Giles Hoover

Photography and design for print production

Category: Logos

Logos are considered a subset of design in general. May include branding if appropriate.

  • Beautifully Briefed 26.10: You’ll Want a Tall

    Beautifully Briefed 26.10: You’ll Want a Tall

    Usually, I try to limit the Briefed posts to ~30 photographs. Today, you get fifty-four. So, unlike some months, where I encourage just any beverage….

    Also, if you’ve not seen, I recently had a few-hour layover in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina. There was a camera involved.

    This month’s Spine
    Duke University Press. Cover design by Matthew Tauch with calligraphy by Md. Zahid Hasan; art director, Dave Rainey.

    “According to Islamic tradition, God has at least ninety-nine names,” the description says. But it’s the flower on the cover — a mosaic of script, best described as a “calligraphic gift” — that catapults this to the fore. Combined with a simple and classic title treatment, only one characterization is needed: brilliant.

    Read the rest.

    Design
    The PRINT Magazine Awards 2026

    Now in its 46th year, the PRINT Awards “continue a legacy of recognizing creative excellence across the design industry,” recognizing “89 winners whose work represents some of the most exciting, innovative, and thoughtful design today.”

    The award for best book package is not actually called, “The Mighty Paw PRINT.”

    One defining quality stood out across this year’s winning work, reflecting a theme that continues to emerge throughout the history of the PRINT Awards: the power of design as a form of expression, activism, and reflection of the world around us.

    — The PRINT Awards jury

    The item above exemplifies this: The Mighty Paw is a “visually striking illustrated book that uses the story of a lone cat surviving an ‘Era of the Great Hate’ to explore themes of identity, displacement, war, and intolerance.”

    See the rest of the awards at PRINT.

    Special bonus #1: The Touch of Art: American Book Design 1880-1930 exhibition is on now through April 9, 2027, at the Wilson Library, UNC Chapel Hill.

    Reelizer: Movie Art
    Taxi Driver. Artwork by Roger Erik Tinch.

    “Reelizer is a personal project by Roger Erik Tinch,” Jason Kottke writes, “that is a collection of movie art: prints, posters, illustrations, albums, books, covers, etc. Careful, you can lose hours here . . . Tinch has a great eye.”

    Russian and Eastern European posters
    An Aeroflot Tupolev TU-164 climbs into a stylized Soviet sky in this example.

    Also from Kottke: “Princeton houses a large digital collection of posters from Russia and Eastern Europe, almost 5000 total items, spanning 101 years (1904-2004).”

    Special bonus #2: Nathan Yau, at Flowing Data, writes: “OKpalette is a tool to grab a color palette from an image. Load the image in the browser, set the number of colors, and define a region in the image and you get a collection of shades. Images stay on your computer and the color picking is in-browser. Nifty.” Bonus movie poster content in their example images — awesome.

    Yes, that’s The Motion Picture . . . in Japanese. Note the dots — and corresponding colors on the left.
    Type

    Creative Boom‘s post is also a honker this month, with 23 choices. My favorites:

    Puerile Grotesque
    Puerile Grotesque, from Applied Systems.

    Social media isn’t a part of my life, but you can bet I heard about Instagram’s redesign; the Style Set 01 variant of a new typeface from Applied Systems feels like the same branch — just slightly farther out. Perhaps amongst the leaves.

    “Alister Shapley at Applied Systems Design Studio has been thinking about what ‘play’ actually means in typography,” CreativeBoom writes. “Puerile Grotesque is his answer. While his earlier font, Puerile Display, explored ornament and expressive forms, Puerile Grotesque questions the underlying structure of letterforms. Together, they form a complementary, convention-busting family.”

    Pen by DDOTT

    What happens when a pen pauses on paper? “Those small drops of ink … form the core concept of Pen, a new typeface from DDOTT, developed in collaboration with Morula,” CreativeBoom writes.

    Pen, by DDOTT in conjunction with Morula.

    “Pen turns a pause into a mark,” DDOTT writes. “Inspired by the small accumulations of ink left when a pen pauses on paper, it turns these human moments of hesitation, correction, and decision into visible features of the letterform. What would normally be treated as an error becomes part of the design.”

    “Pen’s roots lie in standardised lettering systems that accompanied industrialisation, when technical lettering became increasingly regulated and executed through mechanical and digital systems such as plotters and printers. Based on the tradition of round-pen lettering, Pen follows a monoline skeleton without stroke contrast or optical correction, drawing its underlying forms from neo-grotesque models.”

    Hyperspace Cargo by Swell Type
    Hyperspace Cargo, by Swell Type

    “Hyperspace Cargo looks exactly like its name,” CreativeBoom writes (and I agree). “Derived from the earlier Hyperspace Race, it’s an all-caps, stencil typeface available in a range of weights from Light to Heavy.”

    “Horizontal-line Stylistic Alternates add further variety, and it also supports Cyrillic, Greek and Vietnamese. The variable version offers Weight and Roundness axes for extra flexibility.”

    Special bonus #3: “Bastardica is ‘a foundry for bastard web fonts. Mix, stretch and/or squish them.’ E.g. Nervous Sans: ‘Arial is stacked five times, pseudo-randomly twitching out of line.’” Kottke finds the best stuff.

    Mix it up on the Web type platter.

    Special bonus #4: On the starboard side of the space shuttle Discovery, the “s” is upside-down. See for yourself at The Autopian.

    “Software is Over”

    You’ve no doubt heard of utilizing various AI systems to create code, known as “vibe-coding.” The same systems can reverse-engineer, too, a software version of those sites that run new iPhones through X-ray machines to see what’s inside. Fair turnabout, I suppose.

    But what happens when you do the same to, say, Adobe’s Creative Cloud? Microsoft Office?

    ArtCraft’s new suite of apps.

    For a while, those hoping to avoid the difficulty and expense of dealing with Adobe’s Creative Suite have been able to use several free and/or open source alternatives that replicate some or all of those capabilities. Now, one developer is using AI-powered reverse engineering to mimic the look, feel, and functionality of Adobe’s well-known software with what he hopes will soon be perfect fidelity.

    — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica

    That’s right: one guy.

    It’s clean-sheet, which is to say using completely new code. It’s open-source. And, as of this writing, it’s three weeks old and Adobe hasn’t sued — yet. “That practice has generally been found legally acceptable,” Ars reminds us, but “the ArtCraft apps could still face legal trouble if their “trade dress” too closely mimics Adobe’s familiar appearance and interface.”

    Here’s the interface for LightCraft, which is only superficially similar to Adobe’s.

    AI lets us take back tech and set the clock back to the pre-shitty era. But now you can just create 1:1 functional equivalents, clean room, that are highly performant and cross-platform. Nothing is stopping you. We’ll replace Google Search; we’ll build our own smartphones; we’ll build better infra. We’ll remove all the ads and de-enshittify the entire tech world.

    Big tech sowed the seeds of their own commodification with AI. It’s all going to come down to this now that we can rebuild everything without toiling for years to even get close to scaling software capability moats. The internet is going to reset to 1990-2004 (pre-Facebook / “Web 2.0” era). The indie web era. Everything is going to be reborn as open source. We’re going to own it all.

    — Brandon Thomas, YCombinator

    “The swagger is immense,” Tom May remarks at Creative Boom.. But the same article wonders whether software is facing a Napster moment — and they might be on to something.

    As a profession, we’ve become used to the idea that developing creative software requires thousands of highly paid programmers and decades of work. That serves as a moat for a company like Adobe: few others can afford to build anything on the scale of the Creative Cloud. But will AI bring all that crashing down around them?

    — Tom May, Creative Boom

    “It’s one thing to make a huge promise like this and another thing entirely to actually deliver,” Jeremy Gray at PetaPixel comments. “An app is more than just its codebase; it is also its stability, performance, functionality, and ability to handle the extreme edge cases that make or break professional success.” 

    “If you’re worried this is just some one-off flash in the pan that will die, it isn’t,” Thomas promises.

    Time will tell.

    Special bonus #5: On the subject of AI: “Apple, Content Authenticity, and the War to Prove What’s Real,” from PetaPixel, details Apple’s new Reference Image technology. Different from other content authentication systems, for sure, taking advantage of Apple’s ownership of the entire pipeline from camera to output — but of course limited to Apple cameras.

    PetaPixel’s header image for the article is awesome.

    Special bonus #6: The ongoing Getty/Shutterstock saga/failed merger fallout continues — Getty’s declared bankruptcy. Looks like they’re clearing the road for an equity grab private ownership; together with the Getty family, the Koch bros are involved. Ug. MacFolis has an overview, or PetaPixel has more detail (3 links there).

    Automotive
    McLaren and Vauxhall

    New branding from, shall we say, opposite ends of the automotive spectrum. Let’s start on the high end.

    A detail — marketing image, really — of McLaren’s 2026 logo update, highlighting the underlined “c.”

    The Internet, in its infinite wisdom, doesn’t like it, suggesting that the new wordmark is more upscale food item than sports car. I disagree — the swoosh/arrow is still very much there, it’s just that the name is styled differently; since it’ll be rolled out with redesigned models, it should serve them well into the next decade. The new look debuts on the M6 GT I drooled on covered last month.

    The M6 GT, highlighted here on Foreword in August, wearing the new wordmark.

    Creative Boom has an overview of the new branding, and a commentary post from someone on the inside.

    Meanwhile, Vauxhall, part of the sprawling Stellantis empire, has redone the whole brand — griffin, wordmark, and stores:

    Before, left; after, right.

    This one I’m going to have to mark as less successful. With each change, the creature looks less like its namesake and more . . . well, they’ve got the “bird head” thing kinda right, but the wing, the talons, and the whole “lion thing” are tragically missing in action.

    “In the latest update, [the] previous flat logo introduced in 2020 was further simplified,” Dezeen writes,1Dezeen, too, has “new” written all over it — while the logo is the same, the website has been refreshed, simultaneously making its homepage both less readable and more difficult to tell what’s new. Not all bad news, though: the posts themselves feel more modern and are still filled with interesting stuff. “with the griffin made more angular. In particular, the mythical creature’s neck hair was simplified while its beak was closed.”

