Design

Inventor reveals 9 design secrets that will forever change how you see everyday things

Inventor reveals 9 design secrets that will forever change how you see everyday things
via @designsecretsss / TikTok

Masters of design are like magicians. They have a beautiful gift of being able to manipulate our movements, thoughts, and emotions without us even knowing. Their clandestine work is all around us but only those who practice the arts can see it in action.

One such master is Svilen, an inventor, designer, and futurist originally from Bulgaria who's since moved to the Washington, D.C. area. According to his Medium page, he invents "concepts for products and experiences ranging from reimagining the mundane, to protecting fundamental human rights."

In his downtime, he's created a TikTok page where he reveals the design secrets behind everyday things that we take for granted. He has nearly 600,000 followers and his videos have received 5.6 million likes.

Here are nine of his most popular videos that reveal the hidden secrets behind everything from kids' cartoons to snack foods.

1.) Why do old cartoon characters wear neck collars?

"By giving characters something to wear around their necks, it meant that animators could keep the exact same body position and only animate the head while it was moving and talking, which not only meant that the frames required for a 7 min cartoon were reduced from 14000 down to just 2000, but this move is actually credited with saving the entire animation industry."Why are the interiors of movie theaters red?


@designsecretsss

Why old #cartoon characters wear neck collars #designsecrets #animation #anime #design #fypシ

2.) Why are movie theater interiors red?

"If you ever noticed that in theatres curtains and seats tend to be the color red, that's no coincidence, that's by design. And that's because the color red is the first color that the human eye loses sight of in dark and low light conditions, making it easier for you to focus on the performance or movie screen and not get distracted by the surroundings."


@designsecretsss

Why movie theater seats are colored red #movie #design #designsecrets #ux #color #learnontiktok #fypシ

3.) Why do snipers wear their watches upside down?

"The reason snipers wear their watches upside down like this is to avoid the sun or moonlight from reflecting off their watch face, into the enemies eyes and therefore, giving away their location."


@designsecretsss

#watch #design #time #designsecrets #ux #fypシ

4.) Why are Pringles shaped that way?

"Pringles enlisted the help of supercomputers to come up with an aerodynamic shape for the potato chips known as a hyperbolic paraboloid, so the chips don't fly off of the production line."


@designsecretsss

@pringles #designsecrets #food #design #manufacturing #fypシ

5.) The mysterious power of Baker-Miller pink

"[Alexander Schauss] discovered that this very specific shade of pink had a very profound calming effect on people. It would make them relax, lower their heart rate, breathing, and even curb their appetite."


@designsecretsss

#color #psychology #design #designsecrets #ux #learnontiktok #fypシ

6.) How an airport reduced complaints at airport baggage claims

"The Houston Airport in Texas was experiencing an extraordinary amount of complaints regarding the baggage claim wait times. ... Upon further investigation, they found out that it only took passengers 1 minute to walk from their arrival gate to baggage claim and then 7 more minutes for their luggage to arrive. ... They moved baggage claim as far as possible, so now it took passengers 6 times longer to get to it. And just like that, overnight complaints dropped to nearly zero."

@designsecretsss

How an #airport reduced complaints #travel #trip #plane #psychology #design #designsecrets #learnontiktok #fypシ

7.) Why do London pubs have weird names?

"Since many of the pubs in Britain are hundreds of years old, back in those days, a lot of people were illiterate, which meant that they couldn't easily identify and discover businesses. So business owners got creative and instead of using letters, they started using pictures of easily identifiable and recognizable objects in their logos, so that even people that can't read can still find the business easily."


@designsecretsss

Why #London pubs have weird names #designsecrets #pub #london #uk #graphicdesign #learnontiktok

8.) How does blue lighting stop drug use?

"The blue lighting makes it impossible for the drug user to find his or her veins because they're also colored blue; therefore, it elegantly prevents them from injecting drugs in the first place in a non-confrontational and cheap fashion."

@designsecretsss

Preventing drug use with blue light #designsecrets #design #interiordesign #learnontiktok

9.) What secrets are lurking in your elevator?

"Moving down to the lobby, you will notice a lot of mirrors and reflective surfaces. It could be the elevator doors themselves or just decorative mirrors hanging around. And those are there to actually distract you from the fact that the elevator is taking a long time."

@designsecretsss

Secret user experience design of elevators #ux #design #designsecrets #learningontiktok


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When Grace Berbig was 7 years old, her mom was diagnosed with leukemia, a cancer of the body’s blood-forming tissues. Being so young, Grace didn’t know what cancer was or why her mother was suddenly living in the hospital. But she did know this: that while her mom was in the hospital, she would always be assured that her family was thinking of her, supporting her and loving her every step of her journey.

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Since its inception, Letters of Love has grown to more than 25 clubs with more than 1,000 members providing emotional support to more than 60,000 patients in children’s hospitals around the world. And in the process it has become a full-time job for Grace.

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In addition to running Letters of Love, Grace and her small team must also contend with the emotions inherent in their line of work.

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Since she was 10, Grace has kept memories of her mother close to her, as a source of love and inspiration in her life and in the work she does with Letters of Love.

Image courtesy of Grace Berbig

“When I lost my mom, I felt like a section of my heart went with her, so ever since, I have been filling that piece with love and compassion towards others. Her smile and joy were infectious, and I try to mirror that in myself and touch people’s hearts as she did.”

For more information visit Letters of Love.

Please donate to Grace’s GoFundMe and help Letters of Love to expand, publish a children’s book and continue to reach more children in hospitals around the world.

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