The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design

This is 99% Invisible. A beautifully designed guidebook to the unnoticed yet essential elements of our cities, from the creators of the wildly popular 99% Invisible podcast.

Have you ever wondered what those bright, squiggly graffiti marks on the sidewalk mean? Or stopped to ponder who gets to name the streets we walk along? Or what the story is behind those dancing inflatable figures in car dealerships? 99% Invisible is a big-ideas podcast about small-seeming things, revealing stories baked into the buildings we inhabit, the streets we drive, and the sidewalks we traverse. The show celebrates design and architecture in all of its functional glory and accidental absurdity, with intriguing tales of both designers and the people impacted by their designs.

Now, in The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to Hidden World of Everyday Design, host Roman Mars and coauthor Kurt Kohlstedt zoom in on the various elements that make our cities work, exploring the origins and other fascinating stories behind everything from power grids and fire escapes to drinking fountains and street signs. With deeply researched entries and beautiful line drawings throughout, The 99% Invisible City will captivate devoted fans of the show and anyone curious about design, urban environments, and the unsung marvels of the world around them.

You are about to see stories everywhere, you beautiful nerd. Now get out there. 'If you've ever wondered why our world is the way it is, this show has your answers' - The Hustle * '99% Invisible . . . is completely wonderful and entertaining and beautifully produced . . . ' - Ira Glass, This American Life * 'The hugely inventive 99% Invisible treats the design of everyday things like a forensic science' - WIRED