    Also, “for the first time in the logo’s 121-year history, the flag depicting the letter V no longer forms part of the logo.”

    I mentioned it only in passing in 2020; this time, not so much. Take a look at the progression pictured above. Is this the best it’s ever been? Better than ’71 or ’89? I’m honestly surprised the corporate executives evaluated those, looked at the new proposal, and said, “yes.” (See their press release for some “reasons,” along with a few more images.)

    The Jaguar Type 01

    On the subject of the Internet’s wisdom, as you know, Jaguar’s Type 00 concept car landed with what could be best described as a “thud.”

    But wait: that’s not the concept — that’s the production version.

    It still lacks a rear window, and it’s still festooned with the new logo that may or may not do it any favors. The did, at least, more prominently feature the leaping cat.

    But the rest hews remarkably close to the concept: it’s long, low, wide, and with 1015 horsepower and four cocooned seats, it seems like something that steamroll through traffic with ease. (Less sure about a back road.)

    The “impossible panel,” named for its difficult manufacturing process.

    I’m glad Jaguar stuck to its guns here. To say it has “presence” is an understatement.

    Tons of coverage, unsurprisingly: Dezeen, CreativeBoom, even Daring Fireball — none car sites, which speaks volumes — along with Ars Technica, The Drive and The Autopian.

    Update, 2 November: Jaguar has opened a new flagship store in Knightsbridge, London — and it’s, shall we say, non-traditional.

    Jaguar’s Knightsbridge store/restaurant/hangout.

    “Rather than a traditional showroom, we wanted to design a destination where architecture, culture, hospitality and craftsmanship come together — and London felt like a natural home for that vision,” says the senior design manager, a guy named Rolls. Dezeen has more.

    Special bonus #7: The reviews for Ferrari’s 12Cilindri Manuale are out — none better than Jason Cammisa’s fabulous Icons series for Hagerty on YouTube:2Folks will notice that I’ve stopped embedding YouTube videos; my site is prominently labeled, “no information collected,” something embedded videos violate by requiring cookies. YouTube, along with any other sites requiring data collection, will be limited to links only. Thanks for understanding.

    Ferrari “reinvented the transmission,” Jason Cammisa argues. (Note the pin striping — it’s relevant.)

    When Foreword previewed this expensive delicacy in July, I said was convinced that this setup — or, at least, something like it — is the future of the manual transmission. Cammisa agrees, and lo and behold, so might Porsche. I hope BMW hears the call, too.

    The Porsche Mission S

    Porsche’s fortunes of late haven’t been spectacular: between too many EVs aimed at folks who aren’t convinced electric is “right” for a sports car brand — or, at least, for them — and being tied to Volkswagen’s many, many missteps have meant buyers’ interests have waned.

    Fortunately, they decided to do something about it.

    It’s called the Mission S. It’s a concept, with no production planned, but make no mistake: a production version, which will sit above the 911 in Porsche’s lineup, will be along.

    It’s mid-engined. Rumors say it runs a flat-eight, although Porsche themselves are coy about the drivetrain. It’s an automatic in pictures, but:

    And get this: the interior basically defines “minimalist.” The screen, pictured below, is your phone.

    That’s right, Porsche has declared that “real sports cars” should not feature distractions. It even has a real tach. (“Digital detox is now a luxury item,” The Drive says. They may be right.)

    But never mind that: equal parts nostalgia — 917, 959, many more — and future, the Mission S is the first Porsche I’ve insta-clicked in a minute. Well done.

    Read more at Ars Technica, The Autopian, or The Drive.

    The Paris Motor Show

    Cornucopia of goodness — almost entirely unobtanium, but still.

    “Alpine offered up one of the true show stars in the shape of the Alpine A310 Concept. Another exercise in retro design, this two-seater sports car is a contemporary update of the 1971 original.” — Wallpaper*

    “The modern version doesn’t stray too far from the proportions and details of the striking four-seater 1970s version, one of the most futuristic production cars of the era. If it goes into production, the new A310 will be an electric supercar that … would only be built in very limited numbers.” — Wallpaper*

    “The French hot hatch has always been celebrated for its excellence. In essence, it’s about combining a small, light car with a peppy engine, not a world removed from the core principle of a sports car, even if most French hatchbacks are front-wheel-drive. You still get the full usability and versatility of the hatchback on which the hot hatch in question is based, but it’s faster and drives even better. There have been a number of cars like that throughout the years, but the Peugeot 205 GTI is one of the best known. That’s why the 205’s rally variant, the 205 T16 Group B rally car, was such a beastly creation: it looks like a 205 that’s gone to the gym, a lot, and taken a few supplements.

    “Peugeot’s new E-T16 electric concept manages two things: it’s a successful visual throwback to the 205, and it’s also the most powerful Peugeot anywhere, ever.” — The Autopian

    “The Peugeot 205 GTi was a Gallic alternative to the late ’80s-era Golf GTIs that Americans will be familiar with, and it’s into this well that Peugeot dipped for Paris. Or rather, the wild 205 T16 Group B rally homologation special that the 205 GTi gave birth to, a car that won the world Rally Championships in 1985–86. The E-T16 Concept shows us that hatchbacks needn’t just be humble devices for running errands; they can excite, too.” — Ars Technica

    “The original Renault Espace was very much loved and created the people-carrier segment out of thin air, at least in Europe. The familiar one-box shape remains for the new E-Space Concept … There is a criminal lack of electric minivans on the market today.” — Ars Technica

    “I’ve been excited to hear that the car is intended to fit the spirit of the original 2CV (you can read that as affordable) and not just be a retro, nostalgia-flavored cash grab. Well, yesterday the full new 2CV concept was revealed at the Paris Motor Show, and I’m happy to say I think Citroën did a damn good job of translating the archaic 2CV into a modern design vocabulary.” — The Autopian

    “The best-received concept … was the long-awaited revival of the legendary Citroën 2CV. Electric only, the concept is — we’re promised — apparently very close to the production reality.

    “There’s a wealth of genuinely entertaining detailing here, all of which hasn’t just been carried out in homage to the original, but as a way of finding new methods to keep costs down. Citroën aims to get the production 2CV … to come in at the magic €15,000 mark. Nostalgists will have a field day, and it’s still a delightful sight for the rest of us.” — Wallpaper*

    “Back in the day, the original 2CV wasn’t just a family car, it was the vehicle of choice for French business big and small. From La Poste to the local boulangerie, the box-backed 2CV van was everywhere.” — Wallpaper*

    “Citroën is hoping that the new generation 2CV Fourgonnette will do similar business. Bringing the admirable simplicity of the passenger car concept to a small van, the focus here is on maximising load space and practicality, whilst not losing sight of the character that will give this tiny van its competitive edge — a serve as a lovable mobile advert for whichever businesses chose to adopt it.” — Wallpaper*

    “The French carmaker Renault seems to be having a blast digging into the treasure trove that is its historic output. As Renault’s concept cars show, it’s not done digging.

    “Between 1962 and 1976, Renault built a rear-engined family sedan called the 8. The company exported these cars to the United States, and despite being down on power, they were simply marketed as being faster than the previous cars! Yet, the R8 also provided the basis for one of Renault’s early sports sedans, the Renault 8 Gordini. The most recent concept car from Renault takes the visual identity of that late-1960s car and reinvents it for the future.” — The Autopian

    “The interior is all 1960s-styled concept car aesthetic, with brushed metal on a very narrow center console. The interior looks great in both renders and photographs, with suede on the steering wheel and velour on the dash.” — The Autopian

    “The rear is now swept up, with blocky taillights glowing through a pixelated texture, on a surface that’s completely blank with the lights switched off. To maintain a visual connection to the original, there’s no rear spoiler on the rear deck. Instead, the spoiler is up there at the rear edge of the roof, and the diffuser presumably deals with the rest of the airflow. A large GORDINI logo is proudly affixed to the wide C-pillars.

    “It all looks like a school kid’s dream, which it will also remain: no production plans exist, even if some of the detailing and ethos are likely to trickle down to production versions.” — The Autopian

    Literally all of these tickle my fancy in one way or another, but it’s the Gordini — naturally the one least likely to make production, let alone come to the US — that I’d have without question. (Well, the Ferrari . . . .)

    But that only scratches the surface of the goodness introduced in Paris: from Alfa to Volkswagen, there were dozens of concepts and production cars to delight the eye. The best overview is at Wallpaper* (1, 2), but also see coverage at Ars Technica and The Autopian (1, 2, 3, and 4).

    Special bonus #8: Inside GM’s Global Technical Center in Michigan. A long item from Wallpaper* featuring “ample opportunity to celebrate GM’s products, heritage and the all-important ‘surprise and delight.’”

    Harley Earl beneath the “dome” back in the day.

    “This was the ‘dream factory’, the birthplace of the stylish, status-driven mobility that convinced a nation of its place at the forefront of the industrialised world. To visit the campus today is to simultaneously step back in time to the auto industry’s heyday of boundless confidence, whilst also sampling the far future of manufacturing.” — Wallpaper*

    The Center today. The exterior of the “dome” is visible amongst newer buildings and additions.
    Photography
    “Occasionally bizarre”

    “This work does not propose conclusions. It documents a condition in which biological life and technological systems are no longer separable, yet remain unevenly aligned,” photographer Spencer Lowell says.

    Aerial of Manhattan and Queens, 2016. Photograph by Spencer Lowell.

    Lowell describes himself as a photographer of “science, technology, industry, environment, and people,” and all of that is shown throughout his debut monograph, Futures Past. PetaPixel has more.

    2026 Epson Pano Awards

    The 17th Epson International Pano Awards have announced its 2026 winners, which drew 4,084 entries from photographers in 93 countries.

    ‘Center of the Cosmos.’ Photograph by Xuecheng Liu. Winner of the Open Built Environment category.

