Meanwhile #057
Ergodic, and other splendid words.
This is an old edition of Meanwhile from an inferior, more simian newsletter platform that has unhelpfully severed all the hyperlinks. It’s included here in the archive simply for sake of completeness.
How to design a library that makes kids want to read. TED talk by Michael Bierut on the process and unintended consequences of branding New York's L!BRARY Initiative.
Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming. Neil Gaiman explains why using our imaginations, and providing for others to use theirs, is an obligation for all citizens.
Albers in command. A look at Josef Albers' iconic designs for Command Records in the fifties and sixties. Still hugely influential today. I've had my nose deep in his Interaction of Color recently. Boy knew his stuff.
Gerhard Steidl is making books an art form. New Yorker profile of the printer and publisher – mostly beautiful photography books by the likes of Robert Frank, Richard Serra and Ed Ruscha. Fascinated by his pen pocket.
Creating the never-ending bloom. Artist, designer and inventor John Edmark talks about his obsession with spirals and the Golden Angle and how it informs his incredible sculptural experiments.
A whimsical introduction to graphic design for filmmaking. Creative Review's Salonee Gadgil reports back from one of Annie Atkins' art department workshops AND I'M SO GOSH DARN JEALOUS I MIGHT DO A LITTLE SCREAM.
Illustration Chronicles. Interview with Philip Kennedy, who has set himself the task of covering 175 years of illustration history in 175 articles (and is doing it brilliantly, I might add).
Spotting real-world architecture in Monument Valley. Stop playing Monument Valley II for ten minutes and revisit this insightful piece from Curbed architecture critic Alexandra Lange.
Imagine wanting only this. Spine chats to writer illustrator and designer Kristen Radtke about her beautiful new comic, a meditation on death and architecture. Love that cover.
The joy of reading roleplaying games. I used to love poring over Paranoia and Judge Dredd rulebooks, probably more than actually playing the games themselves. Definitely a weird form of literature in its own right. Contains your new favourite word, ergodic.
The history of the Jurassic Park logo. Featuring the best feedback fax that any jacket designer could ever hope to receive. See also: the JP t-shirt that costs £315 for some reason.
Standing up for cinema. Excellent and eloquent piece by Martin Scorsese, defending film as an art-form. Amazing that this is somehow still in dispute.
That is all.
