The Dice — 016

I have a tendency to take ideas and run with them like a bridge too far. When I had my own studio, my colleagues had a name for this particular personality quirk that they called “Storeysize.” I don't mind starting simple or small, but sometimes you just need to go the extra distance. That’s my way of sharing that this has been another week spent heads down making, shifting, changing, deleting, editing, and critiquing. It feels good to be just a few weeks away from launching a set of products and services.

This also explains why this week's issue is super late!

“Tom taught us that design was not only integral to journalism, it was in fact integral to storytelling at its height. The front page that listed the COVID dead was more powerful than any one story could ever be.”

Tom Bodkin was a “college dropout with no design experience” who became a designer at The New York Times and worked his way up to become Chief Creative Officer. He retired after serving 46 years at the times, 20 of those serving on the newsroom masthead. In A Beginning and an End, Tom and his work are lauded by former colleagues and then he speaks with Steven Heller (also a former colleague) about the history of design at the Times and his career there. A fascinating story and—as you’ll see—the body of work.

We are a week away from the release of a must-have book,  Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.: Citizen Printer. Amos is a badass who left his corporate job at the age of 40 to begin a new career in letterpress printing. His story and work are the subject of a feature-length documentary, Proceed and Be Bold. He’s an icon and an inspiration and the book looks to be a great representation of Amos (the pink spine is a perfect touch) and his work.

Partners in Print and Print Magazine are hosting free virtual launch events for Amos’ book.

Surfing the web (yeah bruh) this week brought me to an old but fantastic article by design critic Anne Quito. Branding the World’s Newest Country is a long read on the creative work that went into giving South Sudan a new look. “The symbols and semblance of nationhood exist: a flag, coat of arms, banknotes, a cultural complex, even a national beer.” You can listen to Anne talk about her work in an interview with Scott Simon on NPR.

Linus Sebastian aka Linus Tech Tips posted a two-part series on YouTube called De-Google Your Life. Part 1: Start with Chrome provides a good overview of how evil Google is and how to begin removing it. The video has 2.1m views to date and features a long list of alternative software options in the show notes. Part 2: Ad-Free YouTube was taken down by Google almost immediately after going live. I guess it’s okay to suggest alternative apps, but nobody threatens advertising revenue! You can, and I suggest you do, watch part two through capture on the Internet Archive. At the very least, stop using Chrome. Nobody should use Chrome.

“The Criterion Closet. I basically feel like I’m at church, my church.” So begins Winona Ryder’s session picking her favorite movies from the Criterion Collection. I love watching these videos because you get to see the artist come out of the actors and directors who are the focus of each session. Too often we see popcorn interviews and conversations about their films but these shorts really draw out a knowledge about their craft that rarely gets to be seen and felt. Winona’s episode is full of heart and a love for film. Also check out episodes featuring John Waters, Viggo Mortensen, Patton Oswalt, and a cute couple session with Zoë Kravitz and Channing Tatum.

Speaking of actors, if you haven’t watched Jeff Goldblum play Zeus in the Netflix series KAOS then you need to re-prioritize your life choices.

I know I’m way behind the curve but I have to share this submitted by The Dice foreign correspondent and pretend blog publisher, Anthony Baker. Polaroid is back—that part I knew—with a series of iconic-looking products that include speakers! Speakers, you might be asking? Yes. I don’t know how that makes sense but they look awesome. Those colors are vibrant and on point. Just look at that blue! Also, check out the accessories that carry on the brand expression in ways that make me want one of each item. I’m surprised that I haven’t come across more coverage on Polaroid’s colorful comeback. Reminds me of Apple in 1999 on a much smaller scale.

Published in Tacoma, Washington while listening to Luke Dorny's excellent, eclectic 2024 playlist.