Book Cover Out of Context
Full disclosure: I haven’t read the book, but I have been on a bit of a bear kick lately.
(via)
The torch gives enough light to see a couple feet in front of you
Frank Chimero posted the talk he gave at the AIGA National Conference in Phoenix:
There is a reach to knowledge and skill. You know what you know, and through time and effort and diligent focus, you’ve also come to realize a few of the things that you don’t know. You begin to understand that those unknowns are within reach if you stretch a bit. That’s learning. And then the thought occurs to you that puts the fear of God in your bones: there are things out of your reach, (Important things! Crucial things!) that you will never know that you don’t know. It’s a darkness too dark to pierce.
Don’t worry, it’s hopeful too.
Unknowingly, I was probably always a designer, I just didn’t know what that was
A lovely interview at The Great Discontent with good friend of clusterflock, Chris Glass:
I completed the 4 year program at Ohio State and studied in Switzerland along the way. That time abroad really started to inform my minimalism. I’m a clean, simple designer. Some may see this as laziness. It goes back to that whole, what’s the least amount of work I can do? But ultimately, that’s the work I don’t hate. There’s a joke among friends that know me. When asked if I like something, I say it doesn’t displease me. So much of design displeases me, but if it’s clean, functional, and does its job, I’m happy.
You can find his site here, and Wire & Twine here.
Where we are today.
slow breaking news
Emily Roose’s thesis project, via Public School
my current desktop
My favorite public bathroom
in Chicago is in IIT’s McCormick Tribune Campus Center, designed by Rem Koolhaas and OMA. I’ve loitered in it twice within 24 hours — and I’m staying and working three miles north of IIT.
I think Deron wants to move in. Whether into the bathroom or the Center generally, I’m not sure.
photo out of context
emigre font catalogs as downloadable PDFs
Emigre’s award winning type specimen catalogs are now available as downloadable PDF files. Many have been long out of print and some have reached collector item status. So if you haven’t received these in the past, or have lost your copy, here is your opportunity to receive these beautifully designed type catalogs delivered directly to your computer for immediate typographic perusal.
I’ve wanted the Cholla one for a long time.
Amazon and Boston Globe redesigns
Amazon and The Boston Globe have recently redesigned their sites, and while I haven’t thought about it long enough to make any substantial observations, I do see a similar openness and brightness in each of the new designs. Amy mentioned that Target recently went through a redesign as well, but their site appears to be down this morning, so I haven’t been able to see how it compares. Also, not everyone seems to be seeing the new Amazon design, so maybe they are rolling it out in phases.
Update: If you’re not seeing the redesigned Amazon, this is what it looks like.
(Im)possible Chicagos is a series of hallucinatory joyrides through one hundred and twenty five asynchronous Chicagos.
Alexander Trevi‘s first joyride through (Im)possible Chicago traversed Acer Necropolis.
Trevi recently completed his nineteenth, wherein:
At night when you’re out driving, you can tell which neighborhood you’re in by the light of the streetlamps, because each ward basks in its own different hue. For instance, if the streets are all aglow in azurite, you’re definitely joy riding around Marquette Park.
Zoning codes require that windows are tinted according to the neighborhood’s chromatic identity, so no matter how the interiors are lighted, houses, skyscrapers and 7-Elevens do not give off wayward wavelengths.
Even your car lights beam out the same color. But when you cross over into another ward, they instantaneously switch filter to match that ward’s assigned spectrum.
1960 Plymouth XNR Concept
For a person who’s been interviewing people for the last seventy-five years, Jay Leno is a really poor interviewer, but the 1960 Plymouth XNR Concept is such an interesting looking car, and the renovation job is so good, it’s worth checking out.
Edsel Ford’s 1934 Model 40 Special Speedster
Inspired by a visit to Europe in 1932 and penned by none other than E.T. Gregorie, Ford chief designer at the time, the Roadster began life as a 1934 Model 40 frame before going under the knife for substantial revisions. Stretched a full inch over factory dimensions and saddled substantially lower to the ground, the vehicle boasts a rear-pitched cockpit, long nose and custom aluminum bodywork. A classic Ford Flathead V8 powers the rear wheels.
