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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Subway Face

When did the New York City subway system begin using Helvetica for its signage, and why was the change made? Here’s an essay which explores the shared and intertwined histories of the New York City subway system, transportation signage in the 1960s, Unimark International, and, of course, Helvetica: The (Mostly) True Story of Helvetica and the New York City Subway.

Also, Joe Clark writes about Type in the Toronto Subway.

Posted by matthew on 11/19 at 12:03 PM
DesignSignageTypography • (0) CommentsPermalink

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Celebration

Pictures of people all over the globe celebrating Barack Obama’s victory. Today is a great day, and thanks to everyone who made it possible.

Posted by matthew on 11/05 at 02:18 PM
Photography • (0) CommentsPermalink

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Danger Diagram Database

Warning: Bad Pole Dancing. Break Dancing Will Deflect Flying Arrows. Books May Contain Wrenches. Your Planet Has Been Scheduled For Demolition. The Association of Equipment Manufacturers has a searchable database of free downloadable safety messages, hazard-avoidance, and hazard-identification pictorial representations in .eps and .dxf formats.

Posted by matthew on 11/04 at 09:16 AM
DesignGraphicsSignage • (0) CommentsPermalink

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Vintage Signage Image Linkage

Here’s a Flickr group for photos of old motel signs.

Posted by matthew on 10/29 at 08:47 PM
ArchitecturePhotographySignage • (0) CommentsPermalink

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Outside, A New Day Is Dawning

Kim Shattuck--the singer/songwriter/guitarist of The Muffs--is now a professional photographer. Here’s her Flickr collection of vintage signage.

Posted by matthew on 10/15 at 09:55 AM
PhotographySignageTypography • (0) CommentsPermalink

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Far Out And Groovy, Mom!

During the mid-1960s, my mom and dad lived in Berkeley, and they went to a lot of concerts. My mother saved the lithographed and silkscreened concert posters and handbills, and she loaned me her collection so I could scan and preserve them archivally. I’ve been uploading the scans to Flickr. Enjoy!

Posted by matthew on 09/04 at 09:37 PM
DesignGraphicsTypographyArt • (0) CommentsPermalink

Friday, August 08, 2008

The Office

Our office was featured in Unplggd! Thanks for the feature story, Sonia!

I began working on our studio the day after Sharon and I moved into it in 2004. We were both busy with work, so whatever I did couldn’t interfere with either of our workloads. In a sense, I had to work backwards--we moved in, plugged in the computers, and then began working on how the studio should be arranged. I worked in the evenings and on weekends so I wouldn’t interfere with business, and I’d tell Sharon several days before moving or disconnecting equipment so our work interruptions were minimized.

I’d spent many years working in different office environments, so I had several ideas about how best to use our new workspace. I’d always liked the openness of the design and architecture firms in which I’d worked, and I wanted to avoid the sterility of cubicles. But we had a very tight budget, so we were constantly searching Craigslist and Freecycle for used and free office equipment. Sharon and I found chairs, a conference table, all sorts of miscellaneous items, and a free color laser printer that only needed a good cleaning and a new fuser assembly.

I bought solid-core doors from a lumberyard, coated them with Varathane, and rested them atop a pair of file cabinets to form cheap, sturdy, simple desks. Sharon found the cabinets at Ikea, and we found the poster at the Art Deco fair in San Francisco. The models, mobile, and the “Utopia" letters were design projects. The office is finally finished, and we’re very happy with the results. You can see the before, during, and after Flickr set here.

Posted by matthew on 08/08 at 12:48 PM
Projects • (0) CommentsPermalink

Friday, August 01, 2008

“Corel Draw, Gradients, and Blippo Fuckin’ Bold!”

The Draplin Design Company is embarking on the World’s Longest Yard Sale. Also: The Draplin Project, by Jess Gibson, and Why America Is Fucked. Alternate YouTube link.

Posted by matthew on 08/01 at 12:31 AM
VideoDesignSignage • (0) CommentsPermalink

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Wish You Were Here

Drive-through trees, Olvera Street, Knott’s Berry Farm, and lots of other images and postcards of California at Image Archaeology.

Posted by matthew on 06/28 at 06:03 PM
Photography • (0) CommentsPermalink

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

What I Really Want is to Direct

The films of Joel and Ethan Coen. The films of Tim Burton. The films of Stanley Kubrick.

Posted by matthew on 06/17 at 12:29 PM
Video • (0) CommentsPermalink

Monday, June 09, 2008

Big City Lights Guide My Way Into The Night

The American Sign Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, and documenting historic and vintage signs from the American landscape.

Posted by matthew on 06/09 at 01:33 PM
Signage • (0) CommentsPermalink

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Skywriting

Type The Sky: a font project by a student at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

Posted by matthew on 06/04 at 08:59 AM
Typography • (0) CommentsPermalink

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Cottage Industry

Dirk Dieter, an industrial and exhibit designer, paid $101,000 in 1999 for a 250-square-foot house built on a triangular lot at the end of a dead-end street in Pacifica. Built in 1954, the little house was probably a warming shed for local fishermen, but Dieter’s modest yet dramatic renovation has transformed the house into a marvel of space-saving design and inspired him to formulate strategies and design furniture for streamlined living. Less than eight years after Dieter bought and renovated it, the little house was appraised at $375,000.

Posted by matthew on 05/29 at 09:48 AM
Architecture • (0) CommentsPermalink

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

SushiTube

A video camera placed on a conveyor belt provides a sushi-eye-view of people in a Tokyo sushi bar.

Posted by matthew on 05/28 at 01:12 PM
Video • (0) CommentsPermalink

Monday, May 26, 2008

Lux Quixote

Patrick Marold’s Windmill Project is an installation of light-generating windmills in specific outdoor locations. Each windmill produces a relevant amount of light, essentially digitizing the wind and converting its energy into a responsive visual choreography. Video. (Quicktime)

Posted by matthew on 05/26 at 06:09 PM
Art • (0) CommentsPermalink
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