Meanwhile #078
Joyful self-destructions, an Australian bar-brawl and a missile called Blue Steel.
This is an old edition of Meanwhile from an inferior, more simian newsletter platform that has unhelpfully severed all the hyperlinks. It’s included here in the archive simply for sake of completeness.
Font Review Journal. Informed and insightful writing from Bethany Heck plus lots of examples of fonts in use makes for a fantastic site. The latest review, of Kris Sowersby’s reverse-stress beauty Maelstrom, is a particular joy. An essential bookmark for all designers.
Did you know the UK once had a spaceport on the Isle of Wight? Fascinating post on how Britain beat the odds to independently achieve space flight, and then abandoned it on the very same day. An odd little corner of British history, complete with joyful self-destructions, an Australian bar-brawl and a missile called Blue Steel.
The alluring arsenic colours that poisoned the Victorian Age. Lucinda Hawksley on the rise of poisonous pigments in the 19th century through the burgeoning British wallpaper trade. Fingers crossed the maniacs at Pantone R&D don’t read this.
The Brutal Artist. John Grindrod chats to the enigmatic illustrator of his book, How To Love Brutalism, about the perculiar joys of drawing concrete.
Hand lettering adventures in Procreate. The app had been loitering on my iPad for months, but I’d never quite got into it – until I read this excellent primer from gentleman of letters Loz Ives. I now intend to spend all of my money on texture brushes. Sorry family.
Ever wondered how Letraset was made? In this extract from Unit Edition’s Letraset: The DIY Typography Revolution, Adrian Shaughnessy talks to type designer and typographer Freda Sack about the process of creating the letters – from making her own tools and cutting stencils by hand to designing entire typefaces.
The last fore-edge painter. Artist Martin Frost is the last known commercial fore-edge painter, solely responsible for keeping alive a magical tradition that dates back to the 1600s.
The Graphic Artist and His Design Problems. A quick thank you to all who have kindly shown their love through the medium of metaphorical coffee. Using science, I converted it into Josef Müller-Brockmann‘s excellent sort-of monograph.
That is all.