Helvetica at 50

Helvetica. Of course it's Swiss. It has that quietly cool but homogenously unoffensive. A bit like the Swiss perhaps. Well, we are surrounded by helvetica. It is one of the most prevalent fonts to bombard us in our daily lives. American Airlines, Crate & Barrel, The Gap, American Apparel anyone? We bear witness to a design classic every day. To commemorate it's 50th birthday this year, director Gary Hustwit, set out to capture the power of Helvetica. Hustwit has produced a number of documentaries, including I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, the award-winning film chronicling the band Wilco.

The film:

Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.

Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day.




The BBC said

Helvetica or Arial?.

For Like Ever

The original was printed in pink and fluorescent red inks on acid-free paper. It was designed in 2004 as a part of Tracy Jenkins' [village/// co-op founder] MFA thesis project in the Graphic Design program at Yale University. It is a simple phrase she has always loved, and magnifying it on paper seems to change its meaning from a sometimes throwaway saying to a larger hopeful statement. Putting it down on paper was an attempt to make something fragile and fleeting permanent.

Typeface :: mavis

For Like Ever design ©2004 Village

Get one here.

Get the OpenType PS or legacy PostScript here.

I love this too.

º Books

THE ° BOOKS IS A NEW SERIES OF
BOOKS OF WHICH
REYKJAVIK 64°08N 21°54W
IS THE FIRST TO BE RELEASED.

BERLIN 52°32N 13°24E,
PARIS 48°50N 2°23E,
LONDON 51°31N 0°04 W,
NEW YORK 40°43N 73°59W;
ARE IN THE WORKS.

THE °BOOKS PROJECT WAS BORN IN EAST BERLIN IN 2003, WHERE AMI HAD BEEN LIVING FOR THREE YEARS.

ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS, PEOPLE HAD HANDED HER A HAND DRAWN MAP OF DIRECTIONS TO A PARTY OR TO THEIR HOUSE RATHER THAN A STREET ADDRESS AS EAST BERLIN WAS STILL BEING REBUILT.

IN EACH OF THE CITIES, AMI ASKS 50 OF ITS INHABITANTS TO HAND-DRAW A MAP TO A PLACE OF THEIR CHOOSING, A PLACE THAT IS SIGNIFICANT OR IMPORTANT TO THEM PERSONALLY, FOR ANY REASON.




More.

toast UK

toast.

los angeles flower mart

home on the range

stations of the pacific littoral

sticks and stones

pho

axe

one of my favorites. its the simplicity. the food is simple and quality. the space has a beautiful clean aesthetic. and they make their own almond milk.

more here..

alfalfa popsicles

'the father of all foods' is a green super-food rich in vitamins, minerals and chlorophyll used to treat everything from fatigue to nausea. a combination of alfalfa, lime-juice and hint of sugar. truly addictive'

other flavors include hibiscus, pecan, strawberry, cocoa and ummmmm pico de gallo.

poppies popsicles.
available here and here

MODERNICA props

wow is all i can say. pull up to an unassuming warehouse just east of santa fe in the heart of downtown's hidden treasures. last year i attended the infamous banksy opening just down the road. walk past a security guard who watches your every move. up two sets of concrete stairs. and. voila. mid-century modern heaven. no paradise. every eames, case-study, nelson, noguchi and more obscure designs line the brilliant orange metal shelving. a beaming 'michael' welcomes you and promptly engages his assistant to give you the tour. a room devoted to fabulous period typewriters, clocks, dinnerware, radios, flowered vinyl suitcases flanks the main space. fifty or so nelson bubble lamps in every shape and size hang suspended from the ceiling. tandem eames fiberglass seating in any color. my favorite? elephant. a fabulous shade of 'elephant' grey.

take a look here.

1972 Mercedes UNIMOG

transported to an evening under the stars at the hollywood bowl. underworld courtesy of stephen dewey's machinehead and kcrw's jason bentley. and the fabulous new motoring club, spin. complete with a gourmet japanese picnic and sake.

classic fun.