et.

(from beginbeing.com)

I totally dig this architecture+type project by student Lisa Rienermann. A whole new way of looking at buildings from below that I never considered.

I need this. It’s orange. It’s an ampersand. It’s wooden. Perfect!

From etsy shop Hindsvik.

Ahhh ampersands.

I love them. And I think I just found my new favorite tumblr: three hundred and sixty five. It posts an ampersand in a new font each day. Recent favorites:

Helvetica

NERD ALERT.

Today I watched the Helvetica documentary that came out to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the font. The idea of a documentary about a typeface really doesn’t seem like it would tickle most, but I found it so interesting.

The font was designed 50s as a clear, modern typeface and its name is from the Latin name for Switzerland. Today it is still one of the most used fonts in the world. Apparently it’s more in our faces than I previously thought. Here are just a few of the places we can see it:

Origami Typography

Wonderful as a set, confusing individually. Great concept.

Bank Note Proposal

I came across these images yesterday and was intrigued to find out more about the project. Design office Dowling Duncan create a set of bank notes for the Dollar ReDesign Project by designer Richard Smith.

I think it would be amazing to see a nation with a modern look to its currency. I love this design, but…I just don’t think Obama is worthy of the $1 over Washington.

In their own words:

Why the size?
We have kept the width the same as the existing dollars. However we have changed the size of the note so that the one dollar is shorter and the 100 dollar is the longest. When stacked on top of each other it is easy to see how much money you have. It also makes it easier for the visually impaired to distinguish between notes.

Why a vertical format?
When we researched how notes are used we realized people tend to handle and deal with money vertically rather than horizontally. You tend to hold a wallet or purse vertically when searching for notes. The majority of people hand over notes vertically when making purchases. All machines accept notes vertically. Therefore a vertical note makes more sense.

Why different colors?
It’s one of the strongest ways graphically to distinguish one note from another.

Why these designs?
We wanted a concept behind the imagery so that the image directly relates to the value of each note. We also wanted the notes to be educational, not only for those living in America but visitors as well. Each note uses a black and white image depicting a particular aspect of American history and culture. They are then overprinted with informational graphics or a pattern relating to that particular image.

$1 – The first African American president
$5 – The five biggest native American tribes
$10 – The bill of rights, the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution
$20 – 20th Century America
$50 – The 50 States of America
$100 – The first 100 days of President Franklin Roosevelt. During this time he led the congress to pass more important legislations than most presidents pass in their entire term. This helped fight the economic crises at the time of the great depression. Ever since, every new president has been judged on how well they have done during the first 100 days of their term.

Durex by Andrej

I’m always seeking creative new applications of typography. I found these incredible concept ads on the beloved Behance Network by Andrej Krahne. Pay close attention to the words used and where they are located. In the artists words, this is the project:

TASK▪
Communicate the joy with Durex.

IDEA▪
Dont tell it demonstrate it.

SOLUTION▪
Type shows like X-ray the inner feelings during the act with Durex.

Pillow Talk

Nerdy? Yes.

Typography? Yes.

Simple black and white? Yes.

Minimal, but with a statement? Yes.

An aesthetically-pleasing group of three? Yes.

These pillows from Etsy user diffractionfiber have pretty much all the elements that I would be interested in having on my couch (if I owned a couch, that is).

(creds: diffractionfiber)