Observed | March 04
On the brink of nuclear war, America’s bold response to the Soviet Union depended on
Juanita Moody, an unknown spy agency operative, whose story can at last be told. [BV]
Observed | March 03
For his piece
Quantum Fluctuations: Experiments in Flux, London-based artist Markos R Kay set out to visually express a quantum interaction – a phenomenon that’s notoriously unobservable. [BV]
Observed | March 02
The beautiful, origami-like art of
letterlocking. [JH]
Observed | March 01
See what other people are reading—
quite literally. [JH]
Old photos of famous artists and scientists animated into ‘
living portraits’ using AI. [BV]
From the brilliant Ariel Avissar, a supercut of the everlasting
typewriter. (Via Kottke.) [JH]
Art, activism, and
the Xerox machine. [JH]
Observed | February 25
The story of designer/Marxist Enzo Mari, the role of value creation, and
a tale of two bookcases. [JH]
Observed | February 24
Vintage clothes, bright colors, and empowerment for Black women: one graphic designer’s
sartorial adventure. [JH]
Observed | February 23
A revolutionary artist and the former minister of culture for the Black Panther Party, Emory Douglas used graphic design to build a
culture of resistance. [JH]
OUCH, or, why UX design matters. [JH]
Observed | February 22
The story of Ford’s first African-American designer,
McKinley Thompson, who sketched the original 1966 Bronco [BV]
Observed | February 19
Magazines and The American Experience, on view at the Grolier Club in New York. (View the exhibition online
here.) [JH]
Bruce Blackburn, designer of the iconic NASA “worm” logo, dies at 82. [JH]
Observed | February 18
Everything you ever wanted to know
about stamps, but were afraid to ask. [JH]
The extraordinary, long overlooked story of artist and sculptor,
Selma Burke. [JH]
Observed | February 12
NYCxDesign’s
inaugural breakout grant will provide a lifeline to three independent designers (or businesses) with a product or project that’s ready to go to market. Applications are due March 26. [JH]
Observed | February 11
For its inaugural year of 2020-2021,
Caltech’s Critical Intersections: Conversations on Race, History, and Science online seminar series is dedicated to the history leading up to—and beyond—eugenics. For this week’s event, artists Edgar Arcenaux and Kurt Forman will create a printed artwork in conversation with the topic, which will be mailed to early registrants (who provide their mailing addresses) when registering. [JH]
Observed | February 10
Just in time for Valentine’s Day: our very own Jessica Helfand in the newest issue of
Lovers Magazine. [BV]
Observed | February 09
Toying with design, in India (and online) [JH]
Observed | February 07
Our friends Wix launched a great new development tool: EditorX offers powerful collaboration, flexible grids and full breakpoint control.
Watch a video of all the new functionality. (Thanks for the demo!) [BV]
Observed | February 04
Beautiful green helix or glass poop emoji covered in trees?
You decide. [BV]
Observed | February 03
We seek beauty in nature, art, and philosophy but also in our phones and furniture. Now scientists search for the neural basis of
how the brain responds to beauty. [BV]
Observed | February 02
Black Art Library is a resource of rare publications highlighting the work of Black artists. [BV]
Observed | February 01
John Maeda breaks up—then reconciles—with design. [JH]
The 1-year-old company Formr sells
furniture made by formerly incarcerated people, using discarded materials from construction sites to help fix America’s massive waste problem. [BV]
“At worst,
cover letters strain one’s faith that words convey meaning at all” [BV]
Observed | January 28
Designer Inga Plönnigs new font,
Magnet, is the latest family from Frere-Jones Type, a sans-serif in thirteen styles. [JH]
Observed | January 26
What are dreams? Just the theater of the unconscious? Our brains’ attempts to impose a semblance of structure on the chaotic imagery we retain? Random epiphenomena? Responses to potential threats? [BV]
Observed | January 25
How an augmented reality app transformed London into an
immersive art gallery. [BV]
John Foster and his wife, Teenuh, have been longtime collectors of self-taught art and vernacular photography. Their collection of anonymous, found snapshots has toured the country for five years and has been featured in Harper’s, Newsweek Online and others. 
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