Panóptico de Actualidad Gráfica y Visual
This story is part of our Weekend Reads series, where we highlight a story we love from the archives. It was originally published on May 22, 2019. Sixty years ago at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco, a curious wall hanging in the fair’s decorative arts exhibition caused an unexpected stir. Crowds gathered underneath it, chuckling to themselves...
In many ways, we’re living in the golden age of graphic design histories. All over the world, designers, historians, and enthusiasts are uncovering forgotten figures, objects, and movements. There are efforts to decolonize, queer, and expand the canon. The linear, oversimplified design timelines many of us were taught are no longer sufficient. I found myself thinking about all of this...
Founded in 2001 by Dutch editors Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom, Butt magazine spent the first decade of a new millennium celebrating every inch of what it means to be unapologetically, shamelessly homosexual. Emerging at the peak of the lads mag era, and as pornography became widely available among the screeches and squawks of dial-up internet, Butt created a...
If ever tangible proof were needed that Fela Kuti’s legacy lives on, look no further than his youngest son Seun Kuti’s back tattoo. The words “Fela Lives” have been inked into the musician’s skin in giant letters to ram home the point. But you’d hardly need convincing of family ties by listening to Seun’s music. His father was the father...
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...
