Dedicated to Luke.
SYSTEM ERROR
TOO MANY EMOTIONS
SHUTTING DOWN
mandrita:celinafelix:symbiosis:ginandphonics:vodkaphonics:camiwillknow:
Leonard: Why don’t you tell people that you’re a zebra?
Sheldon: Why don’t you tell people that you’re one of the seven dwarves?
Leonard: Because I’m Frodo.
Sheldon: Well, I’m the Doppler Effect.
OMG ROFL
(I need this show in my life on a daily basis.)
However, the earliest undisputed evidence of art during the Paleolithic period comes from Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age sites such as Blombos Cave in the form of bracelets, beads, rock art, and ochre used as body paint and perhaps in ritual. Undisputed evidence of art only becomes common in the following Upper Paleolithic period. According to Robert G. Bednarik, Lower Paleolithic Acheulean tool users began to engage in symbolic behavior such as art around 850,000 BP and decorated themselves with beads and collected exotic stones for aesthetic rather than utilitarian qualities.
This is just too fascinating. Call me a nerd, but I love prehistory.
The nature of the personal computer is simply not fully understood by companies like Apple (or anyone else for that matter). Apple makes the arrogant assumption of thinking that it knows what you want and need. It, unfortunately, leaves the “why” out of the equation — as in “why would I want this?” The Macintosh uses an experimental pointing device called a “mouse.” There is no evidence that people want to use these things. I don’t want one of these new fangled devices.
BWAHAHAHA
![[i love typography]
This font is gorgeous. Of course; it’s Veer.](http://16.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kr0oq8TdaW1qz7dlvo1_500.png)
This font is gorgeous. Of course; it’s Veer.
Largest ever hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold found in Staffordshire
A harvest of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver so beautiful it brought tears to the eyes of one expert, has poured out of a Staffordshire field - the largest hoard of gold from the period ever found. The weapons and helmet decorations, coins and Christian crosses amount to more than 1500 pieces, with hundreds still embedded in blocks of soil. It adds up to 5kg of gold – three times the amount found in the famous Sutton Hoo ship burial in 1939 – and 2.5kg of silver, and may be the swag from a spectacularly successful raiding party of warlike Mercians, some time around AD700.
This is blowing my mind right now. So cool.
robokitten3000: Cupcakes? Yes Please
I feel bad for whoever gets the one with nothing on it.
Why Helvetica is superior; also, I apologize in advance for how EXTREMELY NERDY this is.
Slate: Since 1985, every Apple Macintosh computer—the choice of most graphic designers—has included Helvetica as a “resident font,” meaning that Apple licensed the typeface and embedded it in the system’s software. Microsoft, on the other hand, looked around for a cheaper alternative. In 1992, the company chose Arial, a digital Helvetica knockoff, as the default font in its Windows software. Since then Arial has spread like a virus, much to the dismay of graphic designers who dismiss it as a homely imposter.
I think this is pretty hilarious.
Forgive me for totally geeking out for a minute, but I’m going to go into a little dissertation on Helvetica and my love for it. Seriously, “geeking out” is probably putting it lightly.
I’ve noticed that a lot of newer designers have been saying that Helvetica is totally overrated as a typeface and that it’s used way too often and for too many things, etc. etc. And many people scoff at the idea that Arial is nothing but a Helvetica imposter, claiming that either they are too similar to matter, or that it is just an entirely different font. Both of these claims are technically right.
The three basic defining characteristics of a sans-serif are its x-height, glyph width, and weight. Arial is identical to Helvetica in all three of these aspects, which is enough to prove that Arial is a knock-off of Helvetica as opposed to being an entirely different font. That being said, there are many small differences between the two, and those differences are what make designers claim Helvetica to be of higher quality (without even mentioning the ethics of Arial’s creation).
My desktop background for a while was a quote from designer Katherine McCoy that said, “The Helvetica Medium lowercase ‘a’ in the original foundry and linotype is the most beautiful two-dimensional form ever designed.” That’s a little hyperbolic, but it definitely is at least one of the most beautiful glyphs ever designed. One of the key reasons for Helvetica’s success is that the negative space is given as much attention as the letterform itself. The lowercase ‘a’ is the perfect example. The counter (the hole inside) is fluid, like a teardrop, and is complemented by the negative space inside the upper stroke. In Arial, the counter is nearly identical, but it is not complemented by the above space - instead of flowing into the stem, the bowl is just attached to it, creating an angle instead of a curve.
Other obvious differences are the tails, and how the upper stroke is cut off. In Helvetica, all strokes are finished straight, whereas in Arial, strokes are cut off at various angles. (This article discusses more differences in depth, and is where the image came from.)
To most people, Helvetica and Arial are interchangeable. It’s not that I find Arial to be a hideous font; it’s not the new Comic Sans or anything. It has it’s place in say, a CSS doc where you list several different fall back fonts for various OSs or browsers. I don’t think Windows comes with Helvetica yet (although Mac now comes with both Arial and Helvetica - we’re so accommodating). But in my opinion, no designer should ever use Arial without some kind of specific purpose. Unless you’re the type of designer who would be okay with someone liking your design enough to copy and tweak it, but not actally pay you for it.
Typography on the Web is basic and dull. A startup called Typekit will fix it. - Slate Magazine
Typeface designers and font fanciers have new reason for optimism though. The past year has seen a surge of Web-browser innovation. Now, most major browsers—including the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Opera—recognize a CSS rule known as @font-face. What that means, in brief, is that Web developers can now easily embed downloadable fonts in their pages.
While this is definitely exciting, and definitely revolutionary in the field of web design, it’s also a little terrifying. Consider the number of people who have basic CSS and HTML knowledge (most likely learned from customizing their MySpace pages). And then think about what those MySpace pages look like. Now there is the possibility of having any font you like embedded in your page, or as many different decorative fonts you can get your hands on. Just imagine what the web would look like if all those people with Angelfire sites had access to hundreds of fonts… although, on the other hand, we might have been subjected to considerably less Comic Sans.
ohmaninternets: Font ConferenceOh my gosh it seriously gets better. MOAR.
bbygrldreamz: If you like fonts and superheroes, you will like this. COMIC SANS TO THE RESCUE!YES. WOW.
I so wish this was an actual series.
The Hit List | Potion Factory
Luke just sent this to me, because he knows productivity applications make me go a little crazy. I’m going to try it out now.
It’s social suicide! … Sorry, I’m staring at boldface Futura and it’s making me think of Mean Girls.
Apparently today’s theme is “Graphic Design Tuesday”.
I pretty much REALLY MISS doing graphic design work.
talking about the paint on the wall (irl conversation)
nikography:…You are not alone. This is pretty regular for my friend Luke and I. (By the way, #999 would be a great wall color, I totally approve.)
nik: yeah it’s about #ccc [at home]
marco: that looks way darker than #ccc, maybe more like #aaa?
nik: darker, even. i’d say like #999.
alex: ….
marco: okay i’m going to leave now.
