Photography and design for print production

Tag: architecture

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,¹ “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:²

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. ↩︎
October 31, 2026
Beautifully Briefed 26.7: The Long Heat
It’s July, and it’s hot. Bring a beverage. Umbrella optional.

Spine!

Stanford University Press. Cover design by Lindy Kasler; art director, Michele Wetherbee. Cover art: Map of Kunitachi, Japan, National Archives and Records Administration; photograph of refugee dwellings in Busan, Korea, United Nations Archives; US military payment certificates note, US Army Finance Corps.

“The cover asks questions,” I wrote in this month’s column for Spine. “Illustrations and scripts combine in myriad ways; maps plot; and blood drops. Rather than telling you what the title is about, it suggests that it’s not easily summarized — in all the right ways.”

Read!

The End of Reading is Here

Cool header graphic from The Atlantic article.

“Optimists once believed that universal literacy was inevitable. Now it seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history,” The Atlantic writes. “The decline of reading will bring about changes of the same magnitude. It will affect our innermost thoughts, our society’s politics and culture, and how we tell the history of our civilization.”

Reading requires imagination; consumption, whether social media, television, or gaming, really doesn’t. It’s no surprise that the lowering of the common denominator is the result.

But what if the premise is, in fact, true? I can’t imagine a life without reading — and you’re reading this, so you probably can’t either. Will humanity reach to a point where ingestion of knowledge doesn’t involve the written word? Should it?

Read the article here. (Gift link via Kottke.)

Update, 31 July (after publishing): The gift link has expired, darn it — apologies. (One of the downsides of gathering items throughout the month, I guess; this is from the 8th of July.)

“Read More. Read Often. Read Every Day.”

We keep searching for lifehacks, productivity tips, and bullshit, but the answer is right there. If you want to be better, grow more, understand your life, understand your purpose, learn something, or just find somewhere to stay a while when life gets overwhelming — pick up a damn book.
— Joan Westenberg

She calls it the 80/20 rule: “I believe that spending 20% of your time buried in a book, buried in something that will inspire you, excite you, and make you want to jump out of your seat is going to give you the fuel, the ideas, and the power to create 80% of your output.”

It’s worrying to think that The Atlantic might be right. This, In its brevity and forthrightness, is a strong counter-argument.

Special bonus #1: Uncovered is a site for judging books by their first pages. “No cover. No bestseller sticker, no celebrity book club, no BookTok trend. You read the opening of a real book, blind, and answer the only question that matters: would you keep reading?”

Great address, by the way — I didn’t know .ink was a thing. (Also via Kottke.)

250 for 250

Photograph of the Brooklyn Library’s main branch by the Municipal Art Society of New York.

Brooklyn Public Library is celebrating our country’s 250th anniversary the best way we know how: with a thoughtful, surprising, irresistible booklist. Organized by genre and category of interest, this all-ages list is a deep dive on the stories, voices and moments that shaped America. Selected by our expert librarians — with help from a few notable New Yorkers! — here are the 250 most influential books in United States history.
— Brooklyn Library’s 250 for 250 Booklist Intro

Whether it’s actually the most influential 250 titles in the country’s history is probably intentionally debatable, but it’s still a great list. From The Hunger Games to The Snowy Day, The Warmth of Other Suns to Where the Sidewalk Ends, the choices are sometimes surprising, sometimes great memories, and sometimes inspirational.

If you’re looking for the next title to read — or the next gift to give — start here. (Also available in a handy PDF if you’d like to send to someone.)

Special bonus #2: Bookmobile, my favorite short-run printer, has been sold — but remains privately-owned, non-corporate, and dedicated to craft. Founder Don Leeper is retiring after 44 years; Michael Shoemaker is the new owner.

“Mike is the perfect buyer for Bookmobile, with the passion, skills and resources to continue and improve our services to publishers. From the beginning of our discussions he displayed an aptitude for grasping the complexities of book publishing in the 21st century and bringing to bear his deep experience in technology, ecommerce, and business in general. Last but not least, he has an understanding and appreciation for the importance of book culture. I am damned lucky we connected.”
— Don Leeper, Bookmobile

“No major changes are planned,” the press release says. “Under its new ownership, Bookmobile will continue to invest in the growth of the business and the success of its publisher customers.”

(Via Publisher’s Weekly.)

Type!

This month has seen a wealth of new typefaces introduced. A few that caught my eye are below, but it’s start with a question.

“What is Queer Typography?”

“Looking for queer anything often feels lonely,” Paul Soulellis writes. “The word queer resists definition, sometimes aligned with ideas about rejection, refusal, deviating from the expected, away from the normative. It’s certainly a political word, one that’s taken on expansive qualities throughout its history, qualities that aren’t necessarily confined to gender and sexuality.”

Image via soulellis.com.

An interesting text, certainly, with many possible answers to the question and accompanying designs and images. “[W]e need to stay with queer as an action, actively engaging with the past and the future as a verb.”

Read more. (This is from 2024, but was recently linked at Kottke — and was new to me, so forgive the late notice/attention.)

Emigre’s Modulator now at Adobe Type

Adobe prices are a regular gripe amongst many, but one of their strongest offerings is the type catalog — and it just got better:

“Modulator was conceived as a dialogue between two designs separated by nearly three decades: Modula Round Black (1995) and Lo-Res Monospaced Solid (2023),” Emigre writes. The results are Modulator and its companion Modulator Text Variable, “optimized for smaller sizes by expanding the stem and counter dimensions to improve legibility.”

Pretty much everything Emigre is awesome, and this is a welcome addition.

Data as type

“Datatype is an OpenType variable font that turns simple text expressions into inline charts. No JavaScript, no images, no rendering library — just type the syntax and Datatype’s ligature substitution does the rest.”

Very cool — and very open source, thus very free. Available on GitHub or Google Fonts.

Special bonus #3: I don’t actually know how much AI is driving new typeface design; honestly, it seems like an art form requiring human decision-making. Dutch foundry Mass-Driver is one that will always design fonts by hand:

AI tools perceive reality as a finite set of data, up-to-date as of about 2021: the shadows on the wall of Plato’s Cave. Right now they are very good at making shadow puppets, but they cannot see the world outside.

If we allow these tools to dictate our visual culture, we must accept that it will be vitrified by machines which consider a few billion webpages equivalent to the sum total of human existence. I don’t accept that. How dare we abandon so many countless traditions and people and ideas and nuances, simply because they are underrepresented in the training data?
— Rutherford Craze & Co., known as Mass-Driver

CreativeBoom’s July Fonts

Fourteen in all this time — last month’s suggestion of a summer lull was wrong, apparently — with some strong selections. I wanted to show several, but narrowed it down to three that deserve highlighting:

Solaflare Sans, by John Reshell of Swell Type.

Solaflare Flare.

“Solaflare’s mood is both unmistakable and timely, evoking warm evenings, hand-painted shop signs, and the particular quality of light in a California coastal town. John Roshell of Swell Type was inspired by the hand-painted signage of Santa Barbara, but rather than simply reviving that aesthetic, he built a variable font around it; one that lets designers slide between three distinct typographic personalities within a single file.”

Solaflare Serif.

That’s right: a variable flare — meaning sans on one end, flare in the middle, serif on the other. Check it out.

Oratorio, by Alex Chavot of Apex Type Foundry.

“Alex Chavot’s latest release for Apex Type Foundry — launched alongside a comprehensively rebuilt foundry website — takes Halbfette Cantate, a display face released around 1910 by H. Berthold AG and designed by Johann Graf, as its starting point, then runs it through the filter of Ed Benguiat’s flamboyant 1970s classics. The result is sweeping swashes, lyrical terminals, high contrast, and an unapologetically theatrical personality that Chavot describes, accurately, as ornamental excess meeting typographic swagger, with just enough restraint to keep it printable.”

Oratorio.

Single-weight fonts are rare these days — but oh, what a weight it is. Expressive, serious, almost lavish. Check it out.

Milgram, by Max Phillips of Signal Type Foundry.

“Max Phillips of Signal Type Foundry has a gift for describing typefaces, and his account of Milgram is direct. They’d always wanted to add a humanist sans to the library, and always wanted to add a rounded sans. So they decided to save time by making them the same typeface and seeing what happened. What happened was a wave of nostalgia for Frankfurter, VAG Rundschrift, and an all-caps dry-transfer face called Formula One that nobody else seems to remember.”

Milgram.

’Course, anybody who mocks up book covers with their new font … instaclick! Check it out.

Vote!

Archinect’s Spring ’26 lecture posters

Twice a year, Archinect holds a contest for their readers to decide which of the season’s lecture posters from architecture schools around the country are their favorites.

East Los Angeles College.

Alas, the contest usually ends just before this column gets posted, so sometimes y’all are able to vote, sometimes not. This time, we only get to compare my favorites with the results.

