I'm very excited to introduce my new series of hand-drawn typography! I always seem to get lots of comments on my hand-drawn type, and since it's become my go-to stress relief, why not do more? Over the next...period of time, I'll be illustrating tweets I find on Twitter. Inspired by how spamm-y and interesting 140 characters can be, I feel like it's the perfect representation of our culture right now.
You can see more of @inspiredmag's tweets here
Last week, an article from Forbes.com caught my eye about the most unhealthy commutes in the United States. It wasn't difficult to guess which area of the lower 48 would top the charts — it's a well known fact that LA is akin to a driving nightmare. The article says that not only do So-Cal commuters experience the worst pollution levels, they also have the highest rate of fatal auto accidents, and spend an average of 93 hours per year sitting in traffic.
Yikes.
Disclaimer: I have to admit that the typography on this gem was drawn at home.
I've been collecting quotes on commuting that I find online, and they will slowly be finding their way into my designs for the next month or so. This evening's commute design comes to you from the 22nd Street Caltrain station and some guy named Gary Roberts. In our area, gas is nearly over $4.00 per gallon and even though we don't need to fill our tank very often (thank you Nissan!), I still cringe a bit when we drive past a gas station.
Okay, so I left things hanging yesterday and didn't announce my new Commute Design challenge. While I didn't have a chance to actually create my first design, I'll give you a sneak peak. Until this evening then?
After a short, unannounced hiatus on the Commute Design Project, I'm ready to go again. Admittedly, last week and most of this week I've been tired and uninspired on the commute home. Maybe it had something to do with the cold rainy weather? But that's so yesterday. Today the sun is shining, I'm bursting with motivation, and am loving me some bright color.
Today is a quirky leftover from my Sketchbook Project drawings, then next week, I'll be announcing my new challenge for March. If you have any challenge ideas, I'm taking suggestions!
I work in a really interesting part of San Francisco. It's right on the bay and used to be a big shipping area, but that died off a while back. I was told that it's only been in the past few years that Dogpatch has started to come back to life which makes for an interesting mix of old/grundy/trendy/cool. The neighborhood could seem a little scrappy for a first-timer, but I love it. So rather than bring you some sort of foodie design this evening, I collected images of my walk from B'stro to the train station (i.e., a few benches under 280).
I've been thinking a lot lately about the different sensory triggers we experience at any given time during the day. It's pretty incredible if you think about it. I was riding my bike from work to the train station this evening — it was windy, rainy, and cold. A pretty miserable ride actually. However while the rain was pelting my face, my sense of smell was on over-drive from a tantalizing aroma wafting from a nearby cafe.
This made me wonder if it's possible to incorporate such a wide variety of triggers (good, bad, or both) into a design. The goal isn't to create a physical reaction, because sensory triggers don't always cause a physical reaction. In fact, we don't even notice most of them.
Such an interesting subject. I've got a feeling I may be exploring more of this in the near future.