    Tons of great stuff here; according to their rules, by the way, “pano” is defined as a ratio of at least 2:1. See all of the winners and finalists at the Pano Awards website, check out Kottke’s favorites, or see PetaPixel‘s top 10.

    2026 Astrophotography Prize

    “Established in 2023,” PetaPixel writes, “the Astrophotography Prize is an international astrophotography competition run by astrophotographers, for astrophotographers.” 

    “Geminids Above Betlejemka,” Poland. Photograph by Lukasz Remkowicz..Finalist in the Astro Landscape category.

    They continue: “the competition recognizes excellence across Astro Landscape, Aurora, Deep Space and Remote Imaging. Its emphasis on public live judging and constructive feedback gives entrants an opportunity to have their work assessed by experienced photographers while allowing a wider audience to learn about the craft.”

    Some really spectacular stuff. See more.

    Special bonus #9: See also this year’s Natural Landscape Photography Awards winners, “a collection of beautiful landscape and nature photos that emphasize realism and authenticity.” (Via PetaPixel.)

    2026 Architecture Photography MasterPrize
    “The Needle,” Qatar. Photograph by Ahmad Alnaji. Winner in the Hospitality Exterior category.

    This contest is a little different, in that it’s winners from the photography program of the Architecture MasterPrize (AMP), “an international awards program now in its eleventh edition that also recognizes architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and product design.”

    “Fogo Island Inn,” Newfoundland. Photograph by Alex Fradkin. Winner in the Hospitality Exterior category.

    Not at all described as “catnip,” this contest has some of the best architecture photography extant, year after year. The complete list of 2026 winners is on the AMP website. (Via PetaPixel.)

    “Handcrafted images of memory and time”

    Photographer Lara Porzak “works exclusively with analog techniques,” PetaPixel writes, “including tintypes and gelatin silver printing, using a slow, hands-on process to produce her photographs. She often develops images on site in a mobile darkroom, creating handcrafted prints that explore the relationship between photography, memory, and time.”

    “Barn Owl.” Photograph by Lara Porzak.

    As many of you know, I love tin- and old-style photography, and these are excellent. Better still, Los Angeles-based Porzak has brought “over 140 of her photographs together in her first monograph, The Chemistry of Memory.”

    Have I mentioned that open-sewn bindings are hot right now?
    2026 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards

    Finally, to close out October’s post, we have . . . a smile or two:

    “Are you kidding me?” Photograph by Kevin Lohman.

    I inadvertently selected three owl photographs in a row — but left it. Owls are awesome. (We have several that live on my block here in Macon; hearing them hoot and howl at each other — despite being on the urban-suburban boundary — is one of the reasons I treasure them.)

    “Two little owls form one,” Al Qudra Desert, Dubai. Photograph by Lynn Emery.

    “Each year the competition supports a sustainable conservation organization,” PetaPixel writes. “This year Comedy Wildlife is working with the Born Free Foundation, an international charity rescuing and protecting wild animals from exploitation and conserving threatened species.”

    The People’s Choice Award is open now until March 1, 2027. Vote!

    • • •

    On that last subject: in the United States, Election Day is next Tuesday, November 3rd. Please make your vote heard.

    • 1
      Dezeen, too, has “new” written all over it — while the logo is the same, the website has been refreshed, simultaneously making its homepage both less readable and more difficult to tell what’s new. Not all bad news, though: the posts themselves feel more modern and are still filled with interesting stuff. ↩︎
    • 2
      Folks will notice that I’ve stopped embedding YouTube videos; my site is prominently labeled, “no information collected,” something embedded videos violate by requiring cookies. YouTube, along with any other sites requiring data collection, will be limited to links only. Thanks for understanding. ↩︎
  • Beautifully Briefed 26.6: New is Good. Old is Good.

    Beautifully Briefed 26.6: New is Good. Old is Good.

    “Welcome to the new,” he said, pointing to the old, now dressed in a new suit. You’re reading this because the words and ideas resonated — and it’s why only the style is newly tailored.

    Sometimes, though, a new look can be enormously satisfying. Enjoy.

    This month’s Spine
    Beacon Press.

    “Paperwork. Nice,” I said, while potentially allowing a smidgen of political speak through the door. (Not sorry.) Read the column here.

    Design and type
    Matt Dorfman’s many hats

    Matt Dorfman’s book covers are a regular item here on Foreword, including several of my Favorite Book Covers of the Year posts. So it was a delight to see a new interview with It’s Nice That.

    [B]usy days and late nights begin with, as Matt puts it, “churning out a generous amount of trash”. Much to his frustration he will be “working through what often feels like a landfill-sized hill of boring ideas”. Despite taking up quite a bit of time, it’s a necessity, as among this trash will be a shred of an idea worth expanding upon. “Usually it’s a minor detail from an earlier comp made in haste and far afield from anything that book is actually about,” he says, “but it typically has a quality of brokenness or something unfinished that just looks interesting.”

    — Harry Bennett, It’s Nice That

    “Do anything except what’s right in front of you,” he tells them, while mentioning that he often favors collage. “Collage has become one of my shorthands for pairing themes and ideas together that aren’t so readily represented in nature or culture.” As in:

    VQR. Book design by Matt Dorfman. Image via It’s Nice That.

    Did I mention that he’s also the art director The New York Times Book Review? Yeah:

    One of Matt Dorfman’s covers for the NYT Book Review. Image via It’s Nice That.

    And a quick preview of next year’s Favorites list, with this gem:

    Cover design by Matt Dorfman.

    If it looks familiar, that’s because…:

    Cover design by Matt Dorfman.
    Cover design by Matt Dorfman.

    Both previous Favorites here on Foreword. Awesome.

    Read the whole interview at It’s Nice That.

    “It’s All Greeked to Me”

    Glenn Fleishman, writing at Six Colors, points us at a YouTube documentary on the history of Lorem Ipsum:

    A screenshot of the YouTube video.

    “I found it riveting and hilarious, and exactly the kind of Rabbit Hole (her channel name) that I fall down with printing and type history myself,” he writes. “[H]er dogged research has largely filled in the missing pieces of the story of where the run of seemingly Latin text used by designers to act as placeholder (or ‘Greeked’) text in mock-ups since the late 1960s came from.”

    I agree: it’s well put-together and, more importantly, answers a question you might not have actually had — but now can’t resist. Enjoy.

    Side note: Privacy where possible: I’ve switched to screenshots of YouTube videos rather than embedding them. That way folks who choose not follow the link aren’t stuck with the trackers embedding foists upon all.

    Special bonus #1: Glenn is one of those people who wears many hats — 2019’s awesome Tiny Type Museum project is his, for instance — but it’s the comics connection that might be most appreciated. He’s got a book out about it, now in its second edition, which has just been nominated for Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards — the Eisners. Read more.

    2026 logo trends
    The Logo Lounge has posted its 2026 Report.

    The quality of the Logo Trend Report has slipped over the past couple of years — there are suggestions that parts of it are generated rather of written — but I think the zoom-out is still useful for those of us in design.

    If, for no other reason, to make sure our work is ahead of the curve.

    Via Brand New, one of the only subscription sites I’ll link to. (Because it gives me an excuse to encourage you to subscribe, too: at $20/year, it’s sensibly priced and very much earns its keep.)

    Best new fonts: a one-off

    This month’s CreativeBoom post on new fonts was shorter than some — it’s summer! — with only one I’d like to highlight:

    Sahlia, by Arcane Type Foundry.

    But what a one it is. How often are we given an excuse get excited about stencil-style?

    Close-up details (and more butterflies).

    Sahlia is available from Arcane Type Foundry.

    Font previews: not simple

    Marcin Wichary, whose brilliant Unsung continues to impress, has a neat item that we’ve all seen at this point: font menus that preview the font name in the style of the typeface, sometimes poorly.

    Turns out, that’s not at all easy.

    Oopsie. Screenshot courtesy of Unsung.

    “Font previews are fascinating because they are the perfect showcase of how tricky fonts can be at scale,” he writes. The question is: why?

    It’s actually impossible to left align or center text. Ever. Not just because each font does whatever it wants – font size is a number that doesn’t really give you anything to hang a hat on, and the font can place itself in its box however it desires, too – and not just because fonts often lie (via bad metrics) about what they store inside, but also because aligning and centering are really in the eye of the license holder, and have more than one definition.

    So, every time you align text to anything, in whatever way, it’s only an approximation. Most of the time that’s good enough. Here it is not.

    — Marcin Wichary, Unsung
    It takes a surprising amount of work to get this right. Screenshot courtesy of Unsung.

    “There are icon fonts, color fonts, and non-Western fonts so rich in variety and tradition that this category itself is basically a fractal,” he says. “There’s a craft to getting it right.”

    Read the rest.

    Special bonus #2: Wichary also built something called Fontificator. “I thought it’d be fun to share this internal tool I made over a decade ago to aid with exploring options for Medium’s typographical redesign,” he says.

    Fontificator. Screenshot courtesy of Unsung.

    “The motivation for building Fontificator came from two observations:

    • font previews on type foundry sites were generally too limited to get a real sense of how a certain typeface feels, and it was best to see a font in situ,
    • often an extremely tiny nuance — like adding some letter spacing, or messing with line height — was what separated something that was promising from something that seemed very far from working.”

    It’s both brilliant and fun. Check it out.

    Adobe does AI

    I know, I know, more Abode stuff. I’ll keep it quick(ish).

    PetaPixel reminds us that, “the vast majority of working photographers are using AI to help save them time, handling tedious tasks that aren’t necessarily all that creative.” Adobe’s latest updates address that:

    AI removal tools now have flavors, including on-device if needed.
    • Lightroom’s AI Sharpen tool can now use Topaz Labs’ Noise-Aware Sharpen model directly in the app. This promises to recover fine details more effectively, per Adobe. (More on Topaz below.) 👍
    • Lightroom’s Assisted Culling automatically stacks similar images into groups and automatically suggests the “strongest one.” 👎
    • Lightroom has a new Photo to Video feature that uses Firefly and Google Veo to turn a still photo into “polished b-roll or reels with AI-generated motion.” 👎
    • Photoshop’s reflection removals are now isolated on a separate layer, “giving users control over opacity for more natural-looking results,” according to PetaPixel. 👍
    • Photoshop’s Remove Tool, which uses generative AI to erase a selected object and replace it with realistic-looking pixels, can now be used offline using an on-device AI model. 👍

    Get the full story at PetaPixel.

