Observed | February 19
Vanity plate victory! In Kentucky, an 80-year old atheist triumphs in battle for ‘IM GOD’ license plate. [JH]
Observed | February 18
For 15 years,
the Exercise Book Archive has been compiling an extensive digital archive of children’s school notebooks from countries like the US, Ghana, Latvia, Brazil, and Finland. [BV]
Observed | February 12
“We can’t just be about making things pretty.” —
Jessica Helfand talks with Lorne Buchman on the latest Change Lab podcast from ArtCenter. [BV]
Could anyone be
the girl (or boy) with a Pearl earring? (via Joy Miller) [BV]
Observed | February 04
“
Humans at work”: the new call of Posterheroes is inviting the international creative community to share their message about the future of work. [BV]
The pitfalls and the potential of the new minimalism. [BV]
Observed | February 03
Architects wrestle with a thorny conundrum:
ampersand or plus sign? (via
James I. Bowie) [BV]
And to think
this entire election may rest on font size. [JH]
Observed | January 31
The past and future of
punctuation marks. [BV]
Observed | January 29
Vermont could be the first state in the US to
allow emoji on license plates. [BV]
Observed | January 28
Looking for your people? A regular mixer brings together
designers and typography nerds who get consumed by spacing and serifs. [BV]
Observed | January 22
A new book explores
the cold heart of Frank Lloyd Wright. [BV]
Observed | January 20
A facial recognition app with what appear to be
endless weaponization possibilities. Truly. [JH]
Observed | January 15
A beautiful remembrance by Melissa Harris about Mercy Cunningham, in the
New York Review of Books this week. [JH]
Observed | January 14
Are typefaces political? Researchers find "serif and bold is rated as more conservative, while sans serif and italics is rated as more liberal" [MB]
Congratulations to the entire AIGA community on their wonderful
new executive director, Bennie F. Johnson! Here’s to bright futures. [BV]
Observed | January 13
Anyone interested in a “
book about the future of human beings, as viewed by some of today‘s most creative minds working at the intersection of biology and technology...Think of it as a guide to your future self.”? Because we are! #FundThis [BV]
Observed | January 10
Donald Norman says
we have to change the way we educate designers. [JH]
Observed | January 09
This is a very specific genre and
Andrew Cushing is nailing it with Veronica Gent-level skills: “Name a fake startup and I’ll write an ad for it in the style of an NYC subway campaign.” [MB]
Take 2 minutes and
ride shotgun through mid-century LA with Ed Ruscha’s photos and Jack Kerouac’s words. [BV]
Observed | January 08
“The short answer is that the intersection of art + science is in my blood... my favorite kind of artist residency is one where I get to work with scientists.” Our very own
Jessica Helfand joins Caltech as a Winter 2020 artist-in-residence. [BV]
Royal Mail has released a set of stamps
celebrating a golden era of British video game design from the 1980s and 90s. [BV]
Observed | January 07
Los Angeles’ favorite logos. (via
James I. Bowie) [BV]
Observed | January 02
Brand New‘s
Armin Vit ranks the top twelve clickbait-iest design stories of 2019. [MB]
Observed | December 30
New research finds that
typefaces are perceived as having political characteristics, with sans serif fonts seen as more liberal, and serif fonts as more conservative. (via
James I. Bowie) [BV]
Observed | December 29
Desperately sad to announce that
Vaughan Oliver died peacefully today, with his partner Lee by his side. Great loss of friend and design hero. Vaughan Oliver (1957—2019). [AS]
Observed | December 27
Continuing the blessed holiday tradition that began at Design Observer, now at Curbed, Alexandra Lange + Mark Lamster
review the year in design (with a special look back over the decade‘s greatest hits & misses). [MB]
Observed | December 17
A photographer
captures the sculptural landscapes of California skateparks. [BV]
Observed | December 11
Matisse felt an intense love for books, and the care and attention he lavished on them included not just his illustrations, but also the selection of paper, typeface, and layout. [BV]
Observed | December 10
Stanford’s d.school attempts to
move beyond Post-its on whiteboards. (via
James I. Bowie) [BV]
