Art

For over 50 years, the Women’s Studio Workshop in Kingston, NY, has served as a beacon of what our world would look like if women’s art was integral to the cultural mainstream. The WSW provides an artists’ workspace that encourages the voice and vision of women, trans, intersex, nonbinary, and genderfluid artists. The WSW is […]

Public health topics in America triggered dozens of cautionary and sermonic educational pamphlets over the years. The three featured in this post deal with sex and sexuality—often framed as America’s most uncomfortable facts of life—in various ways. These span the early to late 1940s, when war wreaked havoc on American morals and mores, and teenage

In the vast and often noisy world of music tech, Muse Group has quietly been building something remarkable. With over 400 million users across beloved tools like Ultimate Guitar, MuseScore, Audacity, and MuseClass, they’ve become a global leader — without a brand most people could name. That changed with the help of COLLINS, the design

Olivia King has been busy! The independent creative director and type designer based in Sydney released a new typeface this spring, Inclusive Sans. As a writer, I was naturally intrigued by King’s second piece of news: a collaboration with Penguin to create a custom typeface to unite the publishing house’s brand. Before we get into

Debbie Millman’s ongoing project “What Matters,” an effort to understand the interior life of artists, designers, and creative thinkers, is now in its third year. Each respondent is invited to answer ten identical questions and submit a nonprofessional photograph. Jen Putnam is the chief creative officer of A&G in Boston and Philadelphia. She is a

In one of my recent bouts of insomnia, I recalled one of the most memorable brands from when I was growing up in the heyday of unimaginative campaigns, the late ’50s to early ’60s. This was the “innocent” period of nascent advertising when one specific product sponsored, say, entire television series. Products like Old Gold

This industry perspective is by Nien Siao, Dean of the JS Institute of Design. Aristotle famously said that “educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” This quote captures a dilemma at the core of modern design. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how we build and experience the world. This unprecedented technology

Today, via this archival Daily Heller from May 2, 2024, let us all praise Willy Fleckhaus, art director and magazine design extraordinaire. His like will never be seen again (although, who knows, AI may prompt his resurrection …). From the 1950s through the 1980s, mammoths of magazine design and art direction walked the earth. Arguably

I was never much of a Billy Joel guy. Tom Petty? Bruce Springsteen? Bob Seger? Yes, yes, and yes. But, I’ve gained a newfound respect for Billy after watching HBO’s new documentary, Billy Joel: So It Goes. You must see it (even if you’re not a fan). In the meantime, there’s one particular moment in

I am an inveterate postage stamp buyer. Notice I said buyer, not collector. That is an important distinction. I do not hoard mint sheets or plates as a philatelist. In fact, I am not a philatelist at all. I don’t “philate” in any way. I consume. I engage. I use. Some stamps are historical. Some