One of the things I love is buying office supplies without knowing what I am gonna do with them. You know… Really basic designed stickers made for random stuff. I always find them very interesting just because they are so simple and basic.

All the stuff on the picture have been found in a Dollar Store for a total of $20. Love it!

Hey folks!

I wanted to let you know about a new site I’ve just launched called The Grid System. It’s basically an ever-growing resource site on the topic of grid systems and anything associated to it, like the golden ratio and baseline grids. My goal for the site is to be a one stop shop for all designers to learn about grid systems, how to design them and how to use them.

The site features links to articles, tools, books as well as templates and other goodies. I’ve also added the ability to show the grid that the site was built on, this way visitors can learn about the structure and how it was applied to the design.

I’ve also partnered up with YouWorkForThem to bring a great collection of books to the site. Over time the site will grow in content (I have a backlog of articles and tools to post) as well as features. I plan to add a forum where people can chat about grid systems and design in general, and other small things like wallpapers. Additionally, I’ve created a Flickr group as an extension of the site.

Thanks!
Antonio

Helvetireader is a userscript that pares down Google Reader to what I consider to be the essentials. In particular, it’s made for looking at feeds in the expanded view, using Keyboard Shortcuts instead of on-screen buttons. It’s not going to suit how everyone uses Google Reader, so you can take the CSS and personalise to your hearts content!

All you need is a browser that supports userscripts (see below) and, of course, Helvetica.

(via swissmiss)

Creative Review:

Rick Banks, has created a set of Top Trumps style cards where classic typefaces are the subject matter - hence the name, Type Trumps. Each card is designed to make the most of the
particular font it features, and typophiles will happily find such faces as Frankfurter, Times, Helvetica, Johnston Underground and Neu Alphabet in the pack. Type Trumps players can battle it out using
such statistics as year of design, the amount of weights, cost etc to win their opponent’s cards. Banks has given each typeface a ‘rating’ score, a ‘legibility’ score and even a ’special power’.

Available on Face37 or Magma websites.

(via thinking for a living)

Although a field that is often overlooked by bibliophiles and historians of printing and typography, several of the most important contributors to twentieth century book and letter arts have made significant contributions to the design of the seemingly modest postage stamp. All of the celebrated designers listed to the left have considered the specific concerns of philatelic design. Eric Gill, although only responsible for one design marking the reign of George VI, had (as one might expect) exacting and pointed opinions about stamp design, and carried out a lengthy public debate on the matter in the pages of the Times. Jan van Krimpen and his Enschedé colleague S.L. Hartz, designed hundreds of stamps for the Netherlands and her colonies. These, and the hundreds of examples by the above designers, are an unexplored resource of tremendous lettering and calligraphy which also provide exceptional insights into how these designers worked and solved problems.

This collection was started in 1999 after I came across the stamps of Jan Van Krimpen in A Record in Honor of His Sixtieth Birthday. There are well over 600 stamps in the collection, and I’m pretty sure I’ve identified every stamp by anyone who has ever designed a typeface.

Learn more on Michael Russem’s website.