Life on a Cargo Ship

Sure to spark wonder and wanderlust, see pictures and read about life on a cargo ship.

The Intricate Art of the Banknote

Combining two things that I can't seem to get enough of: printing and foreign currency - The Intricate Art of the Banknote.

via Coudal.

Sydney International Food Festival Ads

Great concept and nicely executed: flags made out of food!

via Coudal.

Basel Summer Type Design Workshop 2009

I am back home from my fantastic workshop at the Basel School of Design in Switzerland. It was a great time of meeting friends from all over the world, nerding-out on type, and learning from some of the most knowledgeable designers in the world.

It is difficult to write about an intense week of type design in a foreign land, so I have chronicled some of my time there in a Flickr set for your enjoyment.

Summer Hiatus

As some of you may have noticed, my posts have been becoming infrequent here. Because of a very busy summer, I have decided to take a summer hiatus from posting on my blog. I have enjoyed posting links to things that I like, but it also requires a time commitment that I cannot maintain through the summer.

The most exciting reason for my busy summer is that I am attending a Type Design Workshop at the Basel School of Design in Basel, Switzerland! I will be learning type design as well as getting a feel for the city of Basel.

Also, my wife and I are relocating to a new house that will have room for my Vandercook printing press! I am excited to get the press up and printing. And speaking of printing (and a little shameless promotion): make sure to keep your eye on my artist page at Keep Calm Gallery - I have a couple new prints in the works that will be up in the next few weeks.

I will leave you with a few links of websites that I visit for inspiration on a daily basis: Grain Edit, We Love Typography, Swiss Miss, Coudal, Draplin.

Enjoy your summer and all the best!

Travel Photochroms

The Library of Congress has started adding their collection of travel photochrom photographs to their Flickr account. So great!

via Coudal.

East Germany Up Close and Personal

West German photographer Karlheinz Jardner took fascinating photos during a trip through East Germany in the spring of 1990, capturing a world that would soon disappear forever.

Airline Logos

Aaron tipped me off to a great collection of airline logos. I especially love the old Air France logo that is above.

Is This Your Luggage

A mysterious person buys long-lost luggage, photographs the contents, and then tries to find its owner.

Is this your luggage?

Emily Haines on Writing in Buenos Aires

Emily Haines (of Broken Social Scene and Metric) talks about getting out of her environment and finding inspiration in Argentina. Really fantastic.

Keep On Trucking!

Trucks + Type.

Missouri Chinese

A little bit of fame and hometown pride for little Springfield, Missouri USA: the New York Times recently wrote an article about Springfield Style Cashew Chicken.

No, I do not think this is real Chinese food (I can speak from experience) but yes, I still eat it and love it!

Strictly No Photography

We have all done it. Taking a photo, where we are not supposed to being taking pictures.

We are not alone. Here is the proof.

via Coudal.

Just Don't Look Down

Awesome Aerial Tramways of the World. I've been lucky enough to ride the tramway in the image above in Masada, Israel.

Type + Travel

A Flickr set combining my two favorite things. Type + Travel.

El Al Playing Cards

The always good Grain Edit has a great feature on playing cards designed for El Al Airlines.

Stale Potato Chips

I took this photo a while ago when I was visiting family in Iowa. I have always loved Fareway's sign and I wanted to document it as it makes me think of the stale potato chips that my grandparents would buy when we would visit. Good memories.

Matchbooks

Matchbooks. Lots and lots of matchbooks.

New York City Subway Destination Prints

These old New York City Subway Destination Prints are quite nice!

Letter Museum in Berlin

The Letter Museum’s mission is the preservation and documentation of letters, regardless of culture, language and font systems. Yet another reason I need to visit Berlin!

Posting Hiatus

I'm off to warmer climates with my passport in hand for a long weekend, so posting will take a snowbird holiday as well.

Soviet Sci-Fi Architecture

Photographer Frederic Chaubin is documenting 1970's and 80's Soviet Architecture that all has a strange sci-fi feel to it...

Vintage Posters

I am always a sucker for vintage posters and this French blog always has a choice selection.

Japan

Before I die, I must make it to Japan. I have always been fascinated by the people, the country, and the history. Eric Testroete has made a fantastic video of his recent trip to Japan put to a great soundtrack by LCD Soundsystem.

You can see each and every photo on his Flickr.

Posting Hiatus

There will be a posting hiatus until after the holidays as I will be ringing in the New Year with friends in Boston!

The World's First Car Navigation System

Think GPS is a new idea? Think again: The World's First Car Navigation System.

Around the World in 42 Days

My childhood was wrapped around the TV mini-series "Around the World in 80 Days" starring none other than Pierce Brosnan. We watched the VHS so much that the tape wore out and broke and we had to tape it back to the spool.

