Through Lines 182

This weekend’s rabbit hole for me will be digging into the prints of master etching printer Jacob Samuel. This video of his final print feels like a love letter to the 500-year old process and a thank you note to the artists who he collaborated with while leaving no obvious trace of his involvement which requires a profound lack of ego.

• This week was a big one and I’m humbled to have contributed to the launch of the Humane Ai Pin on Thursday (thanks to my pal GK3 especially for the opportunity). I was immediately drawn in by the people and the ethos behind the product after first our first meeting in August. Having now seen behind the curtain makes me appreciate just how fundamentally hard something like this is to pull off from every aspect. It’s a big swing and the team has made something I’d say is pretty special and truly unique.

• Related to the above, these delightful LEGO letterpress prints of birds from Roy Scholten are gorgeous and full of fantastic color and textures.

• After some healthy debates and discussions, this morning we announced the winning selections for the annual STA 100 design competition and our best of show choices. Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you to everyone who entered and gave the jurors such wonderful work to examine.

• Jason Kurth’s 8K high-resolution capture of the recent solar eclipse is stunning and captures an incredible amount of detail including solar flares and the pulse of the sun’s surface shifting as the moon passes across it.

• “…if you want to remember why you once fell in love with the idea of the cosmos, or want to fall in love with that idea for the first time, then this book is for you.” Looking forward to reading Carlo Rovelli’s latest White Holes: Inside the Horizon even if it breaks my brain a little.

• I may be an odd-man out on this but I quite enjoyed The Marvels, though I don’t disagree that the last few MCU films and shows have significant issues. It’s very clear Marvels needs to slow down and rethink plans before things go any more off the rails.

• The Songs that Shaped My Life. I enjoy Jeff Tweedy’s writing as much as his music. His latest book World Within a Song just arrived and I can’t wait to dig in.

• No taste. Required reading for designers. Yes, you.

Notable Type Releases

• I would do a disservice in describing Petra Dočekalová’s incredible Dash typeface, so instead I’m going to encourage you to read the background on the project to really grasp it. It’s definitely on my wishlist of things to license and find a use for, which I expect will not be hard.
• An extension of the original BC Novatica family, BC Novatica TXT is made for setting longer passages. A reduced width, larger x-height and adjusted metrics and spacing make it easier to distinguish characters and improve readability — and ultimately adding versatility to the family.
• Monaspace introduces a fresh take on a monospace collecting five variable-axis typefaces into a superfamily full of helpful details plus an innovative approach to visual texture which is particularly helpful in a coding environment.
• Wilco + a new typeface by my pal Dan Cederholm? Despite a limited character set, Wilco Loft Sans has a warmth and charm that goes beyond the six characters Dan started from in creating the family’s four musical weights.
• Positype’s new Superscript might be the Steve Erkel of connected script typefaces. The thin weight is a real highlight in my eyes.
• Tarweed, designed by Steve Matteson is a gothic Tuscan-flavored display family in three variable widths, perfect for packaging or editorial uses.
• Gimme gets an upgrade. Not even sure where to start… just go have a look yourself.