Meanwhile #094
Peanuts in space – Commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing, Mondo have reprinted a pair of NASA safety posters to be sold at San Diego Comic-Con, both featuring a certain spacefaring beagle with long links to the Apollo program. These will no doubt sell out within seconds, so enjoy the jpg.
BLDGBLOG – Geoff Manaugh’s utterly wonderful architecture/built environment/everything blog has just turned fifteen, and is still one of my favourite rabbit holes on the web. One of those writers whose words immediately make you feel a little bit smarter. I’m very aware that I use the word “fascinating” an awful lot – I struggle to limit it to one or two instances per newsletter – but his book A Burglar’s Guide to the City is ffaasscciinnaattiinngg and I heartily recommended it to all known humans.
Kurt – A free new typeface by Jack Smyth, who has spent the last couple of years using it to redesign Kurt Vonnegut’s backlist. The cover for Hocus Pocus is particularly enjoyable to scroll up and down.
Don’t forget to have fun – Lewd correspondent Mr Bingo has just added miniature concrete gravestones to his shop, and they’re really quite delightful. I could do with a new memento mori for my desk – the boy has pinched my LEGO skull for his own nefarious purposes – so this will do nicely.
Look Both Ways – Debbie Millman has curated this upcoming exhibition at the School of Visual Arts in New York, an examination of how words, text and information influence art, design, literature and music. Featuring work by the likes of Dave Eggers, Jenny Holzer and Jean-Michel Basquiat, this is simultaneously right up my street and on the wrong side of the planet.
Turing – Fantastic news today, it’s been announced that Alan Turing would be the new face of the fifty pound note. This country can’t do nearly enough to make up for the way it treated Turing, but this is at least a step in the right direction. The quote they’re using for the design is from a 1949 Times interview, but is wonderfully, horribly now: “This is only a foretaste of what is to come, and only the shadow of what is going to be”.
Eyes Only – The folks at Hoefler and Co. clearly had a lot of fun putting together this new cold war thriller-themed showcase – apparently there’s a whole backstory and everything. Good to see type presented in interesting, unexpected contexts like this, rather yet another HANDGLOVES sample. Of course now I just want to spend the rest of the day designing passport stamps.
Stranger Songs – Currently playing on loop in my studio, Ingrid Michaelson’s album of eleven (natch) songs inspired by Stranger Things. Nowhere near as naff as the concept sounds, it’s really rather lovely, even if you’re not a fan of the show. Imagine a sci-fi-romantic Roxette. It’s also a good excuse to delve into PopJustice, another longtime favourite blog.
Modulex – Somehow the existence of this line of smaller-scale LEGO bricks, designed in the 1960s specifically for use by architects, had passed me by completely. As well as the bricks themselves (such pretty, pretty bricks), this potted history is worth a look for the beautiful packaging design. Time to hit eBay methinks …
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