Topic

White Space

A collection of 150 issues

Commuting and the International Typographic Style.

Gently rocked back and forth, I am mesmerized to work every morning in a big steel cradle. The hypnotic whir of the train's wheels as they glide along the silver rails lulls me to sleep, my eyelids heavy with the sleep still left in them. By the time

Lens.

If you're into photography, notably photojournalism, you should definitely check out the New York Times new blog, Lens. I love it. NPR also has a photo blog, too, and they post some really interesting slideshows. But to me, it's just not as pleasurable a user experience.

Design made you do it.

"Changing people’s behaviour through design has never been easy—consumer behaviour maybe, but not necessarily people’s day to day life. In some respects it’s like trying to convert someone to a different religion or turn a beef eater into a vegetarian. If people don’t want

Dirty hands.

Those of you who know me moderately well have heard me talk about building my fixed-gear bike. Now that I have a bike stand and the weather's (FINALLY – !!) nice, I've been stripping and sanding the frame, taking it down to the bare metal. This is a

I want new letters.

The fact that graduate design programs bestow upon their students the MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degree is antiquated and irrelevant. Instead, the design discipline should have its own standardized classification of academic distinction, as programs at IIT, Cincinnati, and Carnegie Mellon do: a Master's of Design. And

Urban interaction.

In my ongoing thinking about the city as an interface – as an operating system, if you will, of this thing we call Earth – I picked up a book I bought while in grad school: Universal Principles of Design. It lists a multitude of various design elements and principles to consider

Cities and the quiet interface.

She walked by just as I was taking the shot. This little old lady next to the tall, glass, modern building in SOHO, filled with architects sitting down for a presentation, those builders and definers of the urban space. While in New York last week, my senses were heightened of

Brew bar.

via www.flickr.com On our trip to Philly on Saturday, we found – just by chance while walking from Independence Hall to Rittenhouse Square – this great little espresso bar on Spruce Street; Spruce Street Espresso. They had on their shelves coffee cups from several Seattle coffee houses, so we knew

Grungi frutti.

Near Fell's Point in Baltimore, on my way back from taking Michaela to work. She's learning to drive. I figure the East Coast is a good place to learn how to drive defensively, as long as you don't get killed in the process. East

Espresso, typography, and the Four Ms.

Photograph of a type assignment submitted by Cécile Ingarao for my Typography II course at MICA, Spring 2009. Have you ever noticed that most designers share a few common preferences? Wearing lots of black, for example. And funky glasses. And for riding fixies and drinking artisinal espresso? I have noticed.