Augusta Pownall | Book

Rational Simplicity: Rudolph de Harak, Graphic Designer




Debbie Millman | Audio

Randa Jarrar

Randa Jarrar has made the world a sexier and more thoughtful place—and on this episode, she discusses her powerful new memoir, "My Love is an Ex-Country."...
Elizabeth Lowrey | Essays

The Workplace Recalibrated – Hybrid Working Will Drive Everything

How do workplaces get from where they were to where they need to be?...
Jessica Helfand | From Our Archive

Total Recall

Memories are born with perception, and reside in the brain....
Debbie Millman | Audio

Jacqueline Woodson

In her inspiring creative journey, author and MacArthur Fellow Jacqueline Woodson went from struggling with words as a child to mastering them today....
Adrian Shaughnessy | Books

Impact

Today, we use the internet and social media feeds to stay abreast of developments, but we used to rely on the design press. Already, most of the major players have left the stage. Will the few remaining stalwarts be around in 10 years’ time?...
Debbie Millman | Audio

David Byrne

The legendary David Byrne reflects on his formative years, the mystery that underpins making music, and his cathartic Broadway experience, “American Utopia.”...
Diana Seave Greenwald | Books

Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?

Do fewer women than men make art professionally? If so, has this been true both historically and at present?...
Debbie Millman | Audio

Jenna Lyons

From her trend-setting career with J.Crew to the medley of new projects she has launched over the past year, Jenna Lyons has perpetually made the world a more stylish, joyful place....
The Editors | Terms of Service

Terms of Service: February Edition

We’d love for people to start every day by slowing down and being more present in whatever way works best for them....
| Books

Covering Black America

Decades ago, the great artist, poet, musician, and author Gil Scott-Heron famously proclaimed, “The revolution will not be televised.” He was right...It was, however, delivered monthly to newsstands and Black homes within the pages of Ebony....


Observed | March 23

In an effort to provide more fonts accessible to everyone, the Indian Type Foundry introduces Fontshare. [JH]


Observed | March 22

Disney now qualifies its classical film library with “advisory” disclaimers that seek to recognize (and name) racial bias and othering. [JH]


Observed | March 19

Brilliant! (via Shaun Borstrock) [JH]

Color correction and its relationship to racial bias. (Via Dori Tunstall.) [JH]


Observed | March 18

A brutally honest perspective on the current—and precarious—state of design culture with Design Observer’s co-founder Jessica Helfand. [BV]


Observed | March 17

Everything you ever wanted to know about faces on currency. [JH]


Observed | March 15

Bravo and congratulations to Lawrence Azerrad for his latest Grammy win for the album packaging of for Wilco’s “Ode to Joy” [BV]


Observed | March 10

Yohokama-based Masayoshi Matsumoto is a balloon genius. [JH]


Observed | March 05

The Center for Urban Pedagogy now has a program in Public Access Design. Meet their newest design fellows here. [JH]


Observed | March 04

On the brink of nuclear war, America’s bold response to the Soviet Union depended on Juanita Moody, an unknown spy agency operative, whose story can at last be told. [BV]


Observed | March 03

For his piece Quantum Fluctuations: Experiments in Flux, London-based artist Markos R Kay set out to visually express a quantum interaction – a phenomenon that’s notoriously unobservable. [BV]


Observed | March 02

The beautiful, origami-like art of letterlocking. [JH]


Observed | March 01

See what other people are reading—quite literally. [JH]

Old photos of famous artists and scientists animated into ‘living portraits’ using AI. [BV]

From the brilliant Ariel Avissar, a supercut of the everlasting typewriter. (Via Kottke.) [JH]

Art, activism, and the Xerox machine. [JH]


Observed | February 25

The story of designer/Marxist Enzo Mari, the role of value creation, and a tale of two bookcases. [JH]


Observed | February 24

Vintage clothes, bright colors, and empowerment for Black women: one graphic designer’s sartorial adventure. [JH]


Observed | February 23

A revolutionary artist and the former minister of culture for the Black Panther Party, Emory Douglas used graphic design to build a culture of resistance. [JH]

OUCH, or, why UX design matters. [JH]


Observed | February 22

The story of Ford’s first African-American designer, McKinley Thompson, who sketched the original 1966 Bronco [BV]


Observed | February 19

Magazines and The American Experience, on view at the Grolier Club in New York. (View the exhibition online here.) [JH]

Bruce Blackburn, designer of the iconic NASA “worm” logo, dies at 82. [JH]


Observed | February 18

Everything you ever wanted to know about stamps, but were afraid to ask. [JH]

The extraordinary, long overlooked story of artist and sculptor, Selma Burke. [JH]


Observed | February 12

NYCxDesign’s inaugural breakout grant will provide a lifeline to three independent designers (or businesses) with a product or project that’s ready to go to market. Applications are due March 26. [JH]


Observed | February 11

For its inaugural year of 2020-2021, Caltech’s Critical Intersections: Conversations on Race, History, and Science online seminar series is dedicated to the history leading up to—and beyond—eugenics. For this week’s event, artists Edgar Arcenaux and Kurt Forman will create a printed artwork in conversation with the topic, which will be mailed to early registrants (who provide their mailing addresses) when registering. [JH]


Observed | February 10

Just in time for Valentine’s Day: our very own Jessica Helfand in the newest issue of Lovers Magazine. [BV]


Observed | February 09

Toying with design, in India (and online) [JH]


Observed | February 07

Our friends Wix launched a great new development tool: EditorX offers powerful collaboration, flexible grids and full breakpoint control. Watch a video of all the new functionality. (Thanks for the demo!) [BV]



Jobs | March 23