Tools of the Trade
Tools of the Trade: Stendig Calendar
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009Originally designed by Massimo Vignelli in 1966, the Stendig now resides in the Design Collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
The calendar is set up in the ‘Eurpoean Style’ with Monday being the first day of the week and it rotates back and forth between black and white pages for each month. Not for the […]
Tools Of The Trade: Fliqlo Screensaver
Thursday, December 18th, 2008I’m sure that most of you already know about the Fliqlo screensaver, but in case you don’t, it’s a modernist’s dream. Fliqlo turns your desktop into an accurate, oversized clock and best of all, it’s available for both Mac and PC users!
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Tools of the Trade: Graph Post-It Cube
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008Everyone has used sticky notes, but they are rarely as stylish (or as practical) as the Graph Cube Post-It. The stack features 1,000 sheets that are printed with a 13 x 13 grid square. Perfect for doodling, writing in a straight line or just making your desk surface more stylish! I bought mine this weekend […]
Tools of the Trade: Nikon Coolpix P80 Camera
Monday, June 2nd, 2008Yes, I have found true love in a camera. Being a faithful Nikon user since 2002, I just purchased the Nikon Coolpix P80 and it’s everything I could have hoped for.
For the last five years, I have used the Coolpix 8700 and it held up amazingly well through 7 New York visits, a cross country tour, […]
Tools of The Trade: LaCie Brick External Hard Drive
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
Is it a lego? Is it a hard drive?!
I just became the proud owner of a LaCie Brick external hard drive and I couldn’t be happier with it! I first noticed it on my friend Star’s blog and loved the looks of it. It also has 500 GB of space and is super affordable!
It’s such […]
May Calendar Download, Typography Books and Updates
Wednesday, April 30th, 20081. The month of May from my self-designed calendar can be downloaded here.
2. Also, I just received two new typography books:
a. Type & Lettering by William Longyear;
b. Type by David Gates;
Both are of the vintage variety and the pages are composed of super cool alphabets though I mainly purchased them for the amazing covers!
3. I’ve just finished four new pieces […]
Tools of the Trade: Lettering for Reproduction by David Gates
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
Yesterday, my copy of Lettering for Reproduction by David Gates showed up! Published in 1969, it covers everything you need to know about designing hand-lettered type (after all, this was the age before personal computers) and the content is based on Pratt Institute’s Dept. of Advertising Design and Visual Communication Lettering Course from that time.I […]
Tools of the Trade: Jan V. White Books
Sunday, April 13th, 2008The author I credit with teaching me the most about design is Jan V. White. A former art director at Time-Life, he’s written more than a dozen books on visual techniques focused in publishing. The best part about his books are the sketchy images (no fancy, computer-generated pictures here)! Instead of huge, wordy paragraphs, […]
Tools of the Trade: Stabilo Felt Tip Markers
Tuesday, April 1st, 2008
STABILO is a German maker of pens for writing and coloring as well as highlighters for office use. The company was founded in Nuremberg in 1855!
I just picked up a mini set of my favorite felt tip pens ever, STABILO! They last and last; I’ve had a lone red one for three months and […]
Tools of the Trade: Polaroid Camera
Tuesday, November 20th, 2007Before digital cameras, instant photo gratification was left to the trusty Polaroid. Polaroid’s Land Camera, the first instant camera available to consumers was released in 1947. Polaroid still sells a selection of instant film directly from their website, though it can be pricey and many of the older formats have been permanently discontinued, including the […]
Tools of the Trade: Rub On Letters
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007Before the advent of computers, graphic designers did text layouts by hand, often using ‘rub on letters’ (also called letter transfers or dry transfers). They came in large paper or plastic sheets and were rubbed onto artwork.
“Transfer” is a generic term used, sometimes inappropriately, for various graphic arts techniques, the most common being pressure-sensitive letter-transfers (patented […]
Tools of the Trade: Label Maker
Wednesday, November 7th, 2007I don’t think people really use label makers like these anymore (there’s fancy electronic versions now!), but recently I found this at the Salvation Army and fell in love with the retro modern design. Maybe I’ll track down some colored rolls of label tape one of these days…
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Tools of the Trade: French Curve
Wednesday, October 17th, 2007Before computers became commonplace, there was the french curve. Once a graphic designer’s staple, they’re now a slight novelty. A french curve is a template used in drafting and typography to create smooth curves- this is how typographers got the lines so perfect on hand-drawn letters and logos back in the day. I never use […]