William Drenttel

William Drenttel|Essays

Polling Place Photo Project

The Polling Place Photo Project seeks to advance innovation in citizen journalism by documenting local voter experiences during the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, November 7...

William Drenttel|Essays

Polling Place Photo Project

The Polling Place Photo Project seeks to advance innovation in citizen journalism by documenting local voter experiences during the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, November 7...

William Drenttel|Essays

Polling Place Photo Project

The Polling Place Photo Project seeks to advance innovation in citizen journalism by documenting local voter experiences during the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, November 7...

William Drenttel|Essays

Silk Road Typography

European Union's 50th anniversary logo, design by Szymon Skrzypczak, 2006Late at night, after seeing a particularly vapid, unlikely or just plain idiotic television commercial, I'll often turn to my wife and say, "Can you imagine being in …

William Drenttel|Essays

Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing

More than a year ago, Jessica Helfand and I agreed to co-sponsor an initiative to increase the appreciation of design — by recognizing new voices in design criticism and commentary. In partnership with AIGA, and supported by the …

William Drenttel|Essays

What Ever Happened to Half.com, Oregon?

But back in 1999, in its Netflix-like heyday, Half.com was hot. And it did something quite remarkable. As a publicity stunt, it bought a town and renamed it. Someplace in Oregon. I wondered what ever happened to Half.com, Oregon — …

William Drenttel|Essays

Threat Advisory Pandemic Alert System (TAPAS)

Last week, the London airline liquid-bomb threat elevated the Homeland Security Advisory System to red, the Severe Risk of Terrorist Attacks zone. This week we're back down two stages to Elevated Risk — or yellow. We have Tom Ridge …

William Drenttel|Slideshows

Dangerous Beauty: The Art of the Shiv

A shiv is a weapon crafted from the limited resources of a prisoner's closed world. Crudely constructed from such things as spoons, shoelaces and upholstery tacks, shivs lie somewhere between the graceful and the grotesque. They're …

William Drenttel|Essays

Move It Down . . . A Little to the Right

Detail, Guggenheim Museum facade under renovation. Photograph by Chris Kasabach, 2006.One of the great artifacts of American architecture is being renovated in New York City. Scaffolds are up, and paint and surface stucco are being …

William Drenttel|Essays

The Red Hand : A Graphic History

Still from "Nancy Johnson Caught-Red Handed" television advertisement, May 2006. Produced and funded by MoveOn.org.My Congresswoman is Nancy Johnson, a twelve-term Republican from Connecticut. Despite reasonable positions on the …

William Drenttel|Essays

Weather Report: 53 Degrees F. Heavy Snowfall Predicted

I was having dinner a couple of months ago with an old friend, a journalist I've know for over 20 years. Our common interests generally veer towards the darker sides of human nature, and it is more common for us to discuss Kafka, genocide …

William Drenttel|Essays

Meet Me in St. Louis: The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

Exterior view, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. Photograph by Robert Pettus, 2004.Nine months ago I went to St. Louis and had a memorable art experience. In and of itself, such an event should not seem so special. This is, after all, …