    The agentic AI “assistant” might — or might not — be good. (Subscribers pay $$ for it, so….)

    Meanwhile, Adobe’s promised “creative agent” — ’cause agentic AI — has “fully arrived” in Creative Cloud, PetaPixel writes. “Inside Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Frame.io, users can tell Adobe’s Firefly-powered AI Assistant how to edit photos, videos, and other graphics.” It runs in a panel, like having Chat GPT or Claude right in the app.

    “As a creative, you remain in control, choosing what to hand off, what to refine and how to apply your taste, expertise and judgment to shape every editable outcome. These tools are built for how you’ve told us you actually work,” Adobe explains.

    I’m going to have to try this one. Maybe. Someday.

    Several days after the above items were debuted, Adobe purchased Topaz outright. It’ll “fully integrate Topaz’s [AI scaling] models across apps like Photoshop, Lightroom, and its AI image generator Firefly” — which should be a good thing.

    Special bonus #3: In case AI-all-the-things is getting to you, there’s this:

    “A ‘centaur’ describes a human augmented with a technology, like machine learning, or even just driving a car or using autocomplete,” ArsTechnica writes as part of an interview with Doctorow. “A reverse centaur ‘is a machine head on a human body, a person who is serving as a squishy meat appendage for an uncaring machine.’”

    “Being a centaur is generally viewed as a positive thing; few people relish being a reverse centaur. And yet the AI industry….” Read the rest.

    People
    Jason Snell

    Amongst the tech names I’ve know for what seems forever, Jason Snell’s is up there. He was first at MacUser, then Macworld, then hung out his own banner at Six Colors.

    From Macworld: Jason Snell (highlighted) at the introduction of the iPod, 2001.

    My first day on the job at Macworld, Apple was perilously close to going out of business. It was the fall of 1997, and Steve Jobs had returned to Apple and engineered the ejection of Gil Amelio as CEO, but there was no iMac yet, no visible turnaround in terms of products at all. Beyond the release of the iconic “Think Different” ad campaign, there was nothing.

    Apple’s survival hung by a thread. Steve Jobs asked everyone to trust him. At Macworld Expo, he had enlisted Bill Gates — Bill Gates, of all people! — to help him instill belief in the world that Apple would find a way to survive.

    The world was skeptical, to say the least. My family asked what job I thought I’d get once Apple went out of business.

    —Jason Snell

    Ah, the good old days. (I jest.) Hard to believe, but that was almost 30 years ago. Sheesh.

    So long, in fact, that another milestone has passed: Jason’s left Macworld. Read the column. I’m glad he’ll be continuing with Six Colors, and am looking forward to his new podcast on Apple’s history, Designed in California.

    David Hockney

    I was familiar more than a fan, but it’s undeniable that the world has lost a character — something very ably underscored by the tribute illustrations posted at CreativeBoom:

    Illustration by Nia Gould.

    “From Bradford to Beverly Hills, Hockney’s bold colours and irrepressible joy for living inspired a generation. Here’s what they created in response to his passing,” they write. See the rest.

    Om Malik

    Early this month, Om released an essay for the times — and the ages:

    Most people remember Pinocchio as a story about lying. The nose grows. You get caught. Lesson learned. But that reading misses almost everything Collodi was actually doing. The book is a close study of a society where deception has gone ambient, woven into every institution, every transaction. Courts punish victims. Authority figures perform competence without exercising it. Experts are decorative. Society holds together through spectacle and habit rather than accountability. Into this environment, a naive creature is released, constitutionally unable to resist a good story about easy reward.

    The nose is the least interesting lie in the book. The interesting lies are the ones that work.

    — Om Malik, om.co (Via Daring FIreball.)

    Okay, sure, it was social commentary cleverly disguised as an essay about a pen. This Mont Blanc, in fact:

    The point is, it was as insightful as ever. (See also the previously-cited “Velocity is the New Authority.”) It was immediately deposited in the to-be-posted folder. Before I could could get to that, however, heart disease snatched him away. He was 59.

    I first heard via Pixel Envy, which linked to Om’s excellent photographs posted to Glass (social media),1Forgive the repetition, but just in case: I don’t participate in social media. While I’d heard of Glass, I didn’t know of Om’s posts there — and wouldn’t have followed in any case. Perusing those photos, and posting that link, are a one-off celebrating Om’s talent. and, later, appreciated John Gruber’s thoughtful piece at Daring Fireball.

    Both reminded me of Om’s love of Leica and preference for black-and-white:

    “Sleepy in Seattle.” Photograph by Om Malik.
    “Does This Qualify as Flora?” Photograph by Om Malik.

    Or almost-black-and-white:

    Untitled. Photograph by Om Malik.

    See a few more, called “Selects,” at Om’s personal photography site.

    Special bonus #4: The day after Om’s Pinocchio essay, above, Daring Fireball posted on Jason Zweig’ on’s three ways to get paid. I won’t spoil it — just go read.

    Photography
    2026 Beaker Street Science Photography finalists

    “This is the 10th anniversary of the Australian Beaker Street Festival. Each year, the competition celebrates fantastic photos of rare and unusual scientific phenomena, endangered species, conservation missions, and much more,” PetaPixel writes.

    Some of these are awesome:

    “Southern Ocean Energy.” Photograph by Nick Green.
    “Just Another Bioluminescent Tantrum.” Photograph by Deni Cupit.

    26 finalists in all. See the rest (and, if you’d like, vote at the link).

    2026 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year shortlist

    This contest takes entries from the majestic Australasian Realm, including the ANZANG bioregion consisting of Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and New Guinea, and to quote PetaPixel, “there are some real bangers on there.”

    “Bin Turkey.” Photograph by Emma Perry.
    “Penguin Poe.” Photograph by Matt Bell.

    Nature in all its marvelously diverse glory. See the rest.

    Burton’s America

    I’m surprised I haven’t linked to Brendon Burton’s work before, ’cause it’s right up my alley:

    Traces #10. Photograph by Brendon Burton.
    Traces #6. Photograph by Brendon Burton.

    His second book, Epitaph, “is a series that attempts to unravel the knot of mystery that exists within the dark corners of North America, shedding light on unseen histories and buried past lives.”

    See more. (Via This is Colossal.)

    Landscapes three-fer

    • Travel and nature photographer Jake Guzman has spent the past two years creating Otherworldly America, his new 256-page photography book:

    “Picture Lake Washington.” Photograph by Jake Guzman.
    “Richardson Highway, Alaska.” Photograph by Jake Guzman.

    • Arpan Das has fallen in love with the Kishtwar Himalaya in the Jammu and Kashmir region, part of the Indian Himalayas:

    “Barnaj Rainbow.” Photograph by Arpan Das.

    •  Michael Shainblum photographs the volatile, weather-driven landscapes of New Zealand with “a body of work shaped less by fixed composition and more by responsiveness to constant change”:

    “New Zealand #19.” Photograph by Michael Shainblum.
    “New Zealand #40.” Photograph by Michael Shainblum.

    All three are via PetaPixel: Jake Guzman, Apran Das, and a longer feature on Michael Shainblum.

    Finally: soothing surf
    “Venice Beach: Dreamy #3.” Photograph by Craig Hubbard.

    Hubbard’s photos are ethereal and cinematic, with surfers and wave crests illuminated by the early morning sun or backdropped by the marine layer. Sometimes the intense spray, curl, shoulder, or lip become the sole subjects of the portraits. “The water is the muse and artist,” Hubbard recently told an interviewer. “I’m just a biased translator and documentarian. Lastly, my ego relaxes in the ocean; the need to peacock recedes. This is where my best work comes from — or favorite, I should say.”

    — Kate Mothes, This is Colossal
    “Venice Beach: Dreamy #9.” Photograph by Craig Hubbard.

    See more at This is Colossal.

    That’s it for this month. As always, thanks for visiting.

    For folks in the US, have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend as America turns 250. Let’s hope that we can make it a better place.

    Also: Please don’t forget to let me know of any problems or concerns with the new site. I’ve got a list of items — going to work on them now — but always welcome feedback. Thanks.

    • 1
      Forgive the repetition, but just in case: I don’t participate in social media. While I’d heard of Glass, I didn’t know of Om’s posts there — and wouldn’t have followed in any case. Perusing those photos, and posting that link, are a one-off celebrating Om’s talent. ↩︎
  • Beautifully Briefed 25.8: Calming, Hopefully

    Beautifully Briefed 25.8: Calming, Hopefully

    Type opens up, the best designer you’ve never heard of, and photography to admire and inspire: all this and more for your August edification and enjoyment.

    August University Press Coverage on Spine

    Rather than show my favorite this month, I thought I’d share four of the runners up:

    My favorite of the covers not in the Spine post.

    Clockwise from upper left: Duke University Press, Mercer University Press, and two from the University of Washington. These are all good, but just missed being in the post because another option offered a better design — or story.

    I’m highlighting these to celebrate the strong design in university work; despite limited budgets — or whatever other, shall we say, challenges universities face these days — most have realized that great design is worth the extra. Long live the University Press!

    See the rest at Spine.

    Fontastically usable

    BrandNew points us at a little treasure posted by Smith and Diction: an expert’s take on which among the Google fonts are worth it, helpfully organized by category. Check it out.

    FYI, it’s at Figma, a site I’d heard of but not interacted with (it’s aimed at the collaborative market, aka “teams”); it took me a minute to orient myself. (Use the zoom in the upper right, then drag.)

