its iconic tech products that were released this past decade, but before they reached this stage of popularity, they innovated endlessly with many other prototypes that never reached consumers. These designs have been forgotten by most, but serve as a powerful memory of Apple’s beginnings.





4. Sexy Pinup-Inspired Photos Of Girls Wearing ‘Clothes’ Made Of Milk Splashes











London-based photographer Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz used high-speed photography to create “Milky Pinups”, which are pinup-style girls ‘dressed’ in amazing high-speed images of milk splashes.



Each photo is composed by layering hundreds of different splashes to form the ‘dress’ that the model wears. Brilliant.





3. Fascinating Text Book Doodles Made By Bored Students From 800 Years Ago











When medieval book historianErik Kwakkel created a Tumblr to share his fascinating findings of medieval doodlings in ancient textbooks, it quickly went viral and made students and former students around the world laugh.



It turns out that students from 800 years ago were no different from students of today—needing to doodle and scribble in their textbooks when classes got too much to bear.





2. Chart: How To Use 15 Punctuation Marks, In Order Of Difficulty



Click to enlarge



Click to enlarge



Curtis Newbold, also known as The Visual Communication Guy came up with a handy chart that teaches one how to correctly use 15 punctuation marks in the English language, in its order of difficulty.





1. The 17 Coolest Signatures Of Famous People, Past And Present



Click to view entire visual



Click to view entire visual



And the top spot belongs to this story first published on Business Insider, a compliation of the 17 coolest signatures of famous people throughout history.



See how modern signatures have evolved into merely scribbling our initials or a stylized, cursive variation of how we write our name, and compare it with awesome freehand signatures ranging from Walt Disney’s, to Kanye West, J.K. Rowling and Banksy. (One of these people’s signatures includes a cool illustration.)