University of California at Berkley.

Along with these three, I’d also give honorable mentions to Yale, Sci-Arc, and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

University of Minnesota.

ELEC won the contest, too. As for the rest, we’ll just have to agree that they’re all winners in one way or another. See the readers’ and editors’ choices.

“Choose Euro’n Adventure”

Brand New‘s penchant for punny-yet-perfect post titles scores another with this one — another one that voting might be just out of reach for, depending on where you’re reading this from.

Design submission by Rudy Guedj and François Girard-Meunier.

That’s right: it’s time to redesign the Euro! Finalists have been chosen.

“A panel of jurors selected the designs, which follow one of two themes: European places and ideas or birds and rivers, the latter of which is meant to symbolize freedom and unity,” This is Colossal writes.

Design submission by Isabelle Daëron.

Interestingly, the notes get bigger with denomination — the 5 is the smallest, then 10, then 20; the 50, 100, and 200 are all the same size. (Not the boring uniformity we get here in the States.)

Same colors, same denominations, vastly differing details. (Overview via Brand New.)

“While basic elements are the same — all collections devoted to culture feature the same six figures, for example — individual approaches appear in the layout, aesthetic, and composition,” Colossal continues.

Design submission by Atelier Goppel-Toperngpong.

I’m unsurprisingly partial to the birds & places, but no matter which theme or which specific design, these are all excellent. See all the available options at the European Central Bank website — and, if you’re in the EU, take the survey!

Special bonus #4: It’s not the Europeans, it’s the English we have to thank: Getty has abandoned its takeover/merger with/of Shutterstock. Hooray!

Amuse!

Lil’ Finder Guy

It may be a social media campaign, but darn it’s cute.

Basic Apple Guy, who introduced me to Apple’s social media campaign¹ for the MacBook Neo, has an update with all things regarding this unofficial mascot.

Details, stickers, and more.

It’s the Internet, of course, so even items that have been posted briefly then deleted are fodder for careful investigation — and some of the details he’s dug up are neat. (He’s also done a bunch of generated varieties of the character, which make occasional — and often delightful — appearances in his articles.)

Save the manuals

No, not of the RTFM variety. It’s actually a non sequitur.

Image via The Autopian.

Ferrari went and did something interesting, again: having introduced the world of high-performance motoring to the automated manual (the F1, in 1997),² it’s now introducing … the manualized automatic.³

Photograph via Ferrari’s press department.

First of all, let’s all please agree that the 12 Cilindri, their 819-horsepower, half-million-Euro, two-seater Grand Touring masterpiece, is a beautiful thing — retro, but in a modern way. Especially in this merlot-and-gold combo.

Photograph via Ferrari’s press department.

In the new Manuale model, the transmission is the story: a gated dual-clutch automatic, or DCT, with a twist. It’s got buttons for drive, reverse, etc., as usual — but a clutch and a shift lever instead of paddles.

By doing so, offers a road map for other automakers (cough *BMW*) whose customers are demanding the engagement of a manual but whose governments are demanding reduced emissions and increased mileage — plus all those safety mandates like automatic braking and conveniences like adaptive cruise control.

Photograph via Ferrari’s press department.

I’m convinced this is the future of the manual transmission. It’s unconventional, unexpected, and is going to take a minute to trickle down. But … fingers crossed.

Get details at The Autopian or The Drive.

Special bonus #5: Driving stick can help prevent dementia. Okay, sure, it’s not the most scientific post extant, but it makes sense.

Gaze!

Astronomy Photographer of the Year finalists 2026

“Now in its 18th year, the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest is among the premier photo competitions that celebrate the art of astrophotography and astronomy,” PetaPixel writes.

Moody Partial Solar Eclipse. “Our Sun” category. Photograph by James McBeath, UK.

“The competition features nine categories, a pair of special prizes, and the expert panel of judges selects a single overall winner, all of which will be showcased in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum in England starting on September 18.”

Te Hoho Rock Moonrise. “Skyscapes” category. Photograph by Evan McKay, New Zealand.

Astrophotography is fascinating — a reminder that we’re merely a blip — and requires patience, skill, and specialized gear. But the results … wow.

See all 29 finalists.

25 Amazing JWST photographs

While we’re on the subject of space photography, the imagery from space-based cameras amaze no less. The James Webb Space Telescope just celebrated its fourth birthday, and PetaPixel has gathered 25 of its most spectacular and insightful images.

Jupiter. Photograph credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, R. Hueso (UPV), I. de Pater (UC Berkeley), T. Fouchet (Observatory of Paris), L. Fletcher (University of Leicester), M.H. Wong (UC Berkeley), J. DePasquale (STScI).

Cloud details, aurora, the eye — and all on a planet we’re “familiar” with.

Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex. Photograph credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, K. Pontoppidan (STScI), A. Pagan (STScI).

The Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is the closest star-forming region to Earth, and demonstrates both the beauty and power of the Universe.

“The $10 billion NASA/ESA/CSA JWST has produced a great deal of exceptional scientific work in its first four years of operation, much of which is utterly groundbreaking,” PetaPixel writes. “However, that alone is not enough to warrant a photo’s inclusion. While scientific value is important, a Webb image featured here must also be beautiful.”

See also: PetaPixel‘s selections from JWST’s second birthday two years ago.

Illumination

What do these two photographs have in common?

Cerro Torre. Photograph by Darren Almond.

Porquerolles. Photograph by Darren Almond.

Both were taken by the light of the full moon!

In his new book, aptly named Darren Almond. Fullmoon, “the light of the Moon is eerily enhanced, infusing the landscape with haunting ideas of nature and time,” PetaPixel (dramatically) writes.

iPhone Photographer of the Year 2026

It’s that time of year again: the iPhone Photography Awards, now in its 20th season, has announced its annual competition winners.

Winner, Abstract category. Photograph by Barry Mayes, UK.

Entrants from more than 140 countries “showed just how powerful an iPhone can be in the right hands and how great photos don’t always require high-end, dedicated camera equipment,” PetaPixel writes.

Winner, Architecture category. Photograph by Ziwen Chen, China.

3rd Place, Architecture category. Photograph by Preethy Ganesan, US.

Honorable Mention, Architecture category. Photograph by Adrian Beasley, UK.

Of course, these four barely scratch the surface of the fantastic selection from a variety of categories; see all the winners, runners-up, and more at the official website.

The Architecture of Connection

A left turn, so to speak:

The Last Landmark. Image by Jen Orpin.

“The Modernist Society takes a detour from its usual publishing habits with a new monograph, The Architecture of Connection,” Wallpaper* writes, “featuring the work of painter Jen Orpin.”

Let Love Grow. Image by Jen Orpin.

That’s right: paintings. We’re “in the realm of unseen and overlooked infrastructure, with Orpin’s eye – and careful framing – capturing over 200 images of the bridges that span Britain’s motorways. […] The Architecture of Connection brings the entire series together in a monograph for the first time, together with some of the artist’s writings about the work.”

Without traffic, but with something bordering tranquility, it’s of course right up my street. I sometimes wish I could stop and photograph every interesting bridge — or even roadside attraction — while out in the world, but don’t, of course; few of us do. Orpin did. With an easel, no less.

2026 International Pet Photography finalists

Finally, something to send you into August with a smile on your face: humanity’s best friends.

Untitled, Action category. Photograph by Shandess Griffin.

‘Cat Goalkeeper,’ Phone category. Photograph by He Huapei.

“Weightless,” Action category. Photograph by Linda Glomb.

The winners will be announced tomorrow, August 1st.

Happy summer, everyone!
- 1
  As you probably know, I don’t participate in social media. I have to rely on others to bring Apple’s media efforts to my attention — folks covering the coverage, as it were. ↩︎
- 2
  Ferrari’s F1 wasn’t actually the first automated or even semi-automated manual gearbox/transmission, by a long shot. It is, however, the one that brought it to sports cars, followed almost immediately by BMW’s SMG. Wiki has a history, if you’re interested. ↩︎
- 3
  Technically, Koenigsegg got there first with its CC850. However, a) you have to be a car geek to know Koenigsegg, and b) that shift-by-wire unit doesn’t use traditional selector forks, or synchronizers. Instead, it uses seven wet clutches, six to select forward ratios and one for reverse, all with their own pressure sensors and mechatronic actuators. “Changing up is as simple as engaging the right clutches,” The Autopian says. Ferrari’s is a gated dual-clutch automatic, although to call that an oversimplification is an undersell. ↩︎
July 31, 2026
Beautifully Briefed 26.2: Authentic

This time: authenticity fake and real, practical photography, and lots more goodness — things you can connect with. Enjoy.

This month’s Spine

University of Kentucky Press. Cover design by Dominique Jones.

