5 things to read and see
This week, read about BBC’s new font, get a breakdown of how the tax bill will affect businesses and see a bunch of great holiday-themed pages.
5 things to read
1. Graphic Design History and the Punk Aesthetic
In the ’70s, punk was in full swing, and graphic design was following three major tenets: fast, messy and unpolished. This article gives a brief overview of the period, as well as a ton of awesome design examples.
2. Behind the scenes on the design of the BBC’s new font
After previously using Gill Sans and Helvetica, BBC has decided to begin using its own original font called BBC Reith. The font supports 100 different languages and has to be legible on a wide variety of platforms. David Bailey, creative director of BBC, and Bruno Maag, founder of Dalton Maag, explain the process and implementation of the new font.
3. Pinterest Sees The Future
Pinterest has begun to use artificial intelligence to help its audience better find pins related to their needs by having users take pictures of items, and then suggesting relevant pins to go with it. This article explains how this process works, and details what else they’re trying to do to stay ahead of other companies.
4. How the Tax Plan Affects Business: Everything You Need to Know
Confused about the new tax plan? This Wall Street Journal article breaks it down into different categories in an easily searchable way.
5. ‘The Post’ is a fine movie, but ‘The Times’ would have been a more accurate one
With all of the journalism hype surrounding “The Post,” this Poynter article does a great job explaining the history around the event and both The New York Times’ and The Washington Post’s role in it, and why the movie chose to focus on The Washington Post.
5 things to see
With the holidays in full swing (and most student newspapers not publishing) I decided to pick out fun, holiday-themed pages.
- Holiday Guide | The Daily Illini, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This cover does a nice job using a wide variety of sizes and opacities on the snowflakes to create a cover that’s not flat. The handwritten font for the word “Holiday” is festive and is framed beautifully by the snowflakes.
2. The Holiday Issue | The Lousiville Cardinal, University of Louisville
This is a cute illustration that brings together a lot of great elements of the holiday season. Stringing the main ornament on the lights was a great way to give a focal point to the page and tie it all together.
3. Holiday edition | The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University
Using photography for this cover helps differentiate it from the covers of other holiday editions which are often illustrated. The simple evergreen leaves and holiday lights keep it festive, but not overdone.
4. On Dasher, On Dancer, on Prancer | Ka Leo, University of Hawaii at Manoa
I really like the idea of reindeers as puppets, and having the puppet strings overlap and sit behind the text adds a lot of depth to the page.
5. At a dead end | The Daily Californian, University of California Berkeley
This isn’t strictly holiday-themed, but with finals being on everyone’s mind, this is a great way to encourage students to take a break and relax. The repetition of the puzzle element and the color palette keeps all of the puzzles and games cohesive.
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?
