Version 7.0Elsewhere
April 2007 Links
You Can Draw “Star Wars”
Really good video tutorials on draughtsmanship from artist Matt Busch, illustrator of the book “You Can Draw: Star Wars.”
Made with FontFont
“In celebration of our fifteenth anniversary, FSI FontShop International has released a delicious 352-page hardcover FontFont showcase filled with illustrations, real-world examples, and essays.”
Moving Your Eyes Improves Memory, Study Suggests
“ Horizontal eye movements are thought to cause the two hemispheres of the brain to interact more with one another, and communication between brain hemispheres is important for retrieving certain types of memories.”
AllThingsD.com
The Wall Street Journal technology coverage in a freely available, public site. It’s a kind of a strange initiative, but it’s done very well.
CNN.com: A Closer Look at Bottled Water
“…As a rule, bottled water is no safer or healthier than the H2O that flows from municipal water systems.”
Hewlett-Packard to Acquire Logoworks
The company will now offer Logoworks’ cut-rate graphic design services to their small business customers.
Milestones in the History of Thematic Cartography, Statistical Graphics and Data Visualization
A little opaquely organized, but informative.
SXSW Survey Responses
“…Attendee comments on 10 different elements of the event. These blurbs tend to represent the general tone of the dozens of comments we received in this particular area. SXSW response to this feedback is also posted in italics beneath each heading.”
Wired: Our New Logo Follows the ‘Law of Optical Volumes’
Can someone explain to me how this is different from kerning? Via Daring Fireball.
One Day’s Carbon Monoxide
This oversized balloon attached to an exhaust pipe is a physical visualization of an automobile’s pollution output in a typical day.
Polar Clock Screensaver
Beautiful and (no longer just) for Mac OS X only, but you can view the demo.
John Kricfalusi on Draughtsmanship, Style, Cartooning and Animation
Very good post from the creator of Ren & Stimpy on translating drawing skills learned at school into professioonal work.
New York Magazine: Kareem Dimitrious Collie and Donald Ray Franklin II from Graphic-Design Partners
“When people meet us for the first time, before we even open our mouths, they get excited. They want to work with us. It’s a certain atmosphere that we bring, a certain aura. It's all very connected.” I don’t know who these guys are, but this is the most absurd interview with designers I’ve read ever, I think. Ridiculous. Update: Dimitrious’s design work turns out to be quite good. Thanks to Mike Essl for the link.
Nike to Release “Air McFly”?
Unconfirmed photographs suggest the shoe company has developed prototypes for the sneakers worn by Michael J. Fox’s character in “Back to the Future II.” (Update: it⁏s just a rumor. See McFly 2015 for more information.)
Gems of Apple’s Development Tools
“Even if you’re not a developer, there are some really cool things buried within the Apple Development Tools [that ship free with the operating system].”
Lost Orson Welles Film “The Other Side of the Wind” May Be Released in 2008
Also see this account of other missing Welles films.
NYT: A Gumshoe Adrift, Lost in the ’70s
Terrence Rafferty on Robert Altman’s wonderful movie, “The Long Goodbye.” This is one of my favorite Altman films, and an essential detective movie. A fresh print will start showing on Friday for a week at Film Forum in New York.
Speak Up: When Helvetica Freezes Over
Armin Vit’s review of Gary Hustwit’s “Helvetica: A Documentary Film.”
Dog Playing with Interactive Floor Display
The most fun physical computing demonstration I’ve ever seen.
Design Observer: Are JPEGs the New Album Covers?
Adrian Shaughnnesy says, “I’ve found nothing in the digital arena that offers a viable alternative to a well-designed CD or vinyl album cover. Instead, I”ve discovered… dozens of tiny record labels determined to hang onto physical packaging and expressive cover art, no matter what.”
NYT: “To Study Wine, Buy and Drink,” by Eric Asimov
“People ask me, more often than any other question by far, where to go to learn about wine… What I’m about to propose is a do-it-yourself method that has a lot to offer to just about anybody who loves wine, or wants to learn about it.”
Surfin’ Safari: What Is WebKit?
“A common misconception is that WebKit is another web browser, but it’s not a browser. WebKit is a browser engine. Safari is a browser which uses that engine.”
Recent Ad for Guardian Very Similar to Old Ad for Olivetti
Wieden & Kennedy’s recent poster bears a striking resemblence to work done for Olivetti’s Tetractys printing calculator in 1956. (Thanks to Manuel for the link.)
No One Belongs Here More Than You
Web site for the new Miranda July movie is as clever and cute as her previous work, for better or worse.
Tim O’Reilly: Call for a Blogger's Code of Conduct
Overview in today’s New York Times. Jeff Jarvis responds.
Design Observer: Our Little Secret
On the occassion of AIGA New York’s screening of “Helvetica: A Documentary Film by Gary Hustwit,” Michael Bierut waxes nostalgiac on the art of typesetting.
Village Voice: Hot Hot Heat
“A graphical dissertation on the number one song in America.” Very clever and hilarious. Thanks to Mike Essl for the link.
Humanized: Tabs Gone Wrong in Firefox 2.0
Aza Raskin argues that the latest version’s new tabs configuration “…takes a giant step backward by actively concealing information.”
Design Can Change
“Problem: Climate change is a complex and sometimes contested topic; nevertheless, it cannot be ignored. Designers, in particular, must examine how our practices impact the environment.” Sort of like a Flash-based Al Gore presentation. Very nicely done, but I didn’t make it to the end.
New York Observer: The Times Machine
A look at what’s supposedly happening Web-wise at the Gray Lady. No comment from me.
Why Journalism Matters
“I read dozens of blog posts on[the Kathy Siera incident], and I still had no clue who might or might not be guilty of what. Each new post I read tangled the web further, layering misinformation on top of disinformation.”
Skim
Open source software that functions as “a PDF Reader and note-taker for Mac OS X. Skim is designed to help you read and annotate scientific papers in PDF.” Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog.
Reuters: Wii Are the Champions?
“The anticipated battle between Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 for videogame console supremacy has become a sideshow to the unexpected rise of Nintendo's Wii as the new-generation game console of choice.”
Transcript of Today’s Apple/EMI Press Conference
Steve Jobs and EMI Group head Eric Nicoli on why they went D.R.M.-free on their iTunes deal.