5 things to read and see
This week, read about Google’s design of their new home assistant and how a visual identity for an island of trash could help it get cleaned up, and see a minimalist but elegant cover about New York City’s parks.
5 things to read
1. How Google Created The Least Offensive Design Ever
Google has the latest addition to the home assistant market. Its Home Mini lets you access your computer or phone with your voice, and it’s designed to perfectly fade into the background of your home so it can seamlessly become a part of daily life.
2. Data Viz Project
Sometimes it can be difficult to find the right kind of graph to represent different kinds of data. This website gives explanations of a variety of charts and shows some amazing examples. Prepare to get inspired.
3. Could an island made of trash become the world’s newest country?
With a fresh visual identity for The Trash Isle, a huge mountain of trash in the North Pacific Ocean, LADbible (who created the campaign) hopes to motivate world leaders to finally clean it up.
4. The Quest To Design A Smarter Road
Roads of the future aren’t necessarily self-driving hover cars. What’s currently in the works is new pavement-marking paint and street signs that can talk to cars to help improve safety.
5. Try This Time-Obsessed Designer’s Approach To To-Do Lists
To-do lists can be difficult, but a strategy by IDEO fellow Jake Knapp can make them easier and more productive. He divides them into three different sections to help you tackle what’s most important.
5 things to see
- Something in the night | Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University
The main photo for the page is striking with just the headlamp as lighting. The darkness also pairs well with the headline and the little bats to break up the sections is a nice touch.
2. The new kid on the block: David Thornton| The State News, Michigan State University
This photo for the front page is great. Even though his face is obscured, it’s clear what the photo subject’s role is and what his job looks like. The headline design is also sharp, clean and doesn’t take away from the picture.
3. Brockhampton’s sold-out performance at Wow Hall didn’t disappoint | The Daily Emerald, University of Oregon
I really like how the color of the headline background is reflected in the photography. Having it overlap with one of the pictures ties the whole spread together.
4. The parks issue | Washington Square News, New York Univeristy
I love the way the headline is integrated into the photo. It’s minimalist, easy to read and the subtle reflection of the word “PARKS” in the pond is a great touch.
5. Las Vegas, NV | The Miami Hurricane, University of Miami
This is a unique way to display a story about the Las Vegas shooting that I think is really effective, especially for a weekly paper. Using type instead of photography keeps the story more timeless, and the black, white and red color scheme conveys the seriousness of the article.
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?
