Through Lines 158

This advertisement(!) for the United Nations Global Compact who serve as the largest global corporate sustainability program brings the words of American scientist and cosmologist Carl Sagan to new life and startling, prescient clarity.

  • I don’t know if what Humane are building is really the future of tech in product terms (Imran is definitely right that’s it’s not on your face), but the idea of a seamless, ambient experience seems likely. Positioning technology as a tool that serves us rather than the other way around gives me hope. There are some good humans working on this and I wish them all the luck in getting it right.
  • I can’t help but nod in agreement with Douglas Rushkoff. “Why are the world’s richest people obsessed with preparing for the apocalypse? Because they’re edging us all toward it. It’s as if, Rushkoff writes, they’re trying to build a car that goes fast enough to escape from its own exhaust.”
  • These photos of ancient glacial caves in Iceland by photographer Ryan Newborn are truly like something not of this world… except they are.
  • I’ve mixed feelings on Dave Egger’s books (I hated The Circle), but I appreciate his sense of adventure in their physical forms such as with The Eyes & The Impossible.
  • We should be concerned that there’s so little real understanding of what's happening under the hood of AI neural networks, but a good start is admitting this is a problem.
  • The partnership between Mohawk and Fedrigoni is expanding to now distribute the Italian paper maker’s products to North America.
  • Time to go back to NY to see these new exhibits at Poster House covering the revolutionary digital work of Emigre and FUSE. Nice one Angelina and Steve.
  • This trailer for Oppenheimer feels somehow timely amidst the current AI arms race.
  • Measure and improve your site's carbon footprint. I’m curious to see how my site holds up and what I can do to make improvements. Report forthcoming.
  • I thoroughly enjoyed the first season, and Foundation season 2 looks great.
  • I Take Full Responsibility made it onto Fonts in Use. Many thanks to Jesse from XYZ Type for that. There are still copies available of the second edition.
  • New AI tools definitely will call into question what a photo even is.

Notable Typeface Releases

  • I have mixed feelings about Freight Sans, but seeing the Freight Collection updated and re-released is making me rethink what I know about it. A lot to explore among this extensive, all-encompasing family of sans and serif styles. I do really dig the Micro family, particularly for the almost-squircle-like shapes used throughout.
  • The sharply cut joins of the economical blocky sans-serif Synch Sans Variable family, a new companion to Parachute’s Synch, give it a technical flavor yet with enough character (such as in the lowercase F) to prevent it from being purely mechanical.
  • Flavia Zimbardi’s 2017 Type@Cooper degree project, Octavia is a low contrast family inspired by 1940s and 50s Film Noir. Further styles are in progress but this already shows promise as a workhorse family whose details shine when used big but whose elegance shines through at small sizes too.
  • DS Type’s Lucius Maior is the result of a failed reproduction of a Sans family built on the structure of a Serif and then working backwards. It’s weighty with a distinctly high contrast vertical stress. Definitely meant to be used large!
  • Taking inspiration from early 20th century designs, Abstrackt Narrow’s forms present a complex and rhythmic pop flavor. I’m reminded of Emigre’s Template Gothic, though its sophisticated details and wider variety of styles set it apart.
  • Factor A from Interval Type falls into the geometric grotesk category but brings with it a unique warmth and whimsy often missing from similar families through the use of funky alternates and softer natural forms.
  • The soft, almost gooey forms of Baga from Nova Type Foundry are made for packaging. Looks perfect for chocolate, ice cream and probably much more.