Studio Notes #93

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

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A few ol’ internet pals have released v1.0 of their Mac photo editing app, Aphera—“Raw editing for photographers who chase feeling over formula”. It looks fantastic, and I'm looking forward to digging into it. I'm especially liking the feel of those subtle filters and the workflow. Plus, supporting independent software companies feels good.

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I've long been a big fan of Beck's music. Specifically though, his albums Sea Change and Morning Phase. They're among my favorites from any artist, really. It's a different side of Beck—one that honors a 1970s production style, Gordon Lightfoot-esque vocals, plenty of plate reverb, delicately-tapped, muffled drums, strings, etc. It all speaks to me. So, I was very excited to hear this week that he's announced a new album, Ride Lonesome, out this Fall with the same band and team that brought us those aforementioned albums. I am pumped.

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For unknown reasons, I started thinking about those old handheld LED “video games”. For non Gen Xers, these 9-volt-battery-powered games used little illuminated specks on a screen to represent things like a football (and players!) or a race car or terrifying space aliens. You really needed to use your imagination to fill in the imagery. They were essentially glorified calculators! But at the time (late 70s early 80s) they were everything. So, I stumbled on the Handheld Games Museum's Mattel Electronics collection and realized there's some real retro type and illustration inspiration in there.

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Sadly, it's currently sold out, but perhaps if enough of us sign up to be notified, they'll expedite another run? The Sip Glass from Aged & Ore looks to be the perfect way to sip some bourbon or scotch or little cocktail or even a mocktail like an Arnold Palmer (which I've been enjoying lately). It looks like it has good weight, hand-pressed in the USA, with a tactile hatch pattern that recalls mid century modern vibes—but with a smooth, curved lip. I was hoping to give one of these a go and hoping they return.

Danmade This Week

I made a Serif Badge Pin using a stretched out Spagetty in antique silver (probably not real silver) and it's available now in the shop! Wear it with pride, knowing that most people will point out the horrendous typo. Then you can explain the joke and they will probably think even less of you. But deep down, you'll know you have the upper hand regarding typography lingo puns. And that means something.

I'll see you here next week! And thanks as always for paying attention for this long ;-)

Cheers,