There’s a video at the link of the restored car’s unveiling that gives perspective on Edsel Ford’s influence on the move away from the functionality of the Ford Model A to more elegantly designed vehicles.
AatmaStudio’s iPhone 5 Concept
This is pure masturbation, but I really like the idea of the laser projected keyboard.
What does Google mean by evil?
Aaron Swartz lays it out clearly, it’s about user experience:
Now part of the joke is that Google seems to be using it rather loosely. If you look at their examples of evil deeds, they seem rather mundane compared to cackling supervillains and mass murderers. They specifically name three: only showing relevant ads, not using pop-ups or other annoying gimmicks, and not selling actual search results.
Hardly the stuff of comic books. But what do these three have in common? They’re all instances of refusing to make things worse for your users in order to make more money. Perhaps that still seems like a mundane conception of evil, but I think it gets at something important. Evil isn’t just about doing terrible things — it’s about doing terrible things for bad reasons. The evil villain cackles and brags about how they’re on the side of evil — they explicitly oppose doing good. And this definition of evil is all about that: if you’re working against your own users, you must have crossed the line and joined the other side.
(via everybody)
Cadillac Ciel Concept
How do you feel about this car?
1934 BMW R7
Although this BMW is more than 70 years old, it could pass for a contemporary concept. Master engineer Alfred Böning designed one of the most visually arresting motorcycles ever built, one that was equally advanced mechanically.
The R7 featured enclosed bodywork, a pressed-steel frame and telescopic forks — a first for motorcycles. The 800-cc boxer engine, mated to a four-speed transmission, produced 35 horsepower and a top speed of 90 mph. The cylinders and cylinder heads were a single component, with hemispherical combustion chambers.
Plus nine more beautiful motorcycles to lust over.
a quick and comprehensive guide to type
Cliff Kuang at Fast Company Design discusses an infographic on type design:
Created by someone who only calls themselves Noodlor, it does a pretty superb job laying out the basics of typography, such as the common types of faces, ranging from regular to condensed, and the anatomy of letterforms, which includes ascenders. There’s also the very keen nugget of wisdom that 95% of graphic design is actually typography. But where it gets really good is in the “What It’s Saying” section –
(thanks, Lex)
The Politics of Desire and Looting
Bold words from Adrian Shaughnessy over at The Design Observer on the English riots:
Blame has been heaped mainly on the cuts-obsessed, expenses-fiddling politicians; the Metropolitan Police who inadvertently triggered the rioting by shooting a man in the street; the nation’s under-funded education system; and city councils who rushed to close youth centres in the wake of the global economic crises.
Opprobrium has also been directed at the parents of rioters (special venom is reserved for single mothers — the great bogey figures of the British right wing press); role models in entertainment and sport; the despised and greedy bankers; even British rappers have had accusatory fingers pointed at them.
One group has so far escaped blame: designers. Hardly surprising — who could possibly think that we mild mannered individuals are somehow responsible for murder, theft, arson and civil disobedience on an apocalyptic scale? And yet, a salient feature of these riots has been the fact that the main target of the attacks has been the shops of the major retail brands of British commercial life.
photo out of context
GM Futurliner Quarter Mile
Want to see the most amusing quarter-mile in automotive history?
General Motors built the Futurliner to promote a traveling show called the “GM Parade of Progress” in the 1940s and ’50s. The slippery-lined bus, which was penned by the legendary Harley Earl, is one of 12 that traveled the U.S. to show Americans the future of motoring and technology.
The Futurliner weighs 30 tons and is powered by a four cylinder diesel engine with a top speed of 40 mph. The Wikipedia article has a dozen pictures, and you can follow the history of its restoration at The GM Futurliner Restoration Project.
The Momentus Project
Visualizations of some of the most important moments in history. I have only one question: where are they selling prints? (via It’s Nice That)
The Aston Martin DB5
From a gallery of cars competing in this year’s Silverstone Classic:
The Aston Martin DB5, one of Britain’s finest motor cars ever. It was a luxury grand-tourer. It was a race car. It was the most recognizable (and arguably coolest) of James Bond’s cars.
Milton Glaser on the fear of failure
(via Ali Douglass)
logo out of context