“[T]his collection of connected stories is about a Black family moving to and living in a very white New York town — begging the question that is the title. This is supported by an absolutely superb cover, whose painterly qualities and expert composition evoke emotions and make potential readers want to seek answers,” I said in this month’s University Press Coverage.

“There’s well-done, and then there’s next-level. This is definitely the latter.”

But Where’s Home is one of fifteen covers highlighted this month. Check it out.

Also in book design

While we’re on subject of Spine, Linnea Gradin posted an article — she’s usually a writer for Reedsy — about design trends for ’25 and predictions for this year.

A selection of titles the article calls, “The Serialized Standalone.”

I didn’t devote much time to book design trends in my annual Favorite Book Covers post, so if you’re not familiar with what’s hot in book design at the moment, this article could be worth a moment of your time.

That’s not to say trends aren’t important. I completely (begrudgingly?) acknowledge trends exist and definitely drive design, from book design to logos; however, like so many things these days, trends ~~seem to be~~ are about chasing social media — and I’m not going to celebrate popular opinion when I can celebrate excellence.

A selection of 1960s Penguin crime novels.

Meanwhile, Jason Kottke posted a link to The Case of the Green Covers, a risograph-printed zine that documents the history of the “Green Penguins”, “a series of hundreds of crime novels published with green covers by the UK publisher Penguin in the 1960s.”

After years and years of doggedly collecting what are commonly called “Green Penguins,” a series of hundreds of crime novels published with green covers by the UK publisher Penguin in the 1960s, I’ve both mounted an exhibition of the collection, and created a zine that documents the history of the books, their design, and the designers that made them. The content in the zine is an expansion and re-crafting of the writing I did about these books here, on the Justseeds blog, for my old Judging Books By Their Covers series (you can read those HERE).

— Josh MacPhee, Justseeds

Great stuff. If you’re in Philly, go see the exhibit — “held at Tomorrow Today, a very cool art & politics bookshop that recently opened,” Josh writes — but if not, the zine might very well be fun.

As is Justseeds, now bookmarked.

Projecting British Design,by Thomas Steeles

Special bonus #1: It’s Nice That highlights a new title from the British Design Council:

Tucked away in a Manchester Metropolitan University archive lies 22,000 photographic slides of iconic British post-war design, ranging from the grand (a high-speed passenger train, for example) to the seemingly inconspicuous (plush bean bags and stackable ashtrays). These 35mm slides were made between 1948-1994 by the UK’s Design Council […] as a means of cataloging and preserving the UK’s design history, alongside a select handful of items from abroad. Now, Projecting British Design, a book published by the modernist, documents a selection of 100 of those slides — in the process demonstrating the vast array of objects that have changed the way we live.

— Olivia Hingley, It’s Nice That

I do wish the collection were online, but the post is cool — there are a bunch of examples — and the book will be fun for aficionados of British design, no matter the era.

Faking analog

Elizabeth Goodspeed, by now a regular here on Foreword, has a new column up at It’s Nice That, in which she posits on imperfection as a design strategy: “Faking ‘realness’ on a computer doesn’t get us anywhere new.”

By now, the central point — “[f]or every person declaring that analogue is back, there’s someone offering the same explanation why: AI and other digital tools have made perfection cheap, fast, and easy, so imperfection now signals authenticity” — is generally accepted in design circles. (See comments regarding trends, above.) But she asks a better question: “But if analogue only matters as a foil to the digital, why are analogue aesthetics being embraced without analogue tools?”

She provides a lovely — and classic — graphic.

“[T]his suggests that what’s being described as an “analogue revival” is less a material shift than a semiotic one. Terms like “handcrafted” no longer reliably describe how something was produced, but how an image wants to be read. Whether something was made with ink, a brush, or film often seems secondary, if it matters at all. What’s actually taken on weight is the idea of analogue, and the set of values now projected onto it.

As ever, the blame doesn’t fall on artists (or even the people selling texture packs). The practical reality is that most people no longer have the time, tools, or support to make fully analogue work, even if they want to. The creative infrastructure that would make it viable – materials access, slower timelines, financial stability – isn’t widely available. Designers and illustrators are stuck in a bind: analogue signals value, but digital is what’s feasible.”

— Elizabeth Goodspeed, It’s Nice That

It’s another case of I-could-quote-the-whole-thing-but-should’t, of course — so please just go read it. Because she’s right: it’s a trend, it’s a response, and it’s something that needs to be recognized. (Additional teasers for the article: a stack o’ pancakes and pre-stained Prada. No mention of who’s wearing it.)

Actual analog

A three-fer for you:

Cover design by Samantha Hahn.

• From Spine, a book cover where analog — that is, actual composition of items, arranged and photographed, won the day. See the other options presented.

A lovely additive-printed stamp from Poland.

• From It’s Nice That, via Kottke: lovely collection of stamps. If you’re into great examples of “graphic design in miniature,” “from the recurring Olympics theme to the colourful modernist designs” — and you can stomach Instagram — you can enjoy daily goodness. If not, there are plenty of still to choose from at the links.

Flyer design by Cat Duncan.

• An identity for Athene Club, a women-centred run and hike club in the UK, designed by Cat Duncan. Done in a style that’s awesomely analog — okay, okay, there might be a computer involved — and started before it became a trend. (Also via It’s Nice That.)

Architecture poster favorites, again

Archinect‘s ongoing series of architecture school lecture posters (previously) highlights examples that continue serve an informational purpose with fantastic design:

Washington University.

UTexas at Austin.

Yale University.

Although their contest for readers to vote for their favorite closed yesterday, it’s not the winner — it’s that they all pretty much win. See the whole list. (And get a head start with the Spring ’26 posters with one from Pratt.)

February fonts

CreativeBoom‘s usually-monthly roundup of new fonts includes some I’d like to mention — and hopefully use. (Is typeface addiction a thing?)

WG Buttered Crumpet by Jamie Clark Type

Yes, absolutely, the name has everything to do with Wallace and Gromit.

“The finished typeface – Buttered Crumpet – gives Aardman [Studios] a timeless, familiar tone of voice with bundles of charm. It includes over 200 characters, covering all Western European languages, and was designed in a single, carefully crafted weight with room for future expansion,” Clark writes. “As a Bristol-based designer, it was a joy to create a lasting connection with my home city and one of its most renowned creative studios.”

Veloce by Rob Andrews

Yes, absolutely named after an Alfa Romeo.

“Veloce began as a single-weight studio font and grew into something with real range. Clear and neutral, with enough personality to avoid feeling anonymous, it’s a strong choice for both body text and signage,” CreativeBoom writes. “What really sets it apart, though, is the language coverage. […] It’s an unusually thoughtful decision for a debut, reflecting serious long-term thinking about global communication.”

The website is admittedly not great. (You can cheat: see the specimen PDF here.)

YJC Volt Swing by Yenty Jap Creative

No, absolutely not what CreativeBoom said it was:

“[A] font born from a spark of energy and a little nudge of mischief. It started as a scribble with attitude, leaning forward like it had somewhere important to be — and honestly, it still does,” Yenty Jap writes on her site. “YJC Volt Swing carries that charged-up spirit into every letter, giving your words a bold voice that feels alive, confident, and just a tiny bit rebellious (in the good, hug-you-after kind of way).”

(CreativeBoom had listed — and spoke well of — YJ Knotted Ink, something completely different, while using pictures from YJC Volt Swing. Oops.)

Special bonus #2: PRINT says, “From DSType Foundry [and] designed by Dino dos Santos in 2025, Ensaio feels like a modular system for book design.” The caption flavor is my favorite — but they’re all awesome.

“Rather than having one set of forms stretch across every application, it’s built into four purpose-built variants: Text, Cover, Caption, and Capitals — acknowledging that the typographic needs of a novel’s body copy are fundamentally different from those of a cover or a footnote,” PRINT says.

“Yes,” this book designer agrees.

BMW Alpina, again

Last month’s Beautifully Briefed mentioned the new BMW-Alpina wordmark. (I incorrectly used the word logo, ’cause someone did in something I read and I repeated it without thinking — sorry). The actual logo, which is to say, the badge you’ll see on the vehicles, the website, and some marketing materials, has now been made public:

Still an exhaust and crankshaft, but in the “flat” style also used by BMW (and countless others — see trends, above).

Parenthetically, BMW has suggested that at some point their logo will be etched into the paint rather than a chrome add-on (as on the concept, below), or possibly used as a backlight on the grille (much more ~~trendy~~ likely, I believe):

From the Vision Neue Classe X concept.

In any case, here’s a before-and-after, courtesy of The Autopian:

The old logo is at the left, new at the right.

Read the excellent article at The Autopian, or two different, quicker posts at BMW Blog.

January photography faves

The art of emptiness

MacFilos‘ title for their profile of Italian photographer Marco Ronconi suggests a certain negativity — which, in a way, is true. But in the positive sense.

Face to Face (Arctic Hare). Photograph by Marco Ronconi.

