Studio Notes #108

Howdy, Fine Folks. Here are this week’s Studio Notes™—quick bits delivered to you each Friday.

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Light Capsules is an incredible project that uses light projection to bring ghost signs back to life. What a fantastic use of tech to keep something analog from fading away completely. I love old ghost signs—barely visible advertisements and giant painted type on the sides of brick buildings from yesteryear. There are a ton up around here in New England, and the idea of an AR app that applies restored lettering to view on your phone? Genius. Can’t wait to see that come to fruition.

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Dave Morris on how and why he makes beautiful ampersands on the beach from shells, rocks, and other debris. Temporary art, made by a human. Gotta love that, especially in These Times.

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I haven’t watched this yet, but probably will. Soviet Bus Stops is a documentary about the designs and designers of former Soviet Republics’ bus stops. There’s also a companion Instagram gallery to give you a sense of how wild and interesting many of them were (and still are).

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An eagle-eyed type aficionado spotted something bizarre on one side of the Space Shuttle Discovery. The s is upside down! Set in Helvetica Medium, the iconic lettering has been that way for decades. And it’s funny no one had noticed. I have to say, I don’t hate it ;-)

Featured Font

This Week’s Poll

Last week I asked about how you pronounce two word phrases. It was probably my worst poll question to date. But anyway, most of you say it like I do — yet I hear more people say it with an emphasis on the second word.

Danmade This Week

I'm not much of an illustrator, but I did spend probably too much time this week making a little turtle with wheels to test the still-in-progress Flyrail font. Be proud of being slow.

Have a nice weekend, and a very Happy Halloween from here in Salem, Mass. See you next week!

Cheers,