We Snap Pictures and Toot Our Own Horn

Stefan G. Bucher, talented designer/illustrator and monster-lover has just completed his newest book, The Graphic Eye: Photographs by Graphic Designers from around the Globe. And Charles and I are pleased to have our photographs included!
The Graphic Eye is published by Chronicle in the US (and Rotovision in the UK) and is due out in November.

Passions & Jupiter

This post has absolutely nothing to do with art, design, illustration or photography. Instead it is about cosmic impacts and having a passion. In case you haven't heard, a possible asteroid, about the size of the earth, crashed in Jupiter. And the person who discovered this incident? An amateur astronomer. Not NASA or any other professional organizational, but someone with a passion for astronomy and a large telescope in his backyard.
I found the man's story quite inspiring and was so impressed with his passion for his hobby. Obviously, not everyone's hobby pays off in such an unexpected way, but it illustrates the way that you can't stop yourself from pursuing your interests outside of work. You never know where it might lead.
Found via New York Times

Fonts on the Web

One site I like to peek at now and then is Typophile: 99% of the time the comments are informative and polite. So there had been several discussions about @font-face, which ostensibly allows browsers to read any font. Replace that old Georgia with Museo! However, it is a sticky subject, full of industry-jargon that is way beyond me. As a designer I want to use more fonts, but foundries are understandably worried about font piracy.
Fortunately, there’s a nice summary of the situation as it stands now, that is relatively light on the jargon posted by the good people of I Love Typography. It seems as if the big questions haven’t been answered yet but Typekit seems poised to take the lead as one part of the solution.
And hopefully the new changes will be a boon to type designers, who will have to design typefaces specifically for the web.

Visiting (not living in) a Glass House

Yesterday Charles and I finally had the opportunity to visit Philip Johnson’s Glass House now part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In case you haven't heard of the Glass House it is one of the iconic mid-century modern houses in the country. Johnson actually lived in the house (although not full-time) and continued to build other structures and extensively landscape the vast property. I had seen photographs of the place before (there are multiple books on the House), but was not quite prepared by the wonderful play between the buildings and the landscape. Even if you're not sold on modernist architecture, don't worry as Johnson moved on to various styles and those are reflected on his property.
If you're in the New England area, I encourage you to take the trek out to New Canaan, CT and take this tour.
And if you do take the tour, you just might have the opportunity to meet Tricia White. Not only was she gracious, knowledgeable and in possession of a charming British accent, but she also is a talented artist. Her work is currently on show at hpgrp Gallery in New York.
And on somewhat related news, noted photographer of modernist homes, Julius Shulman has died. Although Schulman was known for photographing homes in California, he too made it out to Johnson's Glass House and some of his work can be found on their website.

Aliens Love SpongeBob

This image illustrates how long it takes for our television signals to reach the rest of the galaxy. On a side note, now that we’ve changed to digital TV those signals are no longer projected and the galaxy will become a slightly quieter place.
Found via Quipsologies

Plastics!

An interesting article on Slate that looks at plastics in art and how it is proving problematic to museums, curators and art restorers.

“As plastics revolutionized the making of furniture, toys, health care products, and electronics, museums of industry, design, and medicine began snapping up plastic objects that were either historic (the first artificial heart) or culturally important (Barbie dolls). Plastics hold up well for the decade or so during which a consumer uses most products. But museums, unlike consumers, are in it for the long haul, and when plastics crash, they crash precipitously.”

Found via Slate