typography, typos & design
Design fails lurking in 1 laundry cap
Design fails come in many forms, print, web design, logo mistakes and items we use in our everyday lives. ...
Designing a logo for Bitter Grounds – it’s not that easy
After over a decade of blogging, I've decided to design a logo for the magazine. Better late than never, ...
TPL’s new logo: is it really controversial?
The Toronto Public Library (TPL) has a new logo and some folks are a bit peeved. Let’s start with ...
Looks like nipple to me
I sat for at least 5 min, chin on hand, pondering an ad that popped up on my Facebook page. I cocked ...
This year’s Pantone colour is …
This year's Pantone colour has been announced. Oh lordy! It's pink on steroids. Living Coral, or as ...
Design to die for – Saha’s ad makes my heart palpitate
This is a design style I adore & wish I could create: I grabbed this postcard a few weeks ago because ...
Free NASA travel posters? I’m there!
Did you know NASA created travel posters? I didn't until today. Check out the artwork created by the ...
It may be pink, but it’s an effective ad
While standing on the subway platform last week, my eye was drawn to an ad that screamed out "Look at ...
Blog title generator test – um no, just no
I was poking a big stack of articles I've been meaning to read and something interesting fell out. ...
Delivers us from idlers – more signage errors
Remember the last article about the sign in need of proofing? This sign stirs up a few questions as ...
For want of a good proofreader – layout tunnel vision
We’ve all seen posters/signs that make us shake our head and mutter “whoa, what were they thinking”. ...
Ok TTC we need to talk – this is not a shelter
TTC, we need to chat. A long serious one about your complete lack of common sense. I’m not sure if ...
A little crap design – a 16 hr watch
I spend far too much of my time cruising the internet looking for crap design & silly things. And ...
Chipmunk Lear – the unutterable cuteness of it all
Toronto based theatre company, Canadian Stage is in the middle of their summer season. I stopped so ...
Are you kidding? 303 slides on one webpage?
I've complained about the absolute insanity behind the proliferation of slide shows - why use a couple ...
Behold, the terrifying creature Castor canadensis: A very brief look at the Canadian beaver in design.
While flipping through a catalogue for a show at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library (UofT) and I ...
Shout out to an author/designer who has unknowingly helped
I want to send a big shout out to writer and graphic designer Janie Kliever for an article she wrote ...
Humger Free Font by Graphic Pear – looking at new fonts
Looking around for some interesting fonts to play with and found a grunge font that appeals to me. I ...
Ontario’s new logo for the 150th bash – wow … just … wow
Ok, I tried to like this logo. I really, really tried. I went over it trying to find something positive ...
Well, there’s your problem Sun – more headline mixups
I think I spotted the problem ... too much dancing.
Another trip to penisland – without the snickering
This morning, I began to ponder a response I rec’d via Twitter to my penisisland article yesterday. ...
For want of a hyphen – design counts
A sometimes overlooked part of design is how a web address will look. It's a quirky thing ... web addresses. ...
Online editors must think proofreading is a mysterious land
A little something to see out the old year. My only wish for the new year? Major news outlets stop ...
Spammer – can’t even figure out their own audience
I see this crappy assed piece of spam every time I fire up Facebook. It's eye rolling stupidity makes ...
Not sure how this is even possible – drunk editing at work
I have no idea where to even start with this:
This is why proofing was invented – more gibberish headlines
Two sins committed for the price of one! Who knew proofing was so complifcated?
Paging Microsoft – Spell check aisle 1
Should we tell Microsoft about their nifty spell check feature?
Starbucks red cup designs – has everyone settled down yet?
Has everyone settle down over the faux outrage over the red cup yet? Why yes, I am feeling snarky about ...
Starbucks tempest in a coffee cup – the green cup design
I sauntered over to the Starbucks website to check out the latest overblown conspiracy regarding their ...
mmm no I don’t think this is Clinton or Trump – Headline disconnect
Not sure about this, but I think we have a little bit of headline disconnect going on here:
KODAK logo – what’s old is new again
Did you know Kodak was still around? I ran across an article the other day that mentioned their logo ...
Google Maps protects the privacy of posters too – Stamford Bridge amusement
I like tootling about on Google Maps, you never quite know what youi'll find. I was cruising by Stamford ...
A little blast from the past complete with a natty little mustache
Interesting isn’t it? Although the basics of ads hasn’t really changed much over the decades, ...
A look at Guinness’ recent logo redesign – a nod to tradition & craftsmanship
I have an excellent redesign for you. The instantly recognisable Guinness logo was refreshed in the ...
Pissy little rant on misconceptions about old printing styles
I’ve been chewing over a font that is getting under my skin lately. Take a look: It’s Old Printing ...
Another corporate logo update – Sears
I’ve seen a bit of chatter this week about Sears’ new logo so I decided to wander yonder and take ...
Look up irony & you’ll find the Microsoft logo
So, my question is pretty simply ... didn't Microsoft overlook the obvious? Way to promote your own ...
Filters on Flatiron building – Classic Toronto architecture
I was back downtown, around the St. Lawrence Centre and the Flatiron building last week. I have dozens ...
My giggles are now your giggles – the Rio Olympic logo
I’m not sure if there’s something wrong with me. The first time I looked at the Rio Olympics logo ...
Refreshing a classic logo – Mastercard gets it right
I stumbled across the new Mastercard logo recently and have given it a bit of thought. Well, to be honest, ...
Where’s our roof, dude? Bad photoshopping & questionable marketing
Where to start with this one? I have an example of dodgy marketing techniques and truely ridiculous ...
Oh the horror, the horror – typography battles for your affection
Remember this: If you didn't slam your laptop's lid down and run screaming from the room, read on. ...
Doesn’t look like a Tesla car to me …. headline fails
Doesn't look like a Tesla to me ....
Web Designer Rings of Hell – hopscotching to #8
I’m going to hopscotch across a couple rings of Designer Hell and pop into ring #8 – click bait ...
Slideshow confusion – another candidate for Web Ring of Hell
The other day I went off on the prevelance of web developers who overload slide shows. Today, I have ...
Poster design 2 – pushing myself out of the same old rut
I'm thinking of creating a new sub-category for the Photo Log -> Art & Design or Exploring Art ...
First ring of web hell – the never ending slide show
There should be a naughty corner for web and content designers who think this is a good idea: Notice ...
Something a little different – poster for the website
Experimenting with something a little different this week. I want a create a poster to promote the ...
Not quite right – when headers don’t match the photo
Nope, doesn't look like a condor to me:
My red pen is working overtime
I dream of the days when editors actually edited:
Spell check isn’t your friend – Toronto Star fail …again
I wish editors would stop relying upon spell check to do their job. I think the Toronto Star should ...
Web design 101 – how not to market your website
I operae on the assumption that it's easy to get things wrong so I tend to be (marginally) tolerant ...
