Fuck style is Eric Karjaluoto’s essay examining the confusion between design and style. I spent some time trying to find a good pull-quote, but it was hard to separate any of the choice sentences without misconstruing the overall message. To some extent, the article is just another shot in the ongoing battle between function and form, but it’s worth reading, especially if you’re interested in sustainability rather the latest fad.
Keming — the result of improper kerning.
Interview with Paul Buckley, discussing book cover design and his creative process.
A timeline of timelines, a history of the linear representation of time.
For the first time in more than ten years, my email inbox is empty. It’s the beginning of an attempt to be more proactive with my correspondence. Zeroing out means that it’ll be a lot tougher for mail to slip through the cracks, something that I’ll admit has happened many times in the past.
I’ve been routing all of my accounts through Gmail for the last few years to combat spam, so messages can drop off the front page rather quickly (even when showing a hundred items at a time). From now on, any message that comes in will be responded to immediately, flagged for followup or deleted. This isn’t a complete solution, but it’s a decent starting point that will evolve over time. For more advanced techniques, check out Merlin Mann’s Inbox Zero, a compilation of strategies for dealing with large quantities of email.
Paul Rand, both a tribute and an archive, attempting to bring everything together in one place.
The world’s oldest photo lab, it had been sealed up by the family for more than 150 years.
Required Design Books. Armin Vit solicits suggestions for the best graphic design books that designers should see.
The evolution of various tech company logos. It’s interesting to see how far some of them have come from their roots.
David Brezina, one of my classmates from Reading, launches his new website.
RIP Owning Music, a look at the value of music and the potential impact of last.fm
Ornamental typography, something we don’t see as much of in this digital era.
Rules. “Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.”
Typesites, website reviews that focus on the use of typography
The History of Visual Communication. Haven’t been all the way through this yet, but it looks like a decent starting point.
Steve Martin on being funny. “What if there were no punch lines? What if there were no indicators? What if I created tension and never released it? What if I headed for a climax, but all I delivered was an anticlimax? What would the audience do with all that tension? “
