L to R: Shirlee Roberts-Downey, Lawton’s Kelly Walker, some random guy off the street, and CK Anderson.

Bearing donuts and coffee, our friends from Lawton Printing stopped by helveticka world headquarters this morning with some good news. Turns out the 2011 Revett annual report—already a winner at the 2012 PrintROCKS! Awards—received an Award of Recognition at the 2013 Premier Print Awards held earlier this month in Chicago.

Revett’s AR was one of thousands of entries from around the world, each representing “the unique partnership between designer and printer, need and creativity, technology and craft.” So yeah, it’s a pretty big deal. Definitely worth celebrating with some bacon-maple bars. Thanks, Lawton!

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: the design life  |  make a comment

Did residents of North Carolina narrowly miss getting nuked back in 1961? It would appear so.

Speaking of explosive power, those “crisp, bluish-white, cotton wool-like formations” below the frozen surface of Alberta’s Abraham Lake are methane bubbles.

Turns out dung beetles use the Milky Way to navigate. No, really.

Think your apartment’s small? Think again.

And finally, now’s your chance to own a life-size replica of an Imperial AT-ST. (Contrary to the seller’s claim, however, real AT-STs—you know, the recon hit-and-run vehicles used by the Galactic Empire—were over 28 feet tall.)

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

Good news! If you’ve ever “had your surfeit of poetical whimsy and are ready for some good, hard facts,” there’s now a place to turn: Mr. Gradgrind’s Literal Answers to Rhetorical Questions.

Where have all the flowers gone?

Generally the petals of the flowering parts of plants wither and fall off to decay in the surrounding soil while the remainder is converted into fruiting bodies. However, the blossoms of early-flowering fruit trees such as plums and cherries are particularly subject to the destructive effects of spring rains.

Brilliant.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

Well I am wrapping up my third week at the helveticka offices. And I must say this internship has been a great experience so far. There has been lots to do and the projects thrown at me have been quite varied. Wether it’s logos, posters, print ads, or environmental displays CK and company are keeping me busy.

Not only are the projects great but the atmosphere is fun too. I noticed Aaron likes to jam ambient music while he works. I enjoy ambient tunes myself and Aaron has been kind enough to share some of his library with me. Shirlee had a tarantula returned from a friend and it has found a new home on my desk. She tried to put the arachnid on Aaron’s desk but he was not having any of that. I am not the biggest spider fan but as long as it doesn’t try to escape I’ll be ok.

Signing off for now
Tony the intern

posted by: Tony Kuchar  |  category: staff  |  make a comment

Interesting article* on the science behind extroversion and introversion. Here’s a quote that helps explain why I’m no good at group brainstorming sessions:

In a recent book on introversion, author Susan Cain explains that although introverts make up a third to a half of the population, Western society—the United States, in particular—is extroversion-centric. She notes that schools and workplaces are designed for extroverts, under the belief that collaboration is key to creativity and productivity (the opposite of which is true for introverts).

Both Cain’s book and her corresponding TED talk have not only generated some much-needed discussion about the differences between the two personality types, they’ve also created a (mostly good-humored) backlash against introverts. Which is a bit unfair, given that scads of studies appear to demonstrate that “the brains of introverts and extroverts really are different.”

*Hat tip to my friend and fellow introvert Derek Helt.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

I’m not entirely sure what it is about the work of sand artist Ilana Yahav that I find so mesmerizing. Maybe it’s the movement; maybe it’s the simplicity; maybe it’s the fact that it exists only at that particular moment in time. Or maybe it’s because it’s ideally suited for a Blackfield video.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

L’shanah tovah, everyone.

Maybe now people will listen to me when I tell ’em cow tipping is a myth.

A movie based on the Dyatlov Pass incident was apparently released earlier this year. It probably sucks. But if you’ve never heard the story, read this account.

It’s official: Colonel Meow is the world’s furriest cat.

London to Brighton in 1953, 1983, and 2013.

Great. Something else to worry about. (Oh sure, they say it’s “harmless to humans.” Until it grows lungs and discovers the sweet, sweet taste of man-flesh.)

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

I’m someone who has to write things down. I know, I know—there’s a perfectly suitable notes app on my phone. But it’s not the same. For one thing, it takes far too long to tap away at imaginary keys; for another, my notes are a nightmare of words, phrases, arrows, addenda, and diagrams that simply cannot be reproduced on a tiny little screen.

For a long time, I used Moleskine hardcover notebooks. But their cost is a bit unseemly, considering they’re made in China. And the whole fake history thing sort of grates. Plus, hipsters.

Field Notes has been my go-to source for notebooks for a while now. They’re smaller (read: more portable), cheaper, and made in the good ol’ USA. Their limited-edition sets are a lot of fun, and they even published a book last spring. (Even if you don’t buy their notebooks, you’ve simply got to read A Drive into the Gap. Just take my word for it.)

Yeah, I’m a bit of a luddite. But I’m not the only one who’s digging the old-school Field Notes vibe.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: the writing life  |  make a comment