He “masters the art of reducing his images to what is essential. By omitting everything he believes to be unnecessary, even colour, he creates unusual wildlife images.”

An image from the Chiaro | Scuro Project. Photograph by Marco Ronconi.

Very satisfying landscapes, too. See more.

Special bonus #3: “Berlin-based Italian photographer Paride Ambrogi recently combined two of his loves, photography and pasta, in a brilliant, possibly tasty way,” PetaPixel writes. “Ambrogi made the Ravihole Camera, a working pinhole camera made entirely from fresh pasta dough.”

Al Dente Photography.

SINWP Bird Photographer of the Year 2025

Bird photography is an incredibly specialized skill. So contest winners are usually pretty amazing photographs. These absolutely don’t disappoint:

Photograph by Liam McBride.

“With over 2,200 photographs submitted from around the globe, the SINWP Bird Photographer of the Year 2025 competition has revealed a stunning celebration of avian beauty, from kingfishers and bald eagles to owls, flamingos, and countless species beyond. The diversity and quality of the entries have been truly breathtaking,” a press release reads. The contest benefits the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, or RSPB.

Photograph by Emma Brooke.

That’s Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers, by the way. See more at PetaPixel.

Sony World Photography Awards Open Competition winners 2025

Sony has announced the “10 category winners and the 120 shortlisted photographs from its Open competition, which recognizes the best single images captured by photographers worldwide in the past year.”

Winner, Architecture. Photograph by Markus Naarttijarvi.

Photographers do not need Sony cameras or lenses, only talent — of which there’s plenty.

Shortlisted, Motion. Photograph by Christoph Oberschneider.

As is often the case, I prefer some of the shortlisted photographs to the winners. Like the skier above, or this dystopian, almost science fiction shot from Asia:

Shortlisted, Architecture. Photograph by Utshaho Gupta.

A couple of celebrities, lots of great portraits, and many of nature. That latter category has what’s probably my favorite:

Winner, Natural World and Wildlife. Photograph by Klaus Hellmich.

See all 130 photographs at PetaPixel, or selected favorites at This Is Colossal.

World Nature Photography Awards 2026

“The World Nature Photography Awards were founded in 2020 with the goal of not only promoting the world’s best nature photos but also inspiring people to connect deeper with nature,” PetaPixel writes. “WNPA partners with Ecologi to plant a tree every time someone enters the competition as well.”

“Shy but Still Majestic.” Silver, Black and White. Photograph by Ross Wheeler.

“This year’s winning images are a powerful reminder of both the wonder of our planet and the importance of protecting it,” a press release perhaps understates.

“Stoicism in a Sandstorm.” Gold, Behavior — Amphibians and Reptiles. Photograph by Dewalkd Tromp.

See all 42 winning images at PetaPixel.

Special bonus #4: “My photography boomed when I stopped looking at social media,” Ivor Rackham writes at PetaPixel, with tips and ideas for successful business alternatives aplenty.

Cold and wet — but happy. Photograph by Ivor Rackham.

Interesting comparison to soap operas — or is that soapboxing? You decide, but I’d argue that his photos prove some talent.

The flowers are just starting to come out here in Georgia. May spring bloom for all of you, too. See you soon.

February 28, 2026
Beautifully Briefed 26.1: Finding What’s Needed
We’re setting into our third snow of the season here in Georgia, an extraordinary event even in a world where “normal” doesn’t seem to happen all that often any more. Thankfully, there are still gems, waiting to be discovered. Hopefully you’ll find several in the links below.

Note: The site was offline for several hours mid-month due entirely to my mismanaging an update; the backups took a minute and didn’t restore the plug-ins, so it wound up being rough around the edges for a couple of days. If you visited — or tried to — during that time, apologies.

Favorite book covers of 2025, and more

If you’ve not seen, set aside a few minutes to enjoy:

Cover design by Jack Smyth.

More than a hundred examples of book design greatness, with commentary, for the fifth year in a row. Bring a beverage.

But wait, there’s more:

Cover design by Oliver Munday.

LitHub has posted a summary of the last decade of their favorites, too. Whew!

Cover design by Alicia Tatone.

Special bonus #1: Our Culture has a feature on seven book designers to watch in 2026. None will be a surprise to regular readers, although Alicia Tatone hasn’t been highlighted here as much as she deserves (she had three cover designs, including Dusk, in the runners-up folder for my ’25 favorites, but didn’t appear in the final list).

This month’s Spine

Meanwhile, over at Spine, my monthly column on University Press goodness has been posted, including this:

Cover design by Kat Lynch for the University Press of Kentucky.

Walker, FYI, was the first Black person to be named Kentucky Poet Laureate and coined the term, “Affrilachia.”

More from the design department

Heller on Roy Kuhlman

Steven Heller’s column in PRINT is always fantastic, but some introduce designers more of us should know by name — this time, Roy Kuhlman:

Cover design by Roy Kulhman.

“He designed almost exclusively for the edgy indie Grove Press, defining its list of literary, critical, philosophical and politically radical nonfiction titles,” Heller writes, discussing a new retrospective (that he wrote the introduction for):

Many of his abstractions tested the reader’s perception. His lexicon of kinetic, morphing shapes was usually rendered in flat colors with painterly and collage randomness. They could stand on their own. But usually, to make them functional, he used simple sans serif or elegant classic serif typefaces; fitting the abstract nature of his manner, he’d frequently draw or paint hand-scrawled titles and subsidiary texts. Much of his work employed two or three colors, as opposed to four-color process — and he was more than adept with limitations.

— Steven Heller, PRINT

Very cool. See the rest.

January typeface favorites

Speaking of CreativeBoom, their regular feature on new typefaces has several that I like. Let’s start with the elegant Appeal, by new foundry We Type:

Next up, the old-style, almost-evokes-needlepoint Bárur, by MNDT Type:

Another new foundry, Designomatt, brings us the neat and “unpretentiously functional” Stróc:

The last to highlight is probably my favorite of the bunch, this cool and well-executed script called Pennline, from The Northern Block. It’s a “meticulous resurrection of Bulletin — a script first cast in 1899 by Philadelphia’s Keystone Type Foundry — demonstrat[ing] how historical preservation and contemporary utility can coexist when approached with respect and imagination.”

See ’em all — type joke intended — at CreativeBoom.

Faber Editions: just my type

It’s Nice That has a great feature on the new — actually, newly-revisited — Faber Edition titles, with their primarily type-driven cover designs:

“In an industry that can often be focused on newness, Faber Editions is a great reminder of the groundbreaking literature that’s come before us, and a clear indicator of the importance of the artwork the words sit within,” writes Olivia Hingley.

Cover design by Bill Bragg.

Faber is a UK publisher, so while these covers could be excellent because they’re British — see several examples of the US vs. UK titles in the favorites post — I’m just going to call the style interesting, the “look” of the complete series compelling, and the resulting work excellent. Read on.

Special bonus #2: “The graphic trends you’ll want to bookmark for 2026,” also from It’s Nice That. In short: lo-fi, anti-trends continue:

© Maya Valencia & Sydney Maggin, Phase Zero NYC, via It’s Nice That.

In other words, if AI struggles with it — if it’s authentic — it could be a winner. See the specifics.

Special bonus #3: “AI isn’t the enemy. Our lack of nuance is,” Liz Seabrook writes at CreativeBoom. “The most powerful response is being more human.”

Life in ’26: DDOS? Or Just Velocity?

A few days apart, two new essays caught my attention and wound up feeling relevant enough — significant enough — that I wanted to share. They’re new takes on where we’re at, or, the specifics of “how.”

The first is from new-to-me author Joan Westenberg, discussing a computer term called the Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack:

[The] attack works by exhausting resources. It doesn’t need to be clever. It just needs to be overwhelming. The target’s defenses are simply overrun. The server can’t distinguish between legitimate requests and attack traffic because, in a sense, all the traffic is legitimate. The attack succeeds when the system has spent so much energy processing requests that it can no longer serve its actual function.

— Joan Westenberg, “The Discourse is a DDOS”

Does that sound like it might apply to life in the ’Twenties? Yeah.

The old media ecosystem had gatekeepers, and those gatekeepers were often stupid or corrupt, but at least the stupidity and corruption were bounded. There were only so many column inches in the New York Times, only so many minutes of evening news. A finite supply of attention-worthy items existed, and someone had to decide which ones made the cut. That selection process was biased and imperfect, but it performed an important function: it told you, implicitly, that you didn’t have to have an opinion about everything. Most things that happened in the world weren’t important enough to make it into your awareness at all. Local political disputes in New South Wales? Nobody in Washington DC gave a [crap], and vice-versa. This was as close to optimal as we’ve ever got.

