When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th, it triggered Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II and has caused the senseless deaths of thousands of soldiers and civilians alike. Watching the war unfold on your phone is unbelievably disheartening and the feeling of powerlessness to change the course of this horrific war is paralyzing.… Read More
Have you seen the billboards, flags, t-shirts, and social posts claiming that “Birds Aren’t Real?” Along with the notion that the 1969 moon landing never happened and 5G frequencies from cell phone towers undermine your immune system, this conspiracy theory postulates that birds don’t exist and are really drone replicas installed by the U.S. government… Read More
In 1962, designers Bob Gill, Alan Fletcher and Colin Forbes formed the agency Fletcher/Forbes/Gill, which became Pentagram a decade later. While Bob Gill left the firm in 1967, he had helped establish idea-driven design with the notion that aesthetics should serve the concept, not the other way around. Good design was about communicating a message,… Read More
No one knows who took this picture of B.J. Novak, the actor best known for his role as Ryan Howard on “The Office,” But at some point, years ago, someone uploaded this photo to a website where it became part of the public domain. That usually means the image is free to use without permission,… Read More
When I think of the heroes of World War II, Winston Churchill, General Patton, and Oskar Schindler come to mind. But I recently came across an unlikely outfit of skilled graphic designers, artists, architects, and illustrators that staged more than 20 “battles” after D-Day, when they landed in France, until the end of the war.… Read More
I was first exposed to the TikTok platform at the Digital Summit in New York in 2019. My first impression was that it was geared for teens, as young people dancing dominated the content. Over time, however, I have come to appreciate it as an educational platform. I’ve learned some good recipes, helpful home tips,… Read More
Ford released the Model A in 1927 with a new safety feature—bumpers—and drivers soon began decorating them with homemade signs. As we know it today, the bumper sticker was the brainchild of a Kansas City screen printer named Forrest Gill. Mr. Gill had a surplus of adhesive-backed paper and fluorescent ink, two items left over… Read More
American political candidates typically demand the traditional design elements of stars and stripes and the colors red, white, and blue for their branding and marketing. But Scott Starrett and Maria Arenas of the New York design firm Tandem took a different tack when designing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez‘s political brand. They drew inspiration from boxing, farmworker unionizing,… Read More