Strange Maps found a modern version of the story by Jules Verne that shows the improvements in travel. It is now possible to travel around the world (without air travel) in just 42 days.

The Island of San Serriffe

The Guardian has found out more information about a very small island in the Indian Ocean by the name of San Serriffe. So interesting!

Where Will You Eat Tonight?

A really great (but too expensive for my taste) idea: City Plates.

via Coudal.

Flight to Nowhere

More flying nerdery - A 90 minute flight to nowhere aboard the first Emirates A380.

via Coudal.

Air Lines

I love flying. Whenever I fly, I love looking at the route map in the back of the in-flight magazine that shows me where in the world I can fly.

Now, you can purchase a really big poster of all of the airplane routes in the world.

This is definitely on my Christmas wish list!

Beware: Falling Counters!

Oh, this is not good...

Tulip Fields

The Dutch Landscape is transformed by fields of amazing tulips.

via SwissMiss

Air Traffic Video

I could watch this video for one hour. Seriously. I'm not even joking.

Also, want to see live radar/flights over Switzerland?

Airport Signage Design

Since I love flying and I love type, I really love Airport Signage Design.

Pawnmart

Driving on Interstate 44 from Springfield to St. Louis Missouri is pretty boring.

But then you pass by this amazing building with the most fascinating type ever and it just makes your day.

Ryugyong Hotel

At 105 stories, the Ryugyong Hotel in North Korea is that world's tallest unfinished building. Sad. Magnificent. Crazy.

This Deserves a Post

Draplin is driving across the west from Oregon to Michigan and took this photo in Idaho. Seriously amazing. Look at the type, the claim, the optimism!

On a side note, this gets me really excited to visit Idaho some day. I only have Idaho and Alaska left to visit and I will have been to all Fifty Nifty United States.

Making Maps in England

I really really love maps. This printing, the colours, the type - everything about maps I love. Yet somehow, seeing this 1953 documentary about making British Ordnance Survey maps makes me love them even more.

via ILike.

Cairo, Illinois

Justin Clifford Rhody has a very nice Flickr set of images of Cairo, Illinois.

I had never heard of Cairo before, but it has some interesting history.

Jumbo Hostel

Unless you fly first class, it isn't a very comfortable sleep in an airplane. Swedish entrepreneur Oscar Dios is out to change that with Jumbo Hostel - a hostel built inside a grounded Boeing 747. Read more about it here.

Looks like I'll be flying through Stockholm sometime!

Mystery of Iceland

Before I die, I must visit Iceland. And until that happens, I am invincible. Maybe not, but Tim Gasperak shows this country's amazing beauty through his photographs.

via Coudal.

Mono Scoot

I have been considering getting a scooter recently and the one above is totally the one I want! If only it was actually ever built...

via the recently rediscovered Paleo-Future.

Ever Notice?

Here is a nice little article about the importance of noticing everything around us.

Indian Street Graphics

There is no place on earth that has the amazing colors and hand-painted type and images like India (well maybe Nepal, but they are similar in that way). Former student, Daniel Zender found this great Indian Street Graphics set on Flickr.

Jet Blue Terminal 5

I've been through my fair share of airport terminals and food courts - most of them with seemingly one soul reason for existence - to rip you off and serve you bad food. So this sneak peek at Jet Blue's new Terminal 5 food court (which opens October 1st) really makes me want to book my next flight through JFK just to have a pleasant dining experience.

The Sartorialist

So probably, I am the last person to know about The Sartorialist, but here it is: a blog all about photographing people on the street that have great style - all around the world.

Pop vs. Soda vs. Coke

Whether you call it Pop, Soda, or Coke, chances are where you come from in the United States determines your choice of the noun.

via the always-interesting Strange Maps.

Truck Type Alphabet

Fitting in perfectly with my first assignment for my Advanced Typography class, is Eric Tabuchi's Truck Type Alphabet. More information can be found here.

Vintage Postcards

I love Boring Vintage Postcards!

Wanderlust

GOOD Magazine (which, incidentally, is really good) has a really fantastic interactive map of the world's most famous travels. From "Around the World in 80 Days" to Amelia Earhart to Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" this maps follows some amazing treks and makes me want to keep traveling.

Signs of Switzerland Series

I am back from my summer living in Geneva, Switzerland and I wanted to share with you my Signs of Switzerland Series. Take a look if you would like!

This Isn't England

Ben Terrett, a Graphic Designer in London, has spent the last two years taking pictures of maps of Britain. Not accurate maps, but drawings and illustrations of maps. Here are the results.