    In the comments at BrandNew, several folks point to the two Typewolf lists on the subject, one for Google and one for Adobe/Typekit. (Interestingly, I was not familiar with Typewolf — it was good enough to earn an instant bookmark. Stay tuned for more from them.)

    That was on the 7th. On the 8th, BrandNew linked to a Google Design article on “the benefits of brands — for the brands and for users — making their proprietary typefaces open source and available to all to use, modify, and tinker with.” Google Fonts currently has 17 of them.

    Lastly, on the 15th: Keep Calm and Icon. “Bettina Reinemann, Staff Experience Designer, Brand & Icons, at Adobe, offers an interesting and comprehensive deep dive into the evolution of a handful of Adobe’s most iconic, well, icons and how they have changed over the decades in style, meaning, and depiction.”

    BrandNew is subscription, yes, but it’s one of the web’s subscription bargains at less than $25/year and packed with great stuff. I do wish they’d offer a free article or two within a given period of time so new folks can sample before purchasing, but that criticism aside, I can’t recommend them highly enough.

    Many Thanks to … Double-Oh Who?

    Joe Caroff, designer of so many things yet a so completely unknown personality, died on the 17th — one day short of his 104th (!) birthday. The Guardian has a nice obit … with this graphic:

    The 2015 film by Sam Mendes, the 24th James Bond adventure.

    That’s right, he’s the guy who designed that logo. John Gruber, at Daring Fireball, has a nice discussion of the logo and, specifically, its subtle evolution within the Bond franchise. (Did you know it was initially created for use on letterhead? Wow.)

    He also links to a bunch of Bond one-sheet posters, a couple of which I’d like to post:

    The 1962 film by Terence Young, and
    The 1987 film by John Glen, the 15th.

    I’m of the age to have grown up with Roger Moore, and really liked Timothy Dalton’s first film — it’s a shame it crashed and burned with the second — whose portrayal of the character has an edge you don’t see again until Daniel Craig stepped into the role.

    But I digress. Joe Caroff’s poster history covers some greats, including this one:

    Original 1961 U.S. one sheet poster by Joe Caroff.

    But it’s a tidbit on the Wiki entry that warrants my publicly spending a minute remembering Joe Caroff: he designed the original jacket for Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead:

    Jacket design by Joe Caroff. Photograph courtesy of The Norman Mailer Society.

    When I had the privilege of redesigning The Mailer Review in 2017, the first cover paid homage to the above design:

    The illustration is a self-portrait by Norman Mailer. (See Wikipedia for the old design.)

    Read more about Joe Caroff’s many accomplishments at Print (spoiler: Steven Heller hadn’t heard of him before 2016!) or DesignWeek.

    And Now For Something Completely … Wait.

    A quick drive-by here: this is a Buick.

    It’s quite literally out of this world: the Electra Orbit Concept is only for the Chinese market — their biggest. The interior, especially, has more than a few overtones of the Jaguar Type 00 concept. (Which is looking more and more prescient, frankly; see previous coverage.) Read more at Motor1 or the Autopian.

    “Sedans are dead,” someone said. Hmph.
    August’s Photography Faves
    100 Years of the Leica 1
    1925’s Leica 1, the world’s first mass-produced 35mm camera.

    PetaPixel has a nice piece covering all of the many ways the Leica 1 — the first from “a tiny German camera company” — has had such an outsized influence on the huge world that is photography today.

    The 2025 M11 New York Edition. You can absolutely see the family resemblance.
    2025 iPhone Photography Awards

    It’s time for the annual iPhone Photography Awards — along with my annual observation that the camera you have with you is the most powerful of all. And since a substantial percentage of the world carries an iPhone, the possibilities are nearly endless.

    PetaPixel has a round up of the winners, but it’s the honorable mentions I’d like to highlight:

    Architecture: Photograph by Adrian Beasley, United Kingdom.
    Architecture: Photograph by Vladyslav Vasylkevych, Ukraine.
    Cityscapes: A second from Adrian Beasley, United Kingdom. (I didn’t see that until after I’d selected ones to post — and decided to post it anyway.)

    Okay, one photograph that placed (2nd):

    The famed “Other” category: Dominic Martín Dähncke, Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain).

    See many, many more — nearly all fantastic — at the IPPAwards website: 2025 iPhone Photography Awards Announces Winners of Its 18th Annual Competition.

    Special Bonus #1: “Perhaps no building in the world captures the early 20th-century art deco movement quite like the Chrysler Building, which has been an iconic fixture in the Manhattan skyline since 1930. Its grace and beauty have captivated photographers for decades. For one NYC shooter, the building has become his life’s work. Mitchell Funk has been photographing the Chrysler Building for 50 years; his images are vibrant, eye-catching, and extremely creative.”

    2025 Ocean Photographer of the Year Awards, and Prints for Wildlife

    “Fragility, beauty, and urgency characterize” this competition, with “an emphasis on ocean conservation and the outsize influence humans have on marine life,” This is Colossal says. (More at PetaPixel, too.)

    From the Adventure category: photograph by Ben Thouard.
    Human Connections: photograph by Jianping Li.
    Impact: photograph by Henley Spiers.

    On that last one: “This green turtle was killed by a boat strike, an unnatural and unnecessary death for an endangered species,” says photographer Henley Spiers. “Only recently deceased, it is partly decomposed, with the haunting view of the bare skull in contrast to the skin, which remains on the rest of its body, and the juvenile fish which have adopted the turtle carcass as a form of safe refuge. We came across this turtle by chance, a dispiriting sight at the end of a long and fruitless day at sea. I can only hope that this image acts as a reminder of the enormous human burden placed on turtles and the ocean as a whole.”

    It had the intended effect. Impact, indeed.

    So, you might ask: how can I help? Prints for Wildlife is one way.

    “Lifeboat,” Alaska. Photograph by Casey Cooper. (Sold out, alas.)

    “In 2025, the crisis isn’t a virus — it’s a withdrawal of critical funding for wildlife and conservation,” says program co-founder Pie Aerts. “Prints for Wildlife is more than a fundraiser; it’s a platform for connection, consciousness and hope in a time of crisis.” Browse photos by more than 200 photographers on the fundraiser’s website. The limited-edition prints will be available until September 21.

    “Caracal,” Tanzania. Photograph by Elena Didevska.

    Special Bonus #2: “The Natural History Museum in London unveiled a first look at 15 of the breathtaking photos that are in the running to win the 61st Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, including a lion staring down a cobra, a pack of Arctic wolves, and bats flying through the dark toward the camera; the 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest attracted 60,636 total entries, the most ever in the contest’s illustrious history.”

    2025 Capture the Dark Sky Contest

    DarkSky International announced the winners of its fifth annual Capture the Dark photography contest. Winners across eight main categories showcase the best in astrophotography and demonstrate why it is vital to protect dark skies worldwide; PetaPixel has a nice roundup.

    In other words, I’m not going to let you go enjoy your Labor Day weekend (here in the US, at least) without once again closing with a photograph of two of my favorite things: lupines against a beautiful night sky.

    “Celestial Dance over Lupine Fields,” New Zealand. Photograph by Lucy Yunxi Hu.

    Have a great September, everyone.

  • Beautifully Briefed, 25.7: Hot (and Cold)

    Beautifully Briefed, 25.7: Hot (and Cold)

    Take a break from the summer heat with a Mac delight, two interesting typefaces, a discussion of Bentley’s new concept — and updated flying “B,” with a quick mention of the other double-R — and, of course, some great photography. Better still, we close out with a guaranteed smile.

    ’Cause we need more smiles these days.

    July’s Spine Post

    July’s University Press Coverage has already been posted. My personal favorite of the bunch:

    Yale University Press. Cover design by Jonathan Pelham; art direction by Rachael Lonsdale; image is an adaptation of Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps.

    Darn near perfect. Hat tip to Jonathan Pelham.

    Frame of Preference

    While we’re on the subject of darn near perfect, Marcin Wichary — he of the now-sold-out Shift Happens fame, not to mention The Hardest Working Font in Manhattan — has gifted the world with another absolute gem:

    Frame of Preference (Screenshot)

    If you’re a Mac geek, whether a software history buff, or a just grizzled veteran, set aside a few minutes to take this trip down memory lane. There are 150 tasks to complete (!), five extra Easter eggs, great Mac hardware and software, and some of the best web programming extant. Enjoy!

    ATC Identity Program Upgraded

    The Appalachian Trail Conservancy celebrates its hundredth anniversary this year, and took advantage of the occasion to update its logo and identity system for the next hundred years.

    Previous logo (left) and new (right).

    The logo is a combination of a mountain peak, the AT symbol, a trail shovel, leaves (“growth and diversity”), and a holding shape (“protected ecosystem”); while overcomplicated in explanation, in practice it’s warm and friendly at first glance yet has depth for folks who know the Trail.

    The blur and grain, highlighted against the beautiful scenery the AT is known for.
    The new logo against one of grain/blur backgrounds.

    The supporting system works well, too, but I’ll leave that to Amy Borg, whose extensive post on the work is excellent. (Via BrandNew.)

    Indeed. Donate, too, if you can.

    Special Bonus #1: A new Goodreads logo:

    I’ll have to guess as to whether it’s actually “good for BookTok.”
    July’s Font Finds
    Karel, by Typonym

    “Inspired by glyphs on a mid-century Prague plaque, Karel synthesises historical discovery with contemporary invention. Developed for brand messaging and retail identity, it includes alternate figures to vary the level of stylisation,” CreativeBoom writes.

    Details on some of the glyph choices.
    Different versions are available, allowing you to match style with project.

    “A constructivist condensed sans, [that,] in every case stands apart from the multitude of neo-grotesque alternatives,” Typonym writes. (Great company name, by the way.)

    Penguin Inclusive Sans, with Olivia King

    We’ve covered Inclusive Sans before, but to recap, it’s awesome, it’s free, it’s open-source, and as of February, it’s available at Google Fonts for anyone to use. So, guess who has adapted it into something new? (Okay, header spoiler, but still.) No one less than a publishing heavyweight: “A bespoke typeface for Penguin Books, uniting brand heritage, accessibility, and contemporary design to create a versatile typeface for its global publishing house,” creative director Olivia King writes.

