Catchin’ some “Z’s”
Hipster Ipsum Generator…y’know.
When graphic designers need to show how text will look in a layout, but don’t have the real copy yet, they may use a series of nonsensical words called “greeking”. While “hipster greeking” may sound like a guy with thick-rimmed glasses sipping ouzo, it’s actually the product of a clever… Read more »
Shape and color communicate in any language.
No translations needed here. A red hexagon at an intersection means the same thing in dozens of countries.
Animated Water
Using a “water printer” to control the droplets, this fountain not only displays time and station information, but shows a wide range of artistic patterns and visual tricks to sustain the interest while waiting for your metro to arrive. This has to be one of the coolest clocks to ever… Read more »
Virtual Boarding Agent
It is assumed in the field of wayfinding that people prefer getting information from a person, rather than a sign. The Paris-Orly airport in France is testing that assumption with the use of virtual boarding agents. A two dimensional, life-like image is projected onto an acrylic cut out human form…. Read more »
First a Sign; then Streetscape Icon; Now Art
Designed around 1900 by architect Hector Guimard, this art nouveau subway design has been defining Parisian streetscapes ever since – over 80 of these elegant gateways survive. This original example now holds court in the sculpture garden at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, sharing the stage with… Read more »
EGD for…well…the Environment
At last, Environmental Graphic Design can live up to its alternate namesake and promote environmental change. Anonymous “artists” stepped up the battle being waged to remove an obsolete and unwanted dam in the Ojai area of California by painting a vast graphic dotted line and scissors icon along the face… Read more »
Garage Sale Wayfinding Program
These homemade signs demonstrate many of the principles of effective wayfinding: simple wording, large clear font choice, strong use of color, repetition and consistency of design elements. And shaping each sign as the directional arrow is brilliant.
Blazes – Rustic Wayfinding
Expert backpackers can spot them in the densest of woods: the blazes cut into trees by the original builders of a trail – the trailblazers. Usually a few feet off the ground to be seen above deep snow, these careful cuts into the bark are truly basic wayfinding elements. Look… Read more »
Digitize on the Fly
Wacom, the company best known for their tablet and stylus, has developed one of the best “how did we survive without this” technologies to hit the digital illustration and design professions in years. The Inkling (the cute name may be too cute) is a pen and receiver combo that records… Read more »