5 things to read and see
This week, discover a tool that pairs fonts for you, read about posters celebrating the 60th anniversary of Helvetica, and see an awesome illustration for Ball State’s orientation guide.
1. Value of Creativity
This video is about the value of creativity, why we need it and what comes from. It is a great reminder of why design is important and how it affects those around us.
2. 60th Anniversary Helvetica Typeface Posters
In honor of 60 years of Helvetica, 19 different design studios created posters to represent and celebrate the typeface in their own way. The posters vary widely, and show how diverse posters can be even when centered around one theme.
3. Starting again: How Instagram transformed artist Gill Button’s career
I’ve definitely found social media to be a great way to create a brand and differentiate yourself from other designers. Gill Button, through showcasing her work on Instagram, has led to her creating paintings for Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour and the Amazon show “Transparent.”
4. What would a bitcoin look like? The answer is surprisingly beautiful
A fascinating project about creating a kind of physical currency for bitcoin. Through a unique program, the blockchain’s hash (the number that uniquely identifies it) generates a currency bill, and each bill is unique, colorful and surprisingly beautiful.
5. Smart typography tool generates font pairs in an instant
If you’ve ever struggled to find fonts that look good together, this tool is about to make the process a whole lot easier. Just plug in a font, choose how similar or different you want the paired font to be, and it’ll bring up a wide variety of different suggestions.
Page Designs
- Diving into Berkeley | The Daily Californian, University of California Berkeley
This is a great, summery and intricate illustration. The muted color palette, clean lines and small details really make it pop, without overwhelming the text on the page. Having the headline also play off of the illustration is also a nice touch.
2. Summer streaming guide | Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University
I may be a little partial to this because they have “Futurama” as an option, but the guide is simple, easy to follow and uses color well.
3. Trust the process? | The Daily Pennsylvanian, University of Pennsylvania
I really like the entire design of the page—darkening out the background of the photo and using contrasting fonts for the headline. I just wish the photo wasn’t so grainy, because it takes away from the nice design.
4. NBA Draft: For Tyler Lydon, home is where the hardwood is
If you go to the webpage and scroll down, there’s an excellent short video explaining how Tyler London is getting ready for the NBA. It was put on social media, and does a great job of giving you an overview of the article in an easily digestible way.
5. The Cardinal field guide | The Daily News, Ball State University
The illustration for this guide is really incredible. Using just three colors, the image has depth and ties together a lot of different elements from the school. Using the circle in the background also ties it all together to keep it from becoming to jumbled. A very eye-catching cover to the orientation guide.
If you think you have a well-designed page or a good read to share for the next roundup, email me at shays2@elon.edu
Students, did you know you can join the Society for News Design for as little as $5 a month?