But the gatekeeping function has now been distributed across millions of individual users, each of whom can boost any piece of content into viral prominence if it happens to resonate with the right combination of tribal anxieties and engagement incentives. The feed is infinite, and every slot in the feed is optimized to make you feel something strongly enough that you’ll engage with it. Outrage works, and so does fear. Disgust works, and righteousness really[…] works. Nuance and careful reasoning don’t work at all, because by the time you’ve finished a thought that begins with “Well, it’s complicated…” someone else has already posted a much simpler take that makes people feel validated, and the algorithm has moved on.

— Joan Westenberg, “The Discourse is a DDOS”

Om Malik, long-time in-the-trenches tech nerd (and fellow Leica enthusiast), completely agrees:

Authority used to be the organizing principle of information, and thus the media. You earned attention by being right, by being first in discovery, or by being big enough to be the default. That world is gone. The new and current organizing principle of information is velocity.

What matters now is how fast something moves through the network: how quickly it is clicked, shared, quoted, replied to, remixed, and replaced. In a system tuned for speed, authority is ornamental. The network rewards motion first and judgment later, if ever. Perhaps that’s why you feel you can’t discern between truths, half-truths, and lies.

— Om Malik, “Velocity Is the New Authority. Here’s Why.”

Westenberg has a suggestion I wholeheartedly recommend:

What I do know is that the feeling of being overwhelmed, of never being able to keep up, of having strong opinions about everything and confident understanding of nothing, is not a personal failing. It’s a predictable response to an impossible situation. Your brain is being DDoS’d, and the fact that you’re struggling to think clearly under that onslaught is evidence that your brain is working normally. The servers aren’t broken. They’re overloaded. And until we figure out how to reduce the load or increase the bandwidth, the best any of us can do is recognize what’s happening and try, when possible, to step away from the flood long enough to do some actual thinking.— Joan Westenberg, “The Discourse is a DDOS”

“Find one topic,” she says, and start there. Get with experts, get evidence, get uncomfortable, actually get into it … but just get into that one.

And stay true to the idea that it shouldn’t — can’t — get away from you.

I get some feedback for my lack of participation in social media. I don’t hate social media; if anything, the past few weeks of ~~mayhem~~ organized resistance in Minneapolis proves it has a place. But I long ago heeded advice to narrow my focus. Instead of burying my head in the sand — tempting though it may be at times — I choose to concentrate on those things that a) really hold interest and b) things I actually want to be part of my life.

Both of these essays summarize the situation well, and both offer insights on how we got here. Westenberg’s offers good advice. When you have a spare few minutes, read both.

(DDOS article via Doc Searls, whom I don’t link to often enough. Om’s article via Daring Fireball.)

Wikipedia turns 25

Let’s please turn to something that the Internet does right.

Whenever I worry about where the Internet is headed, I remember that this example of the collective generosity and goodness of people still exists. There are so many folks just working away, every day, to make something good and valuable for strangers out there, simply from the goodness of their hearts. They have no way of ever knowing who they’ve helped. But they believe in the simple power of doing a little bit of good using some of the most basic technologies of the internet.

— Anil Dash, “Wikipedia At 25: What The Web Can Be”

“When Wikipedia launched 25 years ago today, I heard about it almost immediately, because the Internet was small back then, and I thought ‘Well… good luck to those guys,’” Dash writes.¹ But it’s grown into something something amazing: the encyclopedia that’s free in every sense of the word.

One of the YouTube shorts published by Wikimedia Foundation.

Like countless others, I value being a contributor, in an incredibly small way, to the collective effort that is Wikipedia. Indeed, editors “span continents, professions and motivations,” a CreativeBoom article writes. “Together, their stories underline that, even in an age of AI, knowledge is still human and it still needs humans.”

“The site is still amongst the most popular sites on the web,” Dash agrees. “[B]igger than almost every commercial website or app that has ever existed. There’s never been a single ad promoting it. It has unlocked trillions of dollars in value for the business world, and unmeasurable educational value for multiple generations of children.”

Of course, all is not perfect. Like Universities, DEI, and whatever else, Wikipedia has become a target; Grokipedia, for instance, exists specifically to undermine Wiki’s centrality and success. (And, it’s important to note, Groki used Wiki as a basis … because it’s open and freely available. No hypocrisy.)

In fact, so many rely on Wikipedia that access has become a thing. Luckily, some large enterprise users of the site have recognized that the trillions they’ve earned as a result of having access to Wiki’s collective knowledge is worth paying for:

[T]he Wikimedia Foundation announced API access deals with Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Perplexity, and Mistral AI, expanding its effort to get major tech companies to pay for high-volume API access to Wikipedia content, which these companies use to train AI models like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT. […] In April 2025, the foundation reported that bandwidth used for downloading multimedia content had grown 50 percent since January 2024, with bots accounting for 65 percent of the most expensive requests to core infrastructure despite making up just 35 percent of total pageviews.

— Benj Edwards, Ars Technica (15 Jan 2026)

Anil Dash best finishes up: “Twenty-five years later, all of the evidence has shown that they really have changed the world.” I couldn’t agree more.

Happy 25 to Wikipedia. May there be countless more.

Special bonus #4: In an excellent article, Ars calls 2025 “the year AI came back down to Earth.” And while we’re on the subject of excellence, Cory Doctorow’s essay for The Guardian applies.

Cory Doctorow in The Guardian.

Follow-up: BMW Alpina and Honda formalize logos

Alpina, for formerly-independent tuner — re-manufacturer, really — of BMW cars (and SUVs), has, as of the first of this year, officially become a division of BMW, akin to MINI or Rolls-Royce. With it comes a new logo.

Well, at least, this:

Conservative, cool, collected. Definitely part of a bigger corporation now.

That’s slightly different that what I covered back in June of 2023; the “A” is less dramatic, probably for the better. BMW calls the new logo “calm and confident,” saying the upcoming models will “master performance and comfort.”

[Alpina] recently entered into an agreement to be purchased by BMW itself, not unlike AMG becoming part of Mercedes-Benz; starting in 2026, they are scheduled to represent the middle ground between BMW and Rolls-Royce — hopefully continuing the comfort, power, and style. It seems that the new ground will be the upmarket models only (that is, no 3-series-based items, and possibly even no 5-series), so think of items $200,000 and up.

— Beautifully Briefed, June 2023

Here’s the old logo, for reference:

Alpina’s now-old logo: exhaust and crankshaft, sir. Nuthin’ like it.

And: they’re going to update the wheels!

Photo via BMW Blog.

As someone who’s become much more familiar with Alpina in the ten years I’ve owned BMWs, these wheels are iconic. Here’s the existing version, on one of my favorite pieces of unobtainium:

Photo via BMW Blog.

That’s a 2016 Aplina B4 BiTurbo Coupé, by the way. Not quite my favorite B3 Touring, but in either case, “drool” doesn’t quite cover it. (Neither were available in the States.)

Curious to see whether this is successful. Expectations are high.

The “old” H logo, shown on a 1971 600. (See wiki for more info.)

Meanwhile, Honda initially said — and I reported, two years ago — that their new, slightly-retro “H” logo would be limited to electric cars. Of course, electric as a strategy has changed; they decided this month to make it official for all their cars.

Motorsports, too. Here’s their F1 engine with the new logo:

Photo via The Drive.

I love that both Honda and BMW are, at their heart, engineering companies.

Get the full story on BMW Alpina at Dezeen or BMW Blog (logo, wheels). Honda’s details are available at The Drive (logo, F1) or The Autopian, where you can enjoy some sharp commentary on Honda’s press release.

January photography round-up

2025 Architecture Master Prize

“Arbour House.” Photograph by Younes Bounhar (Interior Architecture).

I suppose it’s no surprise that an architectural photography selection tops this round-up, but the annual Architecture Photography MasterPrize highlights “compelling perspectives on buildings, cities, landscapes, and interior spaces, revealing the rich visual language of the built environment.”

In other words, “catnip.”

“Details (Series).” Photograph by Guanhong Chen (Other Architecture).

“Details (Series).” Photograph by Guanhong Chen (Other Architecture).

There’s a huge variety of winning photographs, from professionals, amateurs, and students alike — all excellent. (They have awards for designs, firms, and products, as well.)

“Mustras,” Sardinia. Photograph by Barbara Corsico (Exterior Architecture).

I can’t possibly cover them all, but can provide links: photography winners, honorable mentions, student winners, and winners by country. Both Archinect and PetaPixel have stories. Enjoy!

Two photographers, highlighted

Photography by Dennis Lehtonen.

Neither drone images nor folks who primarily post to social media usually get featured here, but these images of Greenland are both timely and excellent. This is Colossal has a great selection of items from photographer Dennis Lehtonen.

“From Alps to Andromeda.” Photograph by Tom Rae.

“My photography style is rooted in landscape and night photography, with an emphasis on atmosphere, scale, and a strong sense of place. I’m drawn to environments that feel raw, remote, and otherworldly,” Tom Rae relates to PetaPixel. Otherworldly feels just right: good stuff.

