Observed | October 20
Designer Peter Cho has introduced a daily drawing challenge—perfect for us all.
Sign up here. [JH]
Observed | October 19
Shalom Schotten, a graphic designer at Thames & Hudson for over fifty years, has died. Remembered for his talent, kindness, and patience, the Austrian-born designer was 86. [JH]
Observed | October 14
“Either we continue as we are and irreparably damage our planet, or we remember our unique power as human beings and our continual ability to lead, innovate, and problem-solve.”
Nominations for The Earthshot Prize begin on November 1. [JH]
Observed | October 09
Politicizing the
duck stamp. (Sigh.) [JH]
Observed | October 08
“It Is What It Is”: All of Donald Trump’s Transgressions is a set of four artist’s books in which Trump’s transgressions are recorded and assigned colored cards as if by a referee in soccer. A monumental informational graphic work, Siglio Press
needs your help to get it published. [BV]
Observed | October 07
Behold:
the dawn of X (and why it’s a design story). [JH]
What is good design if not drama?
Twenty-six movies every design lover should see. [JH]
Today, the Getty Research Institute launched
12 Sunsets: Exploring Ed Ruscha’s Archive, an interactive website that allows users to discover thousands of photographs of Sunset Boulevard taken by artist Ed Ruscha between 1965 and 2007. Stamen Design founder Eric Rodenbeck
writes about the project and the many gems they found along the way. [BV]
Observed | October 06
Run—don’t walk—to pick up your copy of the new book by
Roman Mars + Kurt Kohlstedt. [JH]
The existence and etymology of “uppercase” and “lowercase” is a
fascinating tale. [BV]
Observed | October 05
The Japanese fashion designer
Kenzo has died of complications from COVID-19, in Paris, his adopted home for more than half a century. He was 81. [JH]
Observed | October 02
The first Monday of every October is World Architecture Day: herewith, American architects choose
their favorite Architects and buildings. [JH]
Do you think they provided allen wrenches in 1958? The
IKEA museum has posted 70 years of their catalogs. [BV]
Observed | October 01
Wix debuts their bespoke typeface:
Madefor. Madefor was designed in collaboration with its in-house studio and type foundry Dalton Maag. [BV]
Alexandra Lange on Wes Anderson: the fixation, the following—and now,
the book. [JH]
Observed | September 30
How do you
design for the future when the future you are designing for will not exist? [JH]
Observed | September 28
How Biden prepares for the debate of his life: intense preparation, rehearsals, and briefing books—and “he’s a sans-serif man! Mr. Biden has long preferred the Arial typeface,” notes the
New York Times, “14 point”. [JH]
“He wanted accurate science, and he wanted great design.”
Pioneering science fiction designer Ron Cobb dies at 83. [JH]
Dozens of examples of
lettering for jazz musicians, collected by Reagan Ray from album covers and posters. (via
James I. Bowie) [BV]
Observed | September 22
City Monitor is part of
New Statesman Media Group’s innovative new data journalism division, which will provide essential business intelligence across topics such as energy, cities, banking, media, and technology, among others.
Follow them here. [JH]
Nicolas Heller is helping
save New York City, one Instagram post at a time. [BV]
Observed | September 21
Help support this
monumental public messaging campaign promoting the patriotism of science, religion and voting from Class Action Collective. [BV]
Observed | September 17
The strange, uninspired history of
Spotify’s bland logo. [BV]
Observed | September 16
Behold:
Calamityware! (Via Kim Baer.) [JH]
Observed | September 01
Got a Very Serious Book to sell about the dangers of radical right-wing overreach? In book publishing,
this is the summer of the Sith Lord design palette. (via Blake Eskin) [BV]
Observed | August 20
Design criticism is everywhere. Why are we still looking for it?
A must-read essay from Jarrett Fuller. [MB]
Goodbye mosh pits, hello “personal platforms.”
A new music venue in the UK was designed for socially distant concerts. [BV]
Observed | August 18
Contactless filming: design for never leaving home. [JH]
Observed | August 17
No books were harmed in the testing of these animals. [JH]
Observed | August 14
How do activism slideshows go viral on Instagram? By co-opting
popular design aesthetics from brands. (via Blake Eskin) [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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