A Legendary Redesign of Helvetica, Reborn After 30 Years

for us helvetica lovers out there, this is just too cool — look forward to using it in a design. m.





If you have eyeballs, you’ve almost certainly seen Helvetica. It’s one of the most widely used typefaces ever created, so popular that it generated a documentary examining its popularity. It’s almost equally certain that you have not seen Haas Unica, the typeface designed to be Helvetica’s sequel of sorts. Introduced in 1980, it was lost to history almost instantly upon its arrival.

Now, after languishing in obscurity for decades, Unica has been rescued and remastered. Thanks to an effort by Monotype designer Toshi Omagari, the legendary typeface is finally available as Neue Haas Unica, an 18-font family tuned-up for the digital age. Drawn to be legible at small sizes, it could be a perfect Helvetica-substitute for user interfaces and other on-screen text elements. For designers, though, the new Unica is an exciting visitor from the past. As Pentagram partner J. Abbott Miller puts it, “There is a Rip van Winkle quality of a font having woken up after 30 years of sleep.”

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Black-White Fixie Bicycle by Eltipo Graphic Design Studio

perfect for the city! m.







eltipo graphic design studio’s ‘black-white fixie’ was originally commissioned by its fellow belgian-compatriot and design studio pinkeye. the relationship between the glossy white and matte black is in perfect harmony from every perspective possible. the supple brown leather seat and handlebars are both engraved with a seamless three-dimensional geometric pattern, subtly revealing their natural light brown undertones.

the eltipographic ‘black-white’ fixie bicycle is a monochromatic masterpiece with a new aesthic, and refines style on two wheels. it features the iconic pairing of glossy white and matte black, plus the dark brown leather seat and handlebars make use of lazer engraving for their minimalist design. while the simplicity of its form gives the impression that it should be made for city cruising, in actuality, it serves as decoration for a pop-up show.

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light made visible

“The primary medium of Californian artist James Turrell is light. Probably the best-known artist in his field, Turrell’s entire oeuvre since the 1960s has been devoted to exploring the diverse manifestations of this immaterial medium and working towards a new, space-defining form of light art. While light here refers to nothing beyond itself, it causes surface, colour and space to interact and allows viewers to immerse themselves in a mysterious, painterly world. — https://is.gd/UjkTPl

one of the greats. i’ve seen numerous exhibits of his and had the pleasure of meeting him at length at a barnett newman symposium at the philadelphia museum of art. one truly has to experience his work live to fully appreciate it but this gives a nice tour. enjoy!

Seashore Library by Vector Architects

“As the sky dims, cloud is dazzling in purple blue. Within a glimpse, it vanished. Ocean is in charcoal gray. The wave paddles to the sand with a rhythm that you can almost hear. It’s a resonate sound that travels deep and far. The sea breeze leaves its footprint onto the sand land, creating ripples of air waves. An old boat sits half-sunken under the sand, as if it has harbored here for years. There are few tarred down small houses used to be fishermen’s shelter. The leftover shingles and broken walls enclose space in dark. Through the dilapated openings on the wall, look out, is the sea in stillness, like paintings hanging upon the wall”. — https://is.gd/hGruHG

the light control is nothing short of spectacular — kudos!

Michael Heizer: Early Paintings, Altars and Granite at Gagosian Gallery NYC

terrific work. m.






the exhibition ‘altars’ by michael heizer, comprising rarely or never-before-seen early paintings, the ‘altar’ series of new steel sculptures, and negative wall pieces featuring igneous rocks. the american artist largely works outside of the confines of museums, redefining the genre in terms of dimension, volume, material and process. for the exhibition in manhattan, heizer interprets his own words ‘size is real. scale is imagined size’ through a selection of significant past , and monumental new works sited within the gallery rooms.

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