Society of Photographers’ Photographer of the Year 2025

Photograph by Terry Donnelly.

I also usually don’t cover documentary-style photography — see narrow focus, discussed above — but there were several documentary-style photographs in this set of award winners that were excellent, including this Medivac flight from the UK.

However — thankfully — there were more categories:

Photograph by Mark Scicluna.

It’s the winner in the “travel” category, because apparently they don’t have one called “dramatically soothing.” No matter the labelling, see the rest of the winners at PetaPixel or head over to the Society’s website for more.

Finally: some cats

Speaking of catnip, let’s close out with something that purrs — in soprano:

Let’s not go ’round and ’round: that deserves framing. Or at least publication. Thankfully, Phiadon has you covered:

A “whimsical visual survey of the house cat in art and popular culture, exploring humanity’s enduring connection to one of our most loved animal companions.” Awesome. (Via This is Colossal.)

Have a great February, everyone!
- 1
  I, too, remember those days of a small Internet — not a young person anymore. While I miss the community it felt like, the resources available today, of which Wiki might be at the fore, are without parallel. ↩︎
January 31, 2026
Beautifully Briefed 25.1: A Different Year

This edition discusses new type, mergers and items set free, and visits with both some photo contest winners and winning poster designs. (And if you haven’t seen my annual Favorite Book Covers post, keep scrolling.) But first…:

Former President Carter

Commonwealth Club, San Francisco, 2013. Photograph by Ed Ritger. (CC 2.0.)

One of the strongest voices of reason left us on December 29th, 2024: former President Jimmy Carter. He’s the first president I actually remember, and one of the things I’ve appreciated about recent years is the growth of his stature from undeserved fill-in-label-here to treasured humanitarian.

I’d like to share a couple of items that are meaningful to me. First is his commitment to Habitat for Humanity — and not only as a speaker and fundraiser, but someone who contributed by actually swinging a hammer:

Former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. Photo via Habitat for Humanity.

Into their 90s and still working. Take it from David Letterman:

While we’re on the subject of David Letterman, this September, 1993 appearance shows both humanity and humor:

Another quick item is this 60 Minutes tour of his office — something that always speaks volumes about a person:

Plains, Carter’s lifelong residence, is a frequent sojourn for me, and a recommended way to both experience rural Georgia and learn more about his roots. (I had always intended to attend one of his regular Sunday school lessons and regret not having made the time.) Visit when you have the opportunity.

Water Mill, Carter Farm, 2021. (Adobe Content Credentials applied.)

May your influence of peace continue for another lifetime, Mr. President.

New Type of Year

Creative Boom brings us their roundup of new typefaces for January, and a couple caught my attention:

Bergamot Grotesk.

SLTF Bergamot Grotesk, an Art Deco-style, all caps headline face is a striking new option from Silverstag. This is trendy, of course — Art Deco is in — but timeless at the same time, and something I hope I have an opportunity to use.

Another is a new version that’s instantly a beautiful classic, Milla, hand-developed and a joy to look at:

Hoping for the perfect book project for this one.

Mergers … and Freedom

If you’ve not heard, Getty and Shutterstock have proposed a merger. This is, put simply, both understandable and … not good.

PetaPixel covers both the announcement, with the usual words from the ~~greedy types~~ CEOs, and a history of both companies and their role in how we got here. This is perhaps the most relevant, however:

The rise of artificial intelligence has likely played a role in the merger; the combined assets of Shutterstock and Getty are a treasure trove of training data for AI companies. However, while AI licensing deals are an opportunity, it could also be an issue for stock photo companies as customers may decide to use AI image generators like Midjourney or DALL-E rather than pay for individual pictures.
— Matt Growcoot, PetaPixel

For the record, I completely agree with PetaPixel‘s Jason Schneider when he opines that it’s “yet another step in a race to the bottom.” The deal could possibly attract antitrust notice from the U.S. government; here’s hoping.

But it’s also hopeful — and slightly wonderful — that it’s new year, which means a new crop of items are now freed from the constraints of copyright. Kottke lists some of his favorites, and points us to a fantastic post from Duke University’s Center for the Public Domain, which has lists and links aplenty. (My favorite: Tintin.)

Image via This is Colossal.

But there’s more: This is Colossal points us to a new resource for items in the public domain: the Public Domain Image Archive, from the Public Domain Review, which hosts more than 10,000 images freely available to use, reuse, mix, or whatever. Awesome.

Couple of faves:

Lorena Stoer, Geometric Landscapes, from 1567. (Yes, you read that right.)

Apollo 11, 1969, from NASA.

Another NASA image is in the header, and we’ll see another from them in a minute.

Meanwhile, Public Domain Review also has a list of items copyright-free as of the new year; check both resources — and use some newly-available items to your heart’s content.

Special Bonus #1: This is Colossal, in 2016, also point e d us to another collection of freely-available items, this time from the New York Public Library. Great stuff.

Special Bonus #2: In a three-fer for This is Colossal, they also highlight a new campaign from the U.S. National Archives asking those who can read cursive — no longer a requirement in school, a completely daft decision we’ll leave for another time — to contribute some time translating historical items. (And that’s not all you can do.) Become a Citizen Archivist today.

Get Lectured

No, not me: Archinect (previously) highlights their favorite architecture school lecture posters from Fall ’24, which I somehow didn’t mention. A couple of favorites:

Florida Atlantic University.

University of Wisconsin at Madison.

The new year is off to a good start, too:

UCLA.

UPenn.

UPenn’s fall ’24 poster is in the same vein and also rocks. Check out all the winners — and watch this space for more.

Winning Photography

I’m threatening to get a Raspberry Pi — the ol’ fashioned ad-blocker route is less and less effective, and a more robust alternative may be added — and was interested in this PetaPixel story about the desktop photos the system uses as standard: “[w]alking through a train station in New Zealand, Greg Annandale looks up to see his photo on an information screen. The Raspberry Pi computer powering the board has gone back to the desktop wallpaper which Annandale shot of a road in Iceland.”

That would be this one:

Road, Sólheimasandur, Iceland. Photo by Greg Annandale.

Couple of others:

Pia Fjord, Patagonia. Photo by Greg Annandale.

Cordillera Darwin, Patagonia. Photo by Greg Annandale.

Good stuff. Check out his website for more, and see the whole Pi here.

Next, I promised NASA would put in another appearance. How’s this:

Photo by Don Petit/NASA.

In what Ars Technica senior space editor calls “the best picture ever taken from the International Space Station,” we have something special indeed. “In this image, one can see the core of the Milky Way galaxy, zodiacal light (sunlight diffused by interplanetary dust), streaks of SpaceX Starlink satellites, individual stars, an edge-on view of the atmosphere that appears in burnt umber due to hydroxide emissions, a near-sunrise just over the horizon, and nighttime cities appearing as streaks.”

Wow.

To round things out for January, we have a couple of photo contests whose winners caught my eye. We’ll start with The Society of Photographers and their photographer of the year 2024. My faves:

Architectural Photographer of the Year award. Photograph by Andre Boto.

Events Photographer of the Year award. Photograph by Mark Lynham.

While I wish their selections were more extensively labeled and/or titled, it’s still awesome to see the raw talent highlighted with well-deserved accolades. See the PetaPixel story or the contests’ website for more.

Lastly, some life in the wild, courtesy of the UK’s Natural History Museum People’s Choice Award:

Annoying Neighbour, Kiskunság National Park, Hungary. Photograph by Bence Máté.

“Eyeing one another” fails to do this one justice. And then there’s the Villarrica volcano:

Earth and Sky, Pucón, Chile. Photograph by Francisco Negroni.

But it’s the patience of this shot that wins it for me:

Edge of Night, near Vancouver, BC, Canada. Photograph by Jess Findley.

“Jess quietly watched the owl for several nights to understand its habits.

“He set up an invisible beam that would trigger a flash when the owl flew out of the barn. Simultaneously, a slow shutter speed gathered ambient light cast on the clouds and barn.

“On the tenth night, all the moving parts came together as the owl left to begin its hunt.”

The winner of this contest will be announced on February 5th. Check the website. (Via This is Colossal.)

See y’all in February.

January 30, 2025
Beautifully Briefed 24.7: Generated

This time, another automaker logo, some automotive and architecture photography, and the special bonuses that have all become a regular part of the Beautifully Briefed standard. But we’re going to start with some generated content.

AI Book “Design”

From the “We knew this was going to happen” category, we have the first — that I’ve seen, anyway — “let AI do the work” research paper suggesting that book design is something that can be automated.

We have presented a novel approach to computationally design books. The presented system implements a generative design process which takes advantage of the scripting capabilities of Adobe InDesign to procedurally typeset books from content provided by the user. We have shown the ability of the system to (i) create book designs that consistently comply with a series of typographic rules, styles and principles identified in the literature; (ii) produce visually diversified books from the same input content; and (iii) produce visually coherent books with different contents.

