Please visit the active Ultrasparky blog to browse the for the content that has accumulated since this all began in 1996.

Processional

My supremely talented and charming pals Eric and Nicole of the Process Type Foundry delivered a great, illuminating talk about their work recently at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Luckily, you can view it on YouTube (below), or download it from iTunes U.

The Ombudsmen

"On Friday night a blockhead died in New York." So begins the gripping tale of The Ombudsmen, the only line of defense between us and the editors of the papers we read. Or are they? [Thanks, Dave!]

More on Sodachrome

A few people have been asking about how Sodachrome actually works, and how a user would assemble the pieces to work properly. It's actually a lot simpler than it might seem: no crazy OpenType features, no complex setting. It's just two simple fonts that can be set independently, or — ideally — set on top of one another, either by overprinting separate color plates, or by using transparency modes to blend the layers if you're going all-digital.

First, let's have a quick peek at the first font — Sodachrome Left:

And now, Sodachrome Right:

(Read the rest...)

Food Porn

Since coming to England, I have often found myself complaining about how much I hate the sandwiches here. They're always pre-made and soggy, filled with too much mayonnaise (gross) and never enough meat or cheese or whatever you would actually want in a sandwich to make it worth eating. And they're everywhere. Well, to all of you over here who can't understand why I loathe your sandwiches so much, may I please introduce you to the mouth-watering magnificence of Scanwiches, a little site that posts nothing but photos of sandwiches purchased from delicatessens in downtown New York City.

Ladies and gentlemen, those are sandwiches. That single slice of ham with the tablespoon of mayo on moist granary bread you peeled out of a triangular blister-pak today? That was just a mockery.

The Colour Grey, revealed

I may have hinted at this before, but for a chunk of the last year, I have been collaborating with my good friend and fellow MATD alumnus Ian Moore on some type and graphic design projects. Need some bespoke type solutions for identities or publications, or help developing some lettering into a full typeface? Perhaps you could use the help of The Colour Grey.

Last Spring we were talking about what kind of work we'd like to do if we partnered up, and fantasized about landing a project that would let us experiment with unusual type solutions that could push the boundaries of how the type could be used, and even go beyond two dimensions in some way. In an almost alarming coincidence, the next day my friend Rathna asked if I’d liked to develop an typographic identity for an online shop selling products that celebrated the quirks and imperfections that are part of hand-crafted production. She wanted a typeface that would benefit from these surprises, especially with the inprecise nature of screenprinting. Bingo! Before we even had a name for ourselves, we had a great project. Months later, the shop is almost ready to go, and we are please to tease you with a peek at Sodachrome:

(Read the rest...)

Secret Lives

Oh captain, my captain! We all wish we got to know that Jean-Luc Picard.

A Quick Tour

I made a short little video to show how nice my new place is, and how lucky I am to have found it. Especially after the last nine months of slowly degenerating awfulness. Sadly, Flickr cuts it off shortly before the end, and Youtube stripped out the audio to make sure I wasn't a reckless pirate driving David Byrne into the poorhouse, so why don't you just download it and enjoy it the way it was intended:

A Tour of Albert Road (11.9 MB)

[Not shown: flatmate Mark, his room, or Marlon the cat who so far isn't making me itch.]