MAD MEN on... YouTube.

We thought these were amusing.

The Standard, New York. Illustration by Andrew Holder.

For me this illustration captures the excitement of the High Line-straddling Standard hotel in a unique way. A good color palette and the weathered & worn style never gets old to me.

[via: Design Sponge]

SWISS Precision. SWISS Type.

Recently I was on the hunt for a military style watch. Oh sure I started with the IWC Pilot's Watch Mark XVI, but who wants to be that ostentatious. So I set my sights to modest and noticed J.Crew's custom Timex reproduction. Not bad, not bad.

But then something hit me. Wouldn't it be cool to have a watch faced in Helvetica? Or Futura? Or some other beloved typeface. (Not Verdana. Ok, sorry I couldn't help it.) An intensive internet search was begun and I found...

...so little.



Enter my new Chronotype series of watches. You know the Swiss are known for their timepieces, yet I find so few that combine their love of precision time and precision type design.

Yes, I did a Futura one too.



Each of these designs are loosely based on existing styles I admit, but isn't it high time we designers had timepieces that turned the hours to minutes and the watch face typeface to Helvetica.

What a delightful little sideline this was. I've never designed a watch before and I have to say I have enjoyed giving it a try. I'm sure to the well-trained, watchful eye there's oodles of glaring errors I've made but I sure did enjoy the exercise.

[EDIT: My good friend Misha has opened my eyes with these German works of art. Drools.]

P.S. In the end, I opted for a Timex T Series Perpetual Calendar Watch (T2M453) from eBay.

The BookEND

Phew! I'm spent after that last post. Let's get back to some fun. Like this bookend. Which is awesome. Sure it's made the design blog rounds already but I need a bookend so that makes it ok to post again.

Why Verdana, Why IKEA, WHY?

On an introductory page of IKEA's new 2010 catalog it says,
"We're constantly striving to cut costs without compromising quality."

Well, they got the first part right.

The typo-religious fervor over IKEA's recent design change from their customized variant of Futura to Microsoft's ubiquitous Verdana is gaining momentum. As a big fan of both IKEA and Futura I was dismayed at the news. Who'd have thought we'd lose IKEA to the typographically mediocre. After all, this is IKEA, they're part of the good fight, striving to bring good design into our lives for over 60 years.

A friend, who does translation work for a company in Asia, had a practical perspective on the switch. Like the TIME article below, he cited the flexibility of fonts like Verdana with regards to foreign language translation. The option to easily convert Verdana for the multitude of other countries IKEA services is a cost-saver no doubt about it.



Like many other critics of the switch I would counter that Verdana was specifically designed for use online. Why didn't IKEA just switch to Verdana online and keep the typographically superior Futura for their print applications? I shudder at the thought of hovering Verdana-emblazoned billboards and bus stop ads. If the varying details of other languages and alphabets is an issue for IKEA, could they not commission of custom typeface to include such details? I'm also forced to wonder what the long-term cost of replacing their signage and other printed materials will be, assuming they make across-the-board updates.

It's tough, I get it. We have a faltering economy across the globe and no one is immune, not even IKEA. Any cost savings is worthy of consideration. Still, IKEA is a design focussed company. Good design has always been one of, if not chief among, their primary goals. It's hard to see them compromise something so central to their identity and brand.

Additional Info + Reading

IKEA Petition - Click here

TIME Article - Click here

Daring Fireball posted some good stuff as well. - Click here

City Council CAMPAIGN DESIGN

Over the summer I began a brand new project with my dear friend Melanie Piana. Melanie is running for city council in Ferndale, Michigan. This has been my first opportunity to work with campaign graphics and materials. It's harder than you might imagine!

At the start of the project, like any designer, I had all kinds of ideas about how to present something different and innovative for Mel's campaign. As you get into this kind of work there are a lot of parameters to consider and you really have to shoot for the middle in order to appealing to a candidate's potential constituency. Ferndale is a broad mix of demographics let me tell you.



Naturally Mel had her own ideas about how her campaign was to look and I think we've collaborated beautifully, creating a look and feel that is both vibrant and appropriate. I'm anxious to see how my first time out in this particular design world stacks up against her competitors.

Learn more about Melanie's campaign at her web site or on her Facebook page. And if you're Ferndale resident get out and vote, November 3, 2009!