Design by “AI.”

Let’s please remember that “AI” as the term is currently used is actually “applied machine learning;” in this case, specific rules within specific containers in a specific application. It’s a first step towards something, as most “AI” is in 2024.

But it’s absolutely not the only step. It’s inevitable that the necessary subsequent steps will be taken, probably sooner than later.

As usual where someone is seriously discussing replacing a human worker with a computer, there’s a pitch for the upside:

The work presented in the paper may challenge the typical roles of both the tool and the designer. First, by automatically creating and suggesting design alternatives, the tool ends up playing a more active role in the design process. Then, by modifying and developing custom tools, the designer is no longer a mere tool user and becomes the author of tools tailored to specific needs. We believe this shift can be fruitful since it enables the exploration and discovery of new technical and creative possibilities.

In other words, the designer is now responsible for creatively writing the rules then policing the output — like so many things in the machine-learning, or “AI” space — rather than the actual drudgery of directly designing the output. “Design great rules, get great design.”

And there is room for this. Amazon, especially, is going to jump on book design generated this way; never mind those folks in China or India earning (a paltry few) dollars a day, the computer can do it better for less . . . . Poof! With no human interaction whatsoever, your book is ready to publish. Indeed, for some, the bar to publish has just been ~~lowered~~ made easier. Perhaps even Adobe, who trumpets “AI” at every turn these days, they may choose to take this up. (Probably for a surcharge to the already-high subscription pricing.)

Let’s not even speculate about the major publishing houses for now.

But like AI-generated anything, getting actual art requires hand-tuning the input by an artist. For what amounts to “slop” — see this fantastic PixelEnvy discussion — the generated approach to book design might even be appropriate. But for book design that’s artistic, cared-for, or even “just” thoughtful, you’re going to need a human for a long time yet to come.

The paper is available on Cornell University’s arxiv under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 DEED license. (Via Hackernoon.)

The excellent Odd Apples, which I’m sure I’ve highlighted before — but in a very human way, can’t find.

Special Bonus #1: I had the occasion to recently flip through Pentagram’s book design section. Some seriously interesting, seriously artistic work. (See the Odd Apples listing specifically.)

It could probably be argued that computers took book design jobs away, but….

Special Bonus #2: CreativeBoom links to three free archives on Victorian illustration to inspire — or perhaps use creatively in a book.

Untitled (Fiddleheads), 1928. Photo by Karl Blossfeldt.

Special Bonus #3: The ever-great Kottke.org. points us at Public Work, “an image search engine that boasts 100,000 “copyright-free” images from institutions like the NYPL, the Met, etc. It’s fast with a relatively simple interface and uses AI to auto-categorize and suggest possibly related images (both visually and content-wise).” As Jason Kottke points out, not great in the attribution department, but good stuff nonetheless.

Mazda’s New Logo

Mazda’s logo as of 2023, seen on one of its cars.

From the automotive logo thread (previously), we have to note Mazda’s new look, reduced from the current 3D-style grayscale to flat and black and white. This one gets some criticism from me: it lacks grace, pace, or space. (Hmph. That might be someone else.)

Angry Bird, anyone? (Pardon the artifacts — this image is enlarged from a Japanese trademark post.)

Then again, Mazda has not always been successful with logos. Anyone remember the 1991–1997 version?

Mazda’s complete logo history.

The 1931–1934 version lays the name over Mitsubishi’s logo, which was responsible for sales. The 1975–1991 version is the one I remember best, but that’s likely a youth/rose-colored glasses sort of thing. See Wiki for more information.

Meanwhile, Mazda is trying to move upmarket right now, and the new “look” isn’t really in keeping with that. Curious to see where this goes. (Via The Autopian.)

Mazda’s new electric concept, the Errata, sporting an interim, flattened version of the current logo. Wait, might have gotten something wrong there, too….

Special Bonus #3: BrandNew points us at the 2024 Logo Trends report, the annual fun item from Logo Lounge that looks at what’s hot in this year’s crop of — you guessed it!

Freely (Smiley category) and Droplet (Elliptic category), left, and Olá and Backcountry Wanderer, right, from the Sticker category. (Olá could be in the Smiley category, too.)

Some of my favorites are above, but the whole report is worth a look. (Spoiler: more than flattening is on trend.)

Auto, Auto+Arch, Arch

Auto Photo Manual

Via Wallpaper*, we have Auto Photo Manual, a new monograph from Benedict Redgrove that “explores the art and science of photographing the world’s most striking cars:”

A very orange Lambo. Photo by Benedict Redgrove.

Always a sucker for a Saab, especially this concept:

The 2006 Saab Aero-X concept. Photo by Benedict Redgrove.

Auto Photo Manual is a Kickstarter item that could use some love — stop by if you can. Wallpaper* has the full story.

A Time • A Place (Vol. 1)

Also via Wallpaper*, we have a “celebration of the European Car of the Year and changing perceptions of modern design, pairing the best buildings of the age with their automotive contemporaries:”

London’s Camberwell Subamarine and the Mercedes W116. Photo by Daniel Hopkinson.

“Through the lens of time, both [cars and buildings] have become highly symbolic of their eras and hindsight will allow us to trace the roots of each design to determine how it is viewed from a 21st century perspective,” says Holroyd, noting that over this period architecture underwent a stylistic retreat, just as car design became emboldened and more avant-garde.

Great stuff in this new title, available now from The Modernist. Read more at Wallpaper*.

World Architecture Festival 2024 Shortlist

Via The Guardian, we have The World Architecture Festival’s 2024 shortlist, revealing projects from around the world spanning categories such as childcare, energy, transport and science. A couple of faves:

The Chodge by DCA Architects of Transformation — interesting name(s), surely — in Whakamaru, New Zealand. Photograph by Simon Devitt.

The live awards event will take place in Singapore from November 6-8. This year’s finalists represent 71 countries.

Woven Passage to Cloudy Peaks by line+ studio in Shaoxing, China. Photograph by line+studio.

See more at The Guardian, or the complete shortlist at The World Architect Festival.

Special Bonus #4: This is Colossal brings us the drone photography of Eric Waider, shot in Iceland:

As glaciers expand and recede, they have the capacity to grind rock so fine that geologists refer to the pulverized material as glacial flour. It slips down rivers and into lakes, carrying the otherworldly turquoise hue through a unique and resilient ecosystem. In Iceland, the blue-green color is complemented by rivers that flow yellow, thanks to sulfur from nearby volcanoes, or red from dissolved ferrous iron—also known as bog iron. Coursing over rock and black sand, the streams take on dazzling, rhythmic patterns.

Photograph by Erik Waider.

Brilliant. See his website (“Abstract Landscapes of the distant North”) and enjoy that series and more — including faves such as Ocean Blues and Glacial Macro.

July 31, 2024
Beautifully Briefed 24.6: Summer of Win (Mostly)

In this installment of Beautifully Briefed, let’s take a look at some great posters, great print items, and great photography. Plus, an update from Adobe’s continued campaign to lose friends and attract government attention. Fun stuff!

GET LECTURED (ON ARCHITECTURE)

Back in September, I mentioned Archinect’s Get Lectured poster series. They’re back with the Spring 2024 winners, including these two faves:

ELAC lecture poster design by Tashfiah Ahmed.

Lecture poster from the University of British Columbia; designer not listed.

Great examples of design in a often difficult category. See the rest.

Architecture Photographs by Hélène Binet

While we’re discussing architecture, let’s talk about a Dezeen post that caught my eye: photographer Hélène Binet has a new book out, adding to her long career capturing the old-school way — using film.

“A Sentimental Topography by Dimitris Pikionis, landscaping of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece.”

This series captures shadows and light with exceptional talent, including the above, where she’s praised for “captur[ing] in a single image the tactile and textured presence of tectonic form, both in built and natural environments.”

“Staircases in Sperlonga, Latina, Italy.”

I love the softer shades of gray than shown in the previous image, and both this and the image below demonstrate a deep understanding of architectural expression.

“Kolumba Museum, Cologne, Germany, by Peter Zumthor.”

Read the post from Dezeen, see more examples of outstanding work on her website, or buy the book with 170 photographs, essays, and more.

2024 Audubon Photography Winners

This is Colossal posted about this a day before my Audubon magazine showed up with these prominently featured, and they’re all winners.

Wild Turkey, Female Bird Prize Winner, by Travis Potter.

Bird photography is a difficult skill requiring patience, perseverance, and specialized gear; those who excel at it deserve recognition. Plus, there’s this:

Audubon’s climate science report Survival by Degrees reveals that two-thirds of North American birds are threatened by extinction from climate change, including species featured in this year’s Audubon Photography Awards like the Blackburnian Warbler, California Quail, and Sedge Wren.