    Some historical images, worth including just for the penguin reading in the chair — feet up, natch.

    “For 90 years, Penguin has been committed to making books for everyone. Its iconic sixpenny paperbacks revolutionised access to stories and knowledge, making reading more inclusive and affordable. Staying true to this spirit of inclusion, Penguin commissioned a custom version of Inclusive Sans — an accessible typeface — to serve as its primary brand font across its global publishing house.”

    — Olivia King, Creative Director
    Another item included “just ’cause” — mostly for the science fiction illustration.
    Included in the character set are glyphs for the Penguin.

    “We transitioned Inclusive Sans from a Grotesque to a Humanist foundation, adding playful flicks and flourishes to create a sense of movement and approachability[;] whether used in a refined, understated way or in strong, confident applications, the typeface offers flexibility and distinctiveness.” Marketing speak, sure, but speaking to the applications rather than past them.

    Penguin’s footprints as arrows: says something positive, I think.

    The entire page is great: well put-together, well illustrated, and approachable. And wander around the site while you’re there — more than “O.K.,” it’s example after example of work the rest of us aspire to. (Via BrandNew.)

    July’s Graphic Design Two-Fer
    The World Illustration Awards 2025 Shortlist
    From the book covers category, Ripples on the Lake by Becca Thorne.

    “The Association of Illustrators has unveiled those in the running for this year’s World Illustration Awards, featuring 200 standout projects from over 4,700 entries worldwide. From editorial brilliance to site-specific design, it’s a showcase of illustration at its most imaginative,” CreativeBoom writes. It’s books and editorial to animation and product design — a cornucopia of illustrative goodness. Check it out.

    Designer as Influencer
    More than slightly NSFW — while actually about work. Read wherever you’re comfortable.

    “As social platforms reward visibility, creatives are increasingly expected to make their practice public. Designers are no longer just making work; they are the work. But what started as promotion now risks swallowing design itself,” It’s Nice That writes.

    Yet another reason to avoid social media … says the old guy who reads web pages published by actual individuals (and sticks to blogging). Still, very much worth a read.

    Special Bonus Two-Fer. #2: From PetaPixel, DuckDuckGo, my search engine of choice, can now filter out AI images from search results. (It’s a simple toggle.) Nice.

    #3: Not so nice is WeTransfer’s predicted face-plant, also via PetaPixel.

    Bentley EXP15 Concept: Buckle Up

    Let’s just get this out of the way: the brutalist automobile is officially a trend.

    The new EXP15 with a 1930 Speed Six.

    Yes, you’ve seen that shape before — and that time, I asked y’all to hang on see what happens. This time, I’m less confident it will turn out well:

    The EXP15, top, with the Jaguar Type 00, bottom.

    The Jaguar is both more compelling and fresh — it’s somehow more, yet with less detail. Interestingly, Jag is trying to reposition itself in the Bentley space (including comparative pricing), preferring to move upmarket rather than compete with the likes of BMW or Mercedes.

    It’d be quite the coup for Jaguar to leap in (sorry) and take charge.

    Update, 31 July (hours after posting, in fact): Jaguar Land Rover’s CEO has unexpectedly announced that it’s time to step aside. It’s apparently not about expectations, but….

    Enough about Jaguar. Some more photographs/renders of the Bentley:

    Arguably the best angle, somewhat hiding the EXP15’s SUV-esque size.
    The interior is better than the exterior, with some Bentley traditions intact. (Yes, the concept is a three-seater: the passenger seat was eliminated in favor of the pampered purebred.)
    The dash is all screens, yes, but not necessarily obviously so — something likely to age better than the iPad-on-dash approach.

    Lastly, from the rear:

    Wait. I’ve seen that look somewhere else.
    Oh, yeah, the Volvo ES90. (Itself riding at SUV height.)

    I apologize for not being more positive on this one; I’ve been down on the Volkswagen Group in general for a while, and it makes me sad that, with their flagship brand, nothing in their new concept suggests they’re trying to reverse the trend.

    Coverage: “This is What the Future of Bentley Will Look Like,” from Motor1; “The Bentley EXP 15 brings the bling and delves into tomorrow’s luxury automotive experience,” from Wallpaper*; and “Bentley Is Showing Jaguar How To Take A Luxury Brand Into The Future With The New EXP 15 (IPSO Fatso),” from The Autopian. (Apologies also for the three differing headline capitalization styles — blame the sources.)

    Also worth reading: The Autopian questions whether the new “Autobrutalist movement” — where I got the term — can be stopped; and Motor1 has not one but two items asking readers to give Jaguar a chance. (Probably unrelated.)

    But wait: there’s another reason I’m down on Bentley right now.

    The New Bentley Logo: Style over Substance
    The five versions of the “winged B” logo, in order: 2025, 2002, 1996, 1931, and 1919.
    BMW called light “the new chrome.” Bentley absolutely gagged on it. At least the infamous Flying B is still there — hood ornaments are few-and-far-between these days.

    When you’re Bentley, you shouldn’t be chasing trends, you should be leading them. Style over substance is nothing less than a mistake.

    Also, because everyone else has one:

    The flat version.

    This new version was done in-house, the wrong choice on every level; this isn’t a time to save money. Another sad moment: the storied history of a brand like Bentley, running on the equivalent of a flat tire. (Perhaps even the rim. Trailing sparks.)

    Dezeen was mostly positive, BrandNew mostly negative. (“[E]verything here feels cheap and overwrought.” Subscription, alas.) The Autopian goes for balance. You can tell where I land.

    Special Bonus #4: Range Rover’s new logo, best described as “not trying very hard” or even perhaps “goofy as hell.”

    Posted without comment.

    Special Bonus #5: In case you’ve never seen it, Paul Rand’s 1966 proposal for a redesign of the now-iconic Ford logo:

    The Autopian has a nice piece on this.
    July’s Photography Faves
    Astronomy Photographer of the Year Shortlist

    “Awe-inspiring scenes of the Milky Way, dancing aurorae, and serene galaxies all feature on the shortlist for this year’s ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year,” PetaPixel writes. Indeed:

    “Blood Moon Rising Behind the City Skyscrapers,” Shanghai. Photograph by Tianyao Yang.

    The competition is run by Royal Observatory Greenwich, supported by ZWO and in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

    “The Last Mineral Supermoon of 2024,” Delhi. Photograph by Karthik Easvur.

    See the other 28 on the shortlist here. The winners will be announced in September, so stay tuned.

    Abstract Fireworks

    Every year, photographers across the world flock to fireworks displays, something that’s never interested me — until now:

    Photograph by Bryan Szucs.

    PetaPixel takes a moment to self-congratulate here, and I think they’ve earned it — although it’s good to note that the original post cites This is Colossal. (And that PetaPixel did a poor job with the cite in that original story, using only Colossal’s photography tag rather than an easily-found, specific link. Shame on them.)

    Anyway, photographer Bryan Szucs took the defocusing idea and absolutely ran with it:

    Photograph by Bryan Szucs.

    Great stuff. See more on his website SmugMug.

    Special Bonus #6: Apple filed a fascinating image sensor technology patent last month, which describes a stacked image sensor with vast dynamic range and very low noise. PetaPixel has the story.

    Unbuilt Frank Lloyd Wright

    Okay, officially these are renders, not photographs. Still:

    Trinity Chapel. Image by David Romero.

    “Hooked on the Past emerged from the intersection of two personal passions: the history of architecture and the fascinating world of computer-generated imagery,” Romero tells This is Colossal.

    Gordon Strong Automobile Objective. Image by David Romero.

    Wright was ahead of his time in that he pushed material science to make a concept, shape, or cantilever work (often demonstrated in the maintenance and repair bills); his unbuilt projects demonstrate what could have been, and there’s nowhere better to imagine those than in generated imagery.

    Hunftingdon Hardford. Image by David Romero.

    See more at this great Colossal post.

    High-Octane Dogs
    Photograph by Caludio Piccoli.

    “Ultimately, it’s not the equipment that creates the magic. It’s the connection with the dog, the timing, the light, and the intention behind every shot. The gear just helps bring that vision to life,” photographer Caludio Piccoli tells PetaPixel.

    Photograph by Caludio Piccoli.

    I could easily repost every photograph from the story; they’re all great. Just go read it instead.

    City Cats of Istanbul

    To close out this month, well, the title says it all:

    Somehow, they completely fit the location:

    Photograph by Marcel Heijnen.

    The author (supposedly the one in the mirror):

    Photograph by Marcel Heijnen.

    See more at This is Colossal or CreativeBoom — and then go enjoy August with a smile on your face.

    Photograph by Marcel Heijnen.
  • Beautifully Briefed 25.5: Cool

    Beautifully Briefed 25.5: Cool

    It’s been a lovely, cool spring here in Middle Georgia; it seems that in the 2020s, springtime has had more rain and less of the dive from winter into hot that’s featured in years past. (Not to fear: we’ll be into summer soon enough.) Open window weather, we call it, to be enjoyed while we can.

    That said, there’s been plenty of goodness gathering for this month’s posting: more movie/books, more album art, more typefaces, and more great photography. There’s also an excellent observation regarding design trends and a bit on Adobe.

    Also posted this month: The annual University Presses Show roundup, now also available on SPINE, and an updated photography gallery from Forsyth, Georgia.

    But First: A Bit o’ Nostalgia
    Foreword, May 31st, 2019.

    This is the 200th post on the new Foreword, which I restarted six years ago today. It’s taken a bit to get back into regular blogging, but I’ve once again found my sea legs, really enjoy it and hope to continue for a long while yet.

    Thanks very much for stopping by — genuinely appreciated.

    “Good Movies as Old Books,” Again

    I’ve featured the work of designer Matt Stevens before, but there’s an update to his fantastic personal project to make vintage paperback covers from movies.

