Panóptico de Actualidad Gráfica y Visual
You’re walking through the grocery store after a long day of work and suddenly you’re confronted by a vegan burger patty. “Talk to your reps about climate change. Call (202) 224-3121,” says the eight ounce burger from the shelf. “Elect leaders who will fight against Climate Change,” another burger declares, tersely punctuated with a period. You buy the burger, and...
In the last few years, monospaced fonts were suddenly making appearances in editorial and advertising design, showing up everywhere from social media to posters to packaging. Invented to suit the mechanical requirements of typewriters, each letterform in a monospaced alphabet occupies exactly the same amount of horizontal space, unlike the more traditional proportional fonts whose widths vary by character. So,...
If you take a quick look at Olivia Rodrigo’s documentary-film Getting Home 2 U, the cinematography of Euphoria’s second season, recent fashion photoshoots for I_D, and even New York Magazine articles chronicling the antics of downtown denizens (example here, and here) you’ll notice a common feature: the art direction consists of highly-filtered, lo-fi camera video and photography, as if they were shot...
When Virginia Woolf first published her experimental novel Jacob’s Room in 1922, reviewers recoiled at the cover. Her older sister—the painter Vanessa Bell—designed it. Featuring a pair of open curtains, a vase of flowers, and loopy hand-lettering, Bell’s wood-cut seemed to have nothing to do with the actual contents of the book itself. The dust jacket, complained Leonard Woolf, Virginia’s...
Album art and gig posters have evolved beyond simple pieces of graphic design into an integral part of popular culture and design consciousness. Today, when you think of your favorite album, you’re just as likely to think of its cover or the Instagram post announcing it or the t-shirt you picked up on tour. But what does it take to...
Between April 11-18th, thousands of Etsy sellers collectively put their shops on “vacation mode” to protest a 30% increase in transaction fees announced by the site. Many sellers essentially closed their stores for a week — losing income in the process. It’s estimated that 20,000 sellers took part in the strike, and many used social media to continue to amplify...
When horticulturist Warner O’Keefe published his annual seed catalog in 1870, he wrote, “We hope, not only prove a valuable aid to our customers but assist in disseminating an increasing taste for gardening art.” The canny Rochester, N.Y.-based seed peddler was onto something. With multiple ornate typefaces, his catalogs were as visually stunning as they were practical. O’Keefe, knew that...
Name: Venice Blvd Designers: Amy Hood & Jennifer Hood Foundry: Hoodzpah, Inc. Release date: March 2022 Back Story: While studying fine art at a community college—”Every parent’s waking nightmare,” says Amy Hood—she landed a paid design apprenticeship helping a local magazine. Amy roped in her twin sister Jen, and the two have been designing together ever since. They have years...
What are you seeing? In-line images and symbols, reminiscent of old chain letter text messages or everybody’s favorite ’90s font, Windings, are back and breaking into branding. The most common version of the trend, which we’re calling Nouveau Rebus, uses dingbats or emoji-like symbols sandwiched in between words, but rebus content can take the form of everything from geometric shapes...
Something about the world feels a bit askew right now. Perhaps it is the exhaustion left in the wake of a lingering pandemic, a looming recession, a worsening climate crisis, and now, a war that makes all of the “This is fine” memes floating around in the digital ether seem dangerously relatable. Recently, as the global crisis continues to deepen,...
Name: Fit Devanagari Designer: Latin: David Jonathan Ross; Devanagari: Kimya Gandhi Foundry: DJR + Mota Italic Release date: Latin 2017, Devanagari April 2022 Back Story: Until recently, finding a well-engineered, widely-available Devanagari typeface that also delivered a punch of personal style was an uphill battle; most of what was on the market was serviceable at best. The hyper-stylized variable letterforms...
In May 1998, a Portland-based veggie burger brand took a risk. The earnestly named Gardenburger spent $1.5 million dollars on a 30 second ad that aired in the middle of the series finale of Seinfeld. It was narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, and featured animated characters named Vern and Edna. It was part of a brand repositioning driven by Lyle...
