Studio Notes #74

Grand Risings, my friends. Here's issue #74 of Studio Notes™—quick bits delivered to you each Friday.

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Seeing the illustration style of British artist, Tommy Spencer, made me smile this week. It reminds me of record covers and picture books from the 1970s and I'm loving the vertically-composed car style he uses. His Instagram is also chockfull of fun stuff.

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A comprehensive deep dive into the typography found throughout Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey. This was written back in 2014 and I'm grateful it's still there. (Hat tip to Isaac in the Secret Club Slack)

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I think I mentioned my favorite belt in an earlier issue. Ed. note: As I read that sentence again, I realize how absurd—but fortunate—my life is, currently. Anyway... Arcade Belts are stretchy and low-profile which makes them comfortable for the entire day. They are game changers. But they've just upped the ante by adding magnetic buckles, and I can attest they work great. I'm continually mesmerized by things that involve magnets. They are magic. Magnets are magical. Free, unlimited energy from the cosmos.

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David Sizemore has created Archive of Archives, a wonderful website that curates collections of digital archives. Things like chrome lettering on vintage cars, or trash bin logos in the UK, or the aforementioned museum of vintage Walkman (Walkmen?), or vintage NASA logos, or the ceramic visual heritage of Porto...Prepare to get lost in all of these. Also kudos to Dave for the innovative design.

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What are you working on?

I've written before about what a nice distraction Formula 1 has been for me, and how it so neatly combines all sorts of interests into one. The 2026 season kicks off in Australia this weekend, so here is my final podium prediction for those that follow F1. I'm tentatively committing to creating a poster like this for each of the 24 races this year—actually 2 for each race unless I nail the podium prediction! You can follow my tiny Sans Prix experiment if you're into racing stuff.

In other news I'm heads down on finishing a new typeface called Beeswacks as well as a new slanted, speedy style based on Parkly Wide that I might have to call Racely.

Stay salty, folks. See you back here next week!

Cheers,