    Perfect — and still available as prints. They’re also now available in new book, which combines the best of the first two books (published via Kickstarter) and adds a few more … or as a set of 100 postcards, perfect for framing and scattering about on walls near you.

    Better still, Stevens’ work has led to actual book cover design jobs, and his work for North Carolina tourism is awesome. Read this Fast Company post for the full story.

    Special Bonus #1: Heading to Europe? It’s Nice That has “Where to book hunt in Amsterdam, a playground for contemporary book design,” listing “why the city is so known for its publishing prowess, and shares a comprehensive list of places for designers, printers, publishers, and enthusiasts alike, to check out.”

    The History of Album Art

    Album art didn’t always exist, Matt Ström-Awn reminds us. Utilitarian at first, it evolved.

    Alex Steinweiss’ cover art for Columbia’s recording of Bartók’s Concerto No. 3.

    The invention of album art can get lost in the story of technological mastery. But among all the factors that contributed to the rise of recorded music, it stands as one of the few that was wholly driven by creators themselves. Album art — first as marketing material, then as pure creative expression — turned an audio-only medium into a multi-sensory experience.

    This is the story of the people who made music visible.

    — Matt Ström-Awn
    Reid Miles’ cover for Art Blakey’s The Freedom Rider

    Well-written and informative. If, like me, you’re old enough to remember music on vinyl — or you’re one of the new generation of devotees — take a minute this weekend to appreciate the particular goodness that is album art.

    There May be Typefaces Here

    CreativeBoom continues its monthly roundup of new fonts, and I wanted to highlight a couple:

    The Sita Collection, from Order

    I’m a sucker for fonts that have both serif and sans together in the same family — they’re incredibly flexible and perfectly complimentary in design projects. “Order Type Foundry’s first superfamily is a thoughtful homage to 19th-century Scottish typographic traditions, reimagined for contemporary design needs,” CreativeBoom writes. See more at Order.

    Nadrey means “My Heart” in Bété, the designer’s mother tongue. Artworks by Ivorian artist Obou Gbais.

    Described by its creator as a “typographical rendition of love,” the beautiful letterforms “draw inspiration from 90s poster fonts, combining narrow-ish, rounded letterforms with a contemporary sensibility. Its gentle curves and subtle serifs create a sophisticated softness while maintaining refined elegance.” Côte d’Ivoire-based type designer O’Plérou does the world a favor, as far as I’m concerned. See more at ALT.

    Sofia Pro by Mostardesign.

    Up there with Futura, from which it’s descended (see what I did there?), Sofia is one of those faces you see everywhere: “a familiar presence in contemporary visual communication, even for those who can’t identify it by name,” CreativeBoom writes. Sofia’s been updated and expanded, now available in a variable format. Spread the Mostard.

    Special Bonus #2: It’s not over the top: “[r]ather than uber-pragmatic, sterile fonts, Ornamental & Title Type (OTT) is dedicated to expressive display typefaces,” It’s Nice That writes in a profile of Eliott Grunewald’s foundry. Check it out.

    “Fun Fatigue”
    Branding agency Collins’ approach for RobinHood, an online investing and stock trading company.

    DesignWeek asks, “Is formality returning in branding?” An article by Mother Design’s Alec Mezzetti covers how we got to casual in the first place — and why we might be turning a corner away from it.

    Casual vs. not-so-much — and, of course, once corporate trends become a “new direction…..”

    “In a landscape of homogenous casualised branding, widespread disillusion with the idealism that birthed it, and a growing sense of insecurity, these old codes hold power,” Mezzetti writes. The RobinHood investing/trading example, shown above, now looks like this:

    RobinHood, as rebranded by Porto Rocha.

    The money quote, if you’ll forgive the expression: “The extreme end of this trend towards symbols of old luxury, hierarchy and tradition has been labelled […] as ‘Boom Boom’ aesthetics, which overtly embrace past eras of excess such as the roaring 1920s or, the boom years of the 1980s.”

    See if you agree. (Via BrandNew.)

    Let’s Talk about Adobe, again

    A two-parter, here. First, let’s start with more from Mother Design:1Oddly, Mother Design’s page on Adobe, mentioned in Google Search results, now nets a 404 error. I wonder what that’s about.

    That’s right, Adobe has a new logo and branding. ’Course, some of us have been using Adobe’s software for a minute — and clearly remember this:

    In any case, Adobe is ignoring the trend mentioned above and heavily embracing the current-thinking, very corporate-casual approach:

    And hyping the value:

    This leads directly to the second part: Adobe is, once again, both flouting its record profits and raising its prices. Why? AI, of course. (We’ll save the potential monopoly position for another discussion.)

    Adobe has rewritten pretty much all of their apps to include AI, making it so that many functions are better; retouching power lines in Lightroom, for example, is now a one-click affair. Others seem to be there because Adobe believes the general public somehow demands it. (The AI “summaries” of the PDFs in Acrobat, for example, are being pushed so hard it’s actually annoying, although to be fair, that’s not unique to Adobe.)

    In retrospect, it’s obvious that the new AI functions have been written in such a way that we’d get used to having them … and then be forced to pay extra to keep them. In other words, you’d think that, as customers of the Adobe ecosystem for decades now, we’d somehow get to the other side of the fishbowl and not be surprised at the wall.

    Adobe has introduced a new “Standard” tier that’s actually slightly less pricy, but with the AI stuff — along with iPad functionality, online access, and other features — turned off. No one who already has a subscription and gotten used to what’s available is going to want that.

    Firefly, shown above, is new, and AI from the ground up, and the generative fill options in Lightroom, Photoshop, and Illustrator, plus the always-useful access to the Adobe Font collection, mean that I’m going to continue to argue that the yearly subscription actually represents a value.

    That said, it’s an increasing cost that has to get passed along. I don’t like it, and I’m going to continue to say — in public, on the record — that Adobe is putting profits before people. But this is 2025, and these days, sport contains blood.

    Read more at Ars Technica, see the handy chart at PetaPixel, or read Adobe’s marketing for the new Creative Suite Pro.

    Special Bonus #3: Apple, the most beloved of all motherships, is also taking fire these days. Longtime fans will know the name John Siracusa — and, thus, know instinctively what this essay represents.

    Update, 9 June, 2025: Nick Heer, Pixel Envy: “It is hard to see how one could be a fan of a multi-trillion-dollar company. I am just a customer, like a billion-plus others.”

    Special Bonus #4: The Onion, May 16. “[Today, we] announced today the launch of its in-house advertising venture, America’s Finest Creative Agency.” Chef’s kiss.

    May Photography Round-up

    As has become the norm, let’s end with some awesome photography posted around the ’net in May.

    Just a little bit “off,” in the best way
    Putting the “fun” in funeral services. Photograph by Frank Kunert.

    No, it’s not AI: it’s a fabulous series of miniatures, meticulously constructed and photographed for our viewing pleasure. This is Colossal has more. (The behind-the-scenes photo shows all: lots of work.)

    The German Society of Nature Photographers

    This annual competition is a members-only affair, but in no way, shape, or form is that a compromise:

    1st Place, Mammals: “Chamois.” Photograph by Radomir Jakubowski.
    1st Place, Landscape: “Deforestation.” Photograph by Hanneke Van Camp.

    See many more — including a bird bursting through a waterfall (!) — at PetaPixel or head straight to the competition’s website.

    From Norway to Hong Kong

    “Like a love letter to nature, Arild Heitman weaves images together as letters into words to create a visual narrative,” PetaPixel writes of the Norwegian photographer.

    Photograph by Arild Heitman.

    A style that’s “more fine art than sweeping vistas,” they argue; I agree. Of course, there are some vistas, too, but with an interesting quality:

    Photograph by Arild Heitman.

    Architecture is another where details and point of view matter. French photographer Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze moved to Hong Kong in 2009, partially because of what he describes as “verticality,” something the Chinese city certainly has in abundance.

    “44.” Photograph by Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze.

    “I am especially proud of my latest body of work, Echoing Above. I started it by shooting trees growing wildly on residential buildings in the middle of the city. While looking up to find the trees, I spotted the men building scaffolding. And by looking for the men, I discovered the variety of birds that live in the heights of the city,” PetaPixel quotes.

    “Flock Over Mong Kok.” Photograph by Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze.

    “I find it beautiful to see how the presence of trees, men, and birds are taking turns above our heads, like an echo in a concrete canyon,” he tells This is Colossal. His latest collection has been gathered into a book, available on his website.

    Paris in Color

    Jason Kottke brings us an incredible before-and-after, which I hope he won’t mind my reposting:

    Photograph by Albert Kahn, 1914. (Color in original.)

    “That photo is of the entrance to the Passage du Caire at the corner of Rue d’Alexandrie and Rue Sainte-Foy in the 2nd arrondissement.” he writes. Here’s what it looks like today:

    Google Street View, undated.

    Is it just me, or is the photograph from 1914 infinitely more compelling? Click through for more.

    Looking Up

    In its sixth year, Nature‘s Scientist at Work competition invites readers to submit their best photos that show the “diverse, interesting, challenging, striking, and colorful work that scientists do around the world.”

    Photograph by Aman Chokshi.

    For scale, look closely: there are two people at the bottom of that dish. Awesome.

    “Winter Fairy Tale,” Austria. Photograph by Uros Fink.

    We finish up this month with one of the most beautiful sights in the night sky: the Milky Way. Travel photography blog Capture the Atlas has announced the winners of its annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year competition. (And getting these isn’t easy: the photographer shown above, Uros Fink, hiked through the snow for hours with a 22-kilogram backpack and sled.)

    “It bridges the gap between science and art, giving us an awe-inspiring look at the galaxy that surrounds us — from both Earth and orbit,” Capture the Atlas explains, via PetaPixel. The competition site includes the winning photographs, a bit about each, and camera data. Using the word “awesome” somehow falls a little short here….

    My favorite gets both the sky and, implausibly, my favorite flower — in an amazing location:

    “A Sea of Lupines,” New Zealand. Photograph by Max Inwood.

