Hello, Design Pals. Here's issue #26 of Studio Notes—quick bits delivered to you each Friday. This one is particularly media-heavy, which could be due to US news distraction efforts. Hold Fast, friends.

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I'm somewhat of a hypochondriac, so it's puzzling why I would watch a hospital drama. I suppose I did enjoy ER and Grey's Anatomy. But those are feather-light in comparison to HBO's The Pitt, which covers a 15-hour shift at a fictional emergency room in Pittsburgh. It's pretty riveting television. Great writing, great acting—in particular Noah Wyle (who also starred in ER and could probably just be a real doctor at this point) and Taylor Deardon. What's remarkable about this show is how realistic and accurate it is in portraying how an emergency room feels. And it's relentless pace and the weaving of storylines into the cadence of patients coming and going. The realism goes into every part of the episodes. So, it can be a bit graphic. And the themes are tough. But if you can stomach it, these characters are worth it.

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Growing up, I always wanted to be a “comic book person”. It never really stuck though, except for a brief stint in the late 80s/early 90s when I got really into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not the colorful, kids cartoony version, but the original, black + white, gritty, messily-drawn one. I loved the art style and line work, and the writing was smart and funny. Anyhow, fast forward to last week, when I finally popped in the 4K Blu-Ray of Mutant Mayhem I had bought a couple of years ago. What refreshing animation! Somehow connecting it more to the original comic than previous efforts. And the story is good, and genuinely funny. It's even rated PG. More of this style, please. ★★★★½

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Several issues back I mentioned one of my favorite 80s films, North Shore. I threatened to mention another gem from that era, Rad. Replace surfboards with BMX bikes and you're part of the way there. Just as satisfying to watch, great training montages, and quite possibly the best movie character name of all time: Cru Jones. Not to mention some of the best and most cringiest 80s soundtrack songs we've ever heard. I mention this legendary movie today because I was just made aware of the forthcoming, A Rad Documentary. I'll admit the trailer looks iffy. But they did manage to get most of the cast interviewed which might be worth the watch if you're a fan.

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And finally for this week, something that's not a movie or TV show: Puppets. Specifically a shout out to Blank Puppets, a company that makes high-quality puppets for professional productions, but also occasionally offers collections for sale (Puppet Drops?) when they have time to make them. My partner, Mel, was able to buy me a green one as an early birthday gift and we're now trying to come up with a name for him. The current frontrunner is "Gravy". Healing through puppets.

What are you working on?

I'm unexpectedly knee-deep into a major upgrade of our typeface, Cartridge. Cartridge 3 will be coming soon in a total of 5 weights! With some additional glyphs added, improved kerning, etc. Have a character you'd like to see added to the fonts? Let me know :)

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