Forster’s Tern, Professional Honorable Mention, by Kevin Lohman.

Check out the Colossal post, or see the full story at the Audubon website.

Special Bonus #1: Kottke points us towards the Siena 2024 Drone Photography Awards. “Look! Up in the sky! It’s … another contest!” Good stuff nonetheless:

“Jiashao Bridge” by Sheng Jiang, China.

PRINT 2024 Awards

The annual PRINT awards are out, featuring — natch — great items in print, including items like the Smithsonian’s annual report and a Naked Trails brochure. Here are a couple of items from the book design category:

Jacket design by Robin Bilardello.

Author sketch and lettering by the author. Also, let’s get the . . . :

Cover design by Milan Bozic, with illustration and typography by Lauren Tamaki.

Fantastic.

Special Bonus #2: Hoefler & Co. brings us Typographic Doubletakes: “While good typefaces have prodigious families of carefully related styles, some of the best typography builds unexpected relationships between unrelated fonts.”

Left: Chronicle Hairline + Landmark. Right: Vitesse + Gotham.

Their blog refreshes as you scroll in more ways than one — enjoy.

Left: Mercury Text + Ideal Sans SSm. Right: Whitney + Operator and Operator Mono.

Special Bonus #3: Kottke points us to a LitHub post arguing for adding full credit pages to books acknowledging everyone who worked on them. “How lovely it is to be seen and appreciated.”

Adobe “Too Easy to Hate,” Say Users, Employees

Adobe continues to score big with the public — in the best Boeing style, a formerly-great company has put profits before users and employees. While successful from the shareholders’ point of view (record profits, again), some are . . . upset. PetaPixel:

Just over a month ago, an Adobe exec called AI the “new digital camera.” Simultaneously, an Adobe marketing campaign chucked photographers under the bus, and not for the first time, which caught the attention of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). At the very top of Adobe, there is a concerning and frustrating lack of understanding about art and the people who make it.

Even “exasperated employees implored leadership to not let it be the “evil” company customers think it is;” while that might be a stretch — “ignorant greed” is a better description — either is not a winning look.

The latest was a terms-of-service update that many saw as a rights grab, allowing the company to use users’ work to train its AI services. While those have been amended, the seemingly clear language — “We’ve never trained generative AI on customer content, taken ownership of a customer’s work, or allowed access to customer content beyond legal requirements” — comes from a company that has lost the trust of users, making those words just that — words. Time will tell if they are truth.

But there’s more: Adobe’s just been sued by the FTC (via PetaPixel, Pixel Envy) for hidden fees and difficult cancellations:

“For years, Adobe has harmed consumers by enrolling them in its default, most lucrative subscription plan without clearly disclosing important plan terms,” the lawsuit alleges. “Adobe fails to adequately disclose to consumers that by signing up for the ‘Annual, Paid Monthly’ subscription plan, they are agreeing to a yearlong commitment and a hefty early termination fee that can amount to hundreds of dollars. Adobe clearly discloses the early termination fee only when subscribers attempt to cancel, turning the stealth early termination fee into a powerful retention too that [redacted] by trapping consumers in subscriptions they no longer want.”

I’m actually glad for this, as I wasn’t aware that my $60+ monthly fee is a payment on an annual plan. (Ug.) Not too big an issue — I actually feel like there’s decent value in the plan and will continue to subscribe for the foreseeable future.

But I’d also be lying if I said I’m completely satisfied with our business arrangement: alternatives are few and far between. While Adobe does not have a monopoly legally or technically, in the publishing industry at least, they are, for all intents and purposes, the only game in town. It would be nice if they would at least demonstrate a modicum of respect for their users.

Update, 25 July 2024: “Adobe Exec Says Early Termination Fees Are ‘Like Heroin’ for the Company,” according to PetaPixel. Hmph.

June 26, 2024
Beautifully Briefed 23.9: Falling into Brilliance

As summer turns to fall, let’s take a look at Type 1 fonts, a library index, revolutionary posters, posters for “get lectured,” and two different photography contests. Let’s get right into it.

Adobe discontinues a standard: The Type 1 font

Back in the early days of desktop publishing — up to about the turn of the century, give or take — everything typographic used PostScript, a programming language by Adobe. (Other stuff, too, like Adobe’s vector program, Illustrator.) PostScript fonts were the so-called “Type 1” variety, made up of a bitmapped “suitcase” that housed the standard display sizes and an outline file used by the output device to print clean, what-you-see-is-what-you-get beauty.

The Apple LaserWriter Plus and some vintage Macs: nostalgia! (Note the book — heh.) Image: YouTube.

Companies from Apple to Microsoft didn’t want Adobe to hold a monopoly on output tech, so later fonts evolved into TrueType and then OpenType, the latter of which is the standard today.

So much so that Adobe has now discontinued Type 1, and they, along with Microsoft, have stopped being supported. Which is understandable and yet a shame: some of us still have hundreds of them.

Ars Technica has the best roundup.

Meanwhile, I’m going to investigate a conversion utility. Will report back.

All the Libraries in London

It’s Nice That has a post that reminds us of a library’s central purpose: to leave knowing more than you did when you entered. “The library, in our shared public imagination, is a special place,” the author argues — reminding us of what libraries were established to do, often distinctly different from the modern reality (especially in the United States).

In the library you begin to be convinced that language matters, that words have the power to clarify, to rouse, to make us feel something, to help us understand the political and cultural features of historical and contemporary moments.
Lola Olufemi, It’s Nice That

All the Libraries in London. Cover design: unknown. Image via It’s Nice That.

All the Libraries in London does something artistic with a simple listing, elevating it, reminding us how compelling the ideal that libraries represent really is:

This is a political and artistic listing, one that invites the reader to rediscover their own memories of their local library as a site of discovery. The book’s authors invite us to reflect on our personal relationship to libraries as well as the necessity of collectively securing their future existence.
Lola Olufemi, It’s Nice That

Alan Kitching, Durning Library. Image via It’s Nice That.

We need more of this everywhere, but especially here in the States. Meanwhile, check out this great item at It’s Nice That.

Special Bonus #1: Another British treasure, via the very British Antiques Roadshow (a British original, natch): this incredible poster by Ralph Steadman.

Ralph Steadman’s Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) poster. Image via Wikipedia.

Special Bonus #2: British book designer Steve Leard has launched a new book design podcast, Cover Meeting, featuring interviews between Leard and fellow book designers on the work, the industry, and more. The Bookseller has more.

Cuban Movie Posters. No, Really.

While we’re on the subject of great posters — and It’s Nice That — let’s talk about how Cuba’s revolution-era political posters transformed their poster design for films. Appropriately enough, a new film, El Cartel Cubano, highlights these amazing (and, likely, never seen before) items.

Besos Robados, ICAIC, by Sotolongo & Carole Goodman. Image via It’s Nice That.

“How come our posters in the US aren’t this beautiful? What did this say about the priorities of the revolution? What did the medium or choices in the scarcity of materials used say about the economic situation in Cuba?” It’s these questions which form the bedrock of El Cartel Cubano, a fascinating and tender tribute to the artists on the island.
Adrienne Hall, co-director, El Cartel Cubano

Sur, by Michael Myiares Holland. Image via It’s Nice That.

I have to admit: this isn’t a subject I would have leapt at, but It’s Nice That sold it. Awesome.

Get Lectured (on Architecture)

Closing out our trifecta of great posters, Archinect‘s Get Lectured series brings us these fantastic items from their Fall 2023 series:

Woodbury University School of Architecture’s Fall 2023 lecture series.

The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture’s Fall 2023 lecture series

Some real gems: see more.

Finalists of the 2023 Urban Photography Awards

Going to soapbox a little here: pay-to-enter photo contests aren’t usually something I want to spread the word about. So ArchDaily‘s basically-a-press-release, “URBAN Photo Awards 2023 has announced its list of Finalist Photographers, marking the penultimate stage of the international contest,” was guaranteed a pass.

But there’s a problem: some of the photographs are really compelling.

Untitled, by Claudia Costantino

This one’s my fave:

Back to the 70s, by Stephane Navailles

See the contest website, or ArchDaily‘s post.

Winners of the 2023 Black and White Photography Awards

Another contest, yes. They’re everywhere. But … wow.

Street Lights – Ottawa, by Gareth Jones, category winner, architecture

Another mushroom? By Hector Ballester Ballester. Silver mention, architecture.

Alamillo bridge, by Manuel Ponce Luque. Finalist.

The concert, by Helena García Huertas. Finalist.

Reflections on the stairwell, by Max Dobens. Finalist.

And that’s just the buildings/architecture — there are portraits, street photography, landscapes, and more. A reminder to aspire, every day, with every image.

The Black and White Photo Awards (2023). (Via PetaPixel.)

September 18, 2023