Traveling this summer? 22 ambassadors recommend the one book to read before visiting their country. [BV]

Can cottage cheese follow Chobani’s lead and rebrand>a? to achieve the unthinkable—some curb appeal? [LS]

Observed | July 12

What’s Eating the World? The fifth issue of Weapons of Reason, a publication with a limited run of eight issues, explores the effects of the food industry on our planet with saturated colors and infographics that any designer would appreciate. [LS]

Congratulations to Karen Hofmann, the new Provost of ArtCenter College of Design. She‘s the first woman to hold the position in the 88-year history of the College. [BV]



What is the meaning behind the Thin Blue Line flag? (via James I. Bowie) [BV]



One full hour of 1980‘s video game ads! [BV]

Women running for office are changing the campaign design landscape. [BV]



The U.S. Navy once had a concrete ice cream barge that sustained sailors on the high seas. [BV]



Addiction + rehab instilled in photographer Nan Goldin a passion for truth and desperate determination to expose the world’s underbelly in all its flawed beauty and harsh realities. [BV]

Illustrator Jean Jullien may change the definition of “dog days of summer” with her new game Dodgy Dogs. [BV]



McMansion Hell goes to Texas and you‘re invited to play along! [BV]

How design is helping people with dementia find their way around. [BV]



A belated Happy Canada Day to our Canadian readers. Celebrate with Design Canada, a new documentary film, looks at how graphic design has helped to shape Canada’s national identity. (via James I. Bowie) [BV]



City Identities, a new exhibition in London, examines the process of branding cities. (via James I. Bowie) [BV]



Martin Amis on many things, including why complex, long reads can‘t find an audience today. Does design play a role? Does how we read matter? [BV]

Tired of those boring UPC codes on everything? Turn them into art. [BV]



In partnership with over 30 museums and institutions from around the world, Google Arts & Culture has launched Faces of Frida, a massive collection of art, letters, essays, videos, and other artifacts about the life and work of Frida Kahlo. (via Kottke.org) [BV]



Can design help New York City go zero waste? [BV]

Despite modernism being recognised as an important architectural movement in the UK, many examples have been demolished. Here‘s an illustrated tribute to lost modernist buildings. [BV]

Today’s rainbow-colored logos reflect the joy and optimism inherent in the rainbow in a multitude of new expressions. [BV]



How punk rock changed the course of design history. [BV]

Adobe is releasing five fonts based on designs by Bauhaus figures, “lost to history”, which have been revived by German typographer Erik Spiekermann and a group of students. [BV]



The history of the 1940 Emeco 10-06 Navy Chair, made of bent aluminum, and strong enough to withstand an 8-story drop from a Chicago window. [BV]



Massimo Vignelli’s unused maps for the D.C. Metro are amazing. [BV]

A tale of two hats from Steven Heller. [BV]



About two years ago Brooklyn-based polymath Robby Kraft started using algorithmic code to design new origami patterns and they are astounding. [BV]

Herb Lubalin was born 100 years ago. To celebrate, join in to republish Herb Lubalin: American Graphic Designer (1918-81). [BV]



Super freaky recently declassified NSA security posters. Seriously. [BV]



Encyclopædia Britannica wants to fix false Google results with actual facts. [BV]



“Working with children, after all, was the rare field in which women’s gender was seen as an asset rather than an obstacle. As children gained their own spaces, their own toys, and their own diminutive furniture, beginning in the nineteenth century, refining, proselytizing, and testing designs meant for children was women’s work. We see their influence everywhere.” Alexandra Lange on the hidden women of architecture and design. [BV]