Octavo: Rare Books in Digital Format

Octavo.com provides access to rare books in digital format, and are made available for purchase. Some real cool finds here. Check out books by author, subject or source. A resource I hope will grow with time.

( via Chuck Green's Jumpola )

Chuck Green's Jumpola: Linkies

Chuck Green’s Jumpola is a treasure trove of links to everything you may ever need. I also find his blog to be of interest. I subscribe via NewsFire here. He also has a newsletter, and you can subscribe to that here.

Typography: What Language Looks Like

( via swissmiss )

Re:Charging - Back in a couple weeks

Recharge is the theme as my wife and I head to the Grand Cayman Islands for some R&R and to open some offshore bank accounts (I kid, I kid). I will be back in a couple of weeks. Feel free to dig into my most recent posts, or check out the archives. Also, dive into my links on the left side of the blog, about midway down.

• Graphic Design Can Cause Seizures: Michael Bierut
• Design's Crystal Ball: A Look to 2015
• Classic Asteroids on //BarryBlog//
• Storytelling: The Anecdote
• Breaking News: Erik Tipton Crashed the Internet!
• Product Design Excellence: AstroStudios
• Font Designer: Hannes von Döhren
• Apple Evolution: 1976 - 2007
• Blaise Aguera y Arcas: Seadragon; Photosynth.
• Coworking. Community. Connections.

Archives:

• August 2006
• September 2006
• October 2006
• November 2006
• December 2006
• January 2007
• February 2007
• March 2007
• April 2007
• May 2007
• June 2007
• July 2007

Graphic Design Can Cause Seizures: Michael Bierut

The 2012 London Olympics logo has been covered by everyone but me, so here's my contribution. If you are unaware of the controversy caused by the WolfOlins 2012 Olympic logo, just Google it. Here is Pentagram design partner and critic Michael Bierut discussion with WNYC New York Public Radio on the subject, as well as logos, packaging, and fonts.

( via NoisyDecentGraphics )

Design's Crystal Ball: A Look to 2015

Prepare your time machine–get it waxed and ready. It's time to visit the year 2015. Well, sort of.

If I understand correctly, the AIGA has provided exclusive content to TAXI Design network (I have posted on them several times in the past) in the form of a journey to define what the Designers of 2015 will look like, as well as the landscape of design a s a whole (see too this 2015 discussion on AIGA site). They collectively are inviting designers of today to discuss their own forecast on trends that will influence just 8 years from now. Man have things changed since 1999 – just 8 years ago. The idea is to get a handle on what 8 more years might look like in our biz. Kinda interesting.

To make things even more interesting, and in my opinion legit, they've established a roundtable of sorts which they are calling the Visionary Design Council. It's loaded with heavyweights. People like Brian Collins of Ogilvy & Mather; Marcia Lausen of Studio/lab and University of Illinois at Chicago; John Maeda of MIT Media Lab; Clement Mok, The Office of Clement Mok; Lisa Strausfeld, Pentagram; Hugh Dubberly, Dubberly Design Office; and many others.

This Visionary Council has done a significant part of the work and as a result, they have posted information from some of their reports.

I recommend this to everyone. As a young designer it will be good to hear the indicators as judged by this esteemed group of contemporaries. As a senior player, you can see how and if what you're doing today is on track, and/or so you can make judgments on course changes and the like. And if you're a freshman in high-school (if my math is right) you can get a leg up on your future design competition.

All in all another great resource from Bianca Zen and the Gang at TAXI Design Network (or TAXI as they are also called, but not to be confused with the advertising agency, Taxi canada or Taxi NYC).

( via a TAXI Design Network email )

Classic Asteroids on //BarryBlog//

( via Springwidgets )

Storytelling: The Anecdote

The anecdote, a sequence of actions, a story in its purest form, one thing following from another.

A great lesson from a great storyteller– Chicago Public Radio's Ira Glass, producer and host of This Amercian Life. I really loved this lesson on storytelling and learned from it. On a similar note, I had the chance to discuss design today with an eager and smart young designer-to-be and we discussed, in part, the role of design as an over arching concept. We discussed how motion, print and interactive all share one thing, and that's the power to communicate and pursuade. I should have added storytelling to the definition I shared with her, as Ira Glass sheds yet another perspective on how communication design crosses many disciplines.

Check out part two, three and four of storytelling. He talks more on pitfalls, voice and gives more great advice on being a creative and being effective. This is valuable stuff.

( via presentationzen )

Breaking News: Erik Tipton Crashed the Internet!

( via the Onion News Network )

Product Design Excellence: AstroStudios

California ID group AstroStudios does some excellent work. They design great looking products and exhibit stellar beyond-the-box thinking. I especially like their work on Herman Miller's INTERSECT Work Island– Astro's first HM project. Hat's off to AstroStudios.

( via IDMagazine Digital Edition )

Font Designer: Hannes von Döhren

Hannes von Döhren is a 27 year old German font designer. He contributes some expressive and impressive fonts via DaFont, as well as his own site, HVD FONTS. I really like his work. Many of his fonts are free for personal use as well as commercial applications. Well worth a look (and download).

Apple Evolution: 1976 - 2007

Evolution from Apple's first step to today. Check it out here.

( via boredomisyourfault )