Hello friends! You’re busy, I’m busy, but we wanted to share a couple of things that are now Real. The design process is good & satisfying, but there’s nothing as thrilling as seeing a finished object.

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Bidoun

The new issue of Bidoun magazine is out on the shelves. We took over the art direction with this issue; there are many noticeable changes, but the key transformation was in the typography. We went with Lyon, the handsome & versatile Granjon-esque serif designed by our good friend Kai Bernau, equally handsome & versatile.

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Week in Review

Also: We were asked by Kelly Doe at the New York Times to develop an illustration accompanying the article “America’s Identity Crisis” (not the final headline), contextualizing the recent debates over curriculum ideologies.

Incidentally, this piece was drawn on a chalkboard slate, for which we spent half the day hunting. The slate, roughly 4 x 6′, was acquired from a friendly Father at a parish in Greenpoint. The Catholic school on the premises, St Cecilias, had recently been closed due to a slowly dwindling Catholic population, and some of the classroom chalkboards had been disassembled, slab by slab. After picking through the selection, we found one of ideal size and took it back to the office (not without struggle, either, the thing’s as heavy as a house). Upon propping it up, we realized it still had writing left on it:

St Cecilias Forever

Unused concept for an article on warring textbook ideologies.

The Center for Architecture’s New York Now exhibition, for which we were the exhibition designers, has gone up! See it now in the bowels of the West 4th St subway stop, where both main ramps have been taken over with images of just-finished and currently-underway buildings in New York City.

New York Now is set in Stag Sans, by our good friend Christian Schwartz. You’ll be able to buy it (and many more of our favorite fonts) online soon, very soon. Finally, very special thanks to Sam Grey and Zack Seuberling who toiled away underground taking measurements. When asked by the police why they were taking notes on the subway system, these two charmers simply smiled and waved their clipboards, thus demonstrating they had no foul intent. Well done!

In honor of the man, the myth, the legend, every Tuesday for the month of September, the Adapted, Rumors and Chad studio will be showing a curated collection of Kurt Russell. Details inside.

Read more »

I forgot to introduce myself. I am Zack, the Rumors intern. I came from Ohio and now I live here.

Yesterday, in a heat induced rage, Renda broke the basketball hoop. (Sorry to break it to you this way, Andy). We have a passive aggressive note wall for a reason, but I guess she just couldn’t take it anymore.

Update: Renda’s official statement is that she broke it trying to save the planet. I just report the facts, people; you decide.

There were a lot of expectations for this inaugural post; I have to be funny and smart, right? I might get fired if it isn’t.

Note of interest: Rumors has fake fired me at least 3 times—once for not winning a single hand in poker (as if the shame weren’t enough). They later rehired me when I returned with potato chips. Then I dealt Andy four aces. Fire THAT.

Anyway, it’s not actually freezing right now. It’s after hours and the air conditioner is off. I don’t want to rack up a huge electric bill (and then get fired).

Print Magazine has selected Renda as one of its “New Visual Artists” for 2009 — a broadly-named catch-all award for young designers, illustrators, and photographers under the age of 30. She and Holly (another NVA alum, 2008) can sit around and talk about how winning this lottery has changed their lives. You won’t see me joining their ranks, however, because I am too old to enter above such things.

A favorite quote from the article: “It looks like I’m really interested in type, but really I’m just interested in not having other things around.” It’s true!

Well done Renda!

Just launched today, we’re excited to share with you the website we worked with Push and Hydra to design for the newly re-branded Orlando Museum of Art. You can read more about the new site here.