    Have a great weekend!

  • Beautifully Briefed 25.2: Late Winter Stew

    Beautifully Briefed 25.2: Late Winter Stew

    A bunch of tasty ingredients in this month’s post — from friendly identities and open-source typefaces to feel-good photography. Once past the minor rant we’re that covers the other meaning of stew, that is. Read on.

    It’s Nice That on Copyright and Reuse

    Elizabeth Goodspeed, editor-at-large for It’s Nice That, has a great column up regarding copyright and the current — and trending — business climate, especially with regard to copyright: it’s become the norm, she argues, for companies to mine open-source and expired-copyright imagery instead of hiring an artist, a trend exacerbated by the rise of AI. “Instead of safeguarding creators, copyright now favors whoever has the resources to outlast their opponent in a legal battle,” she writes. “Since public domain material already looks polished, using it also eliminates the time, effort, and expense of creating something new from scratch (not to mention the time spent building its associative meaning from the ground up). But why would anyone ever commission an illustrator when they can just pull something free from an archive?”

    She’s done it herself:

    The Murders in the Rue Morgue, 1895 (public domain). Aubrey Beardsley.
    New Antiquarians, 2023. Book design by Elizabeth Goodspeed.

    She also points to a new UK proposal for a data mining exemption to be given to AI companies. “[I]t would lead to a “wholesale” transfer of wealth from the creative industries to the tech sector,” Sir Paul McCartney argues. (Source.) But isn’t that true of the larger picture these days, no matter the country?

    Not all borrowing is the same. Copying is often more about power than propriety. When working with archival material myself, I like to think in terms of the stand-up comedy rule: punching up vs. punching down. Picking up visual motifs from a billion-dollar corporation that’s built its empire on copyright hoarding? That’s punching up. Repackaging the work of a living artist from a marginalised background without credit or compensation? Likewise, using found material for an indie zine is a far cry from pulling from the same source for a corporate client that could easily afford to commission something new.

    — Elizabeth Goodspeed, It’s Nice That Editor-at-large

    It is most certainly a trend in book design — but the bigger question here is one she states as fact: “[r]ather than referencing the past, designers are stripping it for parts.” It’s worth stepping back, as designers, and consider how we source — and use — imagery.

    The entire article, only part of which is discussed above, is worth a read. And more than a moment’s thought.

    Okay, on to the fun stuff.

    An author on her own book design

    Mary Childs, a co-host of the Planet Money podcast on NPR, writes on LitHub what it’s like to tackle the cover design for the book she’d written:

    LitHub’s great cover graphic — pun likely intended — for Mary’s attempts.

    “This very slight, low-stakes request for ‘inspiration’ became an all-consuming assignment. My brain started spitting out cover ideas. And then more cover ideas. I was sure I would break through and create the Great American Finance-book-that-reads-like-a-Novel Cover,” she writes — and, better still, backs up with illustrations.

    Cover design by the Flatiron Books in-house art dept.

    In the end, she left it to the professionals — but the trip is absolutely worth the read. (Be sure to follow the Na Kim link, too.) Via Kottke.

    Special Bonus #1: Speaking of Na Kim, and also via Kottke, she’s somehow found time to start painting. “Be careful what you’re good at, you’re going to get stuck doing that.”

    The Fantastic Mr. Font (and other big Dahls)

    “Pluckish and playful” is more than a description of the wonderfully-named Fantastic Mr. Font, it’s the description of the new identity for the Roald Dahl Story Company. (Which is, unfortunately, a division of Netflix — but we’ll leave that for another day.)

    Just right. So, too, it the font’s interaction with various illustration elements:

    Roald Dahl and Sir Quentin Blake — plus the new font.

    The typeface was “developed in collaboration with type foundry Pangram Pangram, the font is a customisation of its existing font PP Acma, turning its already unconventional characteristics into something ‘more mischievous,’” Ellis Tree — another great name — writes at It’s Nice That.

    Read the full, well-illustrated story.

    Special Bonus #2: While we’re on the subject of branding, check out the new look for Publisher’s Weekly:

    BrandNew’s before-and-after of the PW logo.

    It’s actually a return to an older form, but updated. Their website has a brief explanation. (Via BrandNew.)

    PW examines options for their new/old logo.
    Some Fantastic Fonts
    Lettra Mono

    Speaking of Pangram Pangram, let’s start there: their Lettra Mono was the standout of Creative Boom’s roundup of new fonts for February. Monospaced serif fonts are unusual, but good ones….

    The italics, especially.
    Inclusive Sans

    CB also chose the incredible update to Inclusive Sans, which was also the subject of an article at It’s Nice That — and, better still, free, open-sourced, and now available in five-weight goodness at Google Fonts.

    Love the retro style of the supporting images.

    “Inclusive Sans is a new typeface from Olivia King that puts accessibility at the forefront,” It’s Nice That writes. “It’s arisen from the type designer’s research into typographic accessibility and readability – from highly regarded traditional guides and papers to more modern approaches to letterform legibility.”

    Available in a variable weight, too.
    Gorton

    Marcin Wichary — he of Shift Happens fame — pens (heh) an comprehensive and incredibly well-illustrated article on Gorton, a typeface you’re undoubtedly seen but don’t know.

    Anyone who knows Shift Happens will recognize the illustrative style. Photograph by Marcin Wichary.

    “One day,” he writes, “I saw what felt like Gorton on a ferry traversing the waters Bay Area. A few weeks later, I spotted it on a sign in a national park. Then on an intercom. On a street lighting access cover. In an elevator. At my dentist’s office. In an alley.”

    See also the f6 in the title image, above. Photograph by Marcin Wichary.

    It’s a long post, so save it for when you’ve a minute to enjoy — but 110% worth it.

    Special Bonus #3: Creative Bloq has a list of the best typography of the 1920s — “from Futura to Industria Gravur” — as chosen by designers. My fave? Gill Sans, of course.

    Used in Saab’s advertising, amongst about a billion other examples.

    Special Bonus #4: Nick Heer at Pixel Envy comments on a list posted by Robb Knight: “Something very useful from the Atlas of Type: a huge list of type foundries.” A good Canadian citizen, he reminds us that Pangram Pangram is, in fact, Canadian. More: “I was particularly excited to learn about Tiro Typeworks. They have a vast library of type for scientific and scholarly works [… I]f you are reading this on MacOS, you probably have STIX Two installed.”

    Some Great Photography

    Comet G3 visits every 600,000 years, they say. Hmph.

    Yuri Beletsky of the ESO caught G3 over the telescopes in Chile.

    Great stuff. See more at PetaPixel.

    Meanwhile, on the subject of space — and PetaPixel — a reminder that one of the most infamous photographs in history turned 35 on Valentine’s Day:

    The Pale Blue Dot. (2020 remastered edition.)

    Aaaand one more from PetaPixel: a book. Eight photographers documented 24 hours at the Vienna Airport, offering up more than a few behind-the-scenes shots — in celebration of its 70th anniversary:

    Photograph by Jérôme Gence.

    “The project was overseen by Lois Lammerhuber,” PetaPixel writes, “a publisher and photographer, who has since turned the collection of images into a book titled The Dream of Flying.”

    Photograph by Ulla Lohmann.

    The project was “about showing the people who use the airport as well as highlighting the staff who ensure all the airplanes depart and land safely.” My favorite shot:

    Photograph by Ana María Arévalo Gosen.

    I’m an airport and large/commercial plane junkie — and old enough to remember when all-access at the local airport wasn’t a big deal — so it was great to see these.

    Lastly, from This is Colossal, another round of the “coincidental” style of Eric Kogan:

    Photograph by Eric Kogan.

    All NYC this time. Check ’em out.

    Special Bonus #5: Art News notes that Paul Rudoph’s Walker Guest House is for sale for the bargain price of $2 million. It’s a kit home that’s been assembled in various places, including the grounds of the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida. (It’s currently in storage in Rhinebeck, New York. Shipping is not included.)

    So why is in the photography section, you ask?

    Photograph by Giles Hoover.

    That’s why. Check out more of my photography from Ringling and Sarasota. (The Walker images are near the top.)

    Photograph by Giles Hoover.
    Sigma: a new BFF?

    No, that’s just BF — it stands for “beautiful foolishness,” after a line from a poem in Okura Tenshin’s The Book of Tea — but, as usual for them, something different. Something good.

    Like the FP before it, there’s nothing you don’t need, bordering perhaps on a minimalism that’s … stark? No viewfinder, no stabilization, no mechanical shutter, built-in memory (so no card slot), haptic interface. But style for days, a great shape and texture, and absolutely the right size.

    It’s made at the rapid clip of nine per day, because it’s made from a single billet of aluminum — shades of the Leica T/TL/TL2 (something I maintain was before its time, and discontinued short-sightedly) — except full-frame. And, of course, supported by Sigma’s extensive catalog of L-mount lenses. (Another commonality with the TL.)

    At $2000, it’s the right price, too. Read more here or here or here.

    Oh, and one more thing: Sigma has a new identity to go with the BF:

    Slightly more formal, slightly on-trend typography, which is fine — but the logo is clever in being both a letter and a lens. More of that just right to close out the day.

    Special Bonus #6: Sigma’s CEO Kazuto Yamaki is charismatic, interesting, and dedicated, as seen in the videos PetaPixel has introducing their new HQ building in 2022. Love the library-wrapped staircase.

    Update, 4 March 2025: PetaPixel has posted a YouTube podcast/interview with Kazuto Yamaki, in which he talks about the BF and possibly a new, “serious” camera to compliment their 300-600mm lens. (This is probably a better intro to Sigma’s CEO than the above.)

    Special Bonus #7: TTArtisan, the Chinese manufacturer making interesting L-mount lenses — I have two, both solidly in the cheap-and-cheerful category — is about to introduce their first camera … and “interesting” is, in fact, the best way to describe it:

    Purely mechanical, no batteries required, instant film camera that’s decidedly retro.

    See you in the spring!