The Sketchbook Project Mobile Library from Art House Co-op on Vimeo.

people have been obsessed with davinci’s sketch books for centuries, but is this a pastoral art like diary keeping and letter writing? the sketchbook project mobile library is taking a definitive stance and bringing the creative musings of over 27,131 sketchbooks from 135 countries. you can get your inspiration on in one of the 40+ cities they visit across the country or peruse the digital collection at your leisure.

for fonts, form is the difference between legibility and chicken scratch, but for christian boer a graphic designer with dyslexia the function of form has a greater importance. he has created a typeface called dyslexie to combat the brain’s tendency to flip and rotate letters. scientific american explores the font and it’s designer’s process in this article including the challenges dyslexics face and boer’s thesis that led to the creation of the font.

no it is not an obscure math course you avoided like the plague in college, it is a community-inspired type endeavor. the phraseology project is an on-going typography experiment that allows followers to submit words or phrases that the team turns into a type study. this creative community was concocted by drew melon, and has since become popular enough to require the contributions of four other type-lovers.

there is a friendly battle brewing on lettering vs. calligraphy between martina flor and giuseppe salerno. you can vote for the daily letter and compare the two typography techniques. a phrase or keyword is issued to inspire the letters and their creative variations to everyone’s visual delight.

design and music go hand in hand. they have historically influenced each other creatively. here are two how articles that discuss designing with environmental music:

1 //  music’s influence on creativity, by kevin carroll
2 //  designers tell how music influences creativity, by jenny wohlfarth

and another article that talks about making the most of your music.

the reverse apparently influenced john lennon’s writing of ‘being for the benefit of mr. kite,’ shown in nick esdaile and joe fellows video detailing peter dean’s recreation of the victorian, letterpress, circus poster.

Lennon’s Poster from Make Productions on Vimeo.

is music a must to get your creative juices flowing? do you curate your music to the project your are working on?

what is the best holiday gift for your designer pal that is a curator of all things design, a history buff, and a reference librarian at heart? oh wait, are we talking about you or your friend? well phaidon has just answered your prayers. the new archive of graphic design includes 500 of histories best examples organized to your o.c.d.’s contentment. the recipient better be on the “nice list” this year, because this collection is more than a stocking stuffer to be sure.

in arabic cultures calligraphy and the letterform have been a high art motif for centuries, here are some examples of roman typography being elevated to artistic status in various forms:

ikea is a brand that exudes innovation and progress, so it is interesting to see them clinging to printed direct mail catalogs and advertisments. however they are doing it so well, that they are seemingly trying to save the endangered medium from the jaws of the digital era… or at least making them play nicely together.

this advertisement by leo rosa borges is flat-pack inspiration in your mailbox:

and the catalog’s app integration is like being in a furniture secret society:

don’t forget about the briefly available cookbook photographed by carl kleiner:

it is fairly common knowledge that you need a balance of work and home life, and bringing work home with you can cause some problems. here are a few excuses to bring typographic design into the home that won’t destabilize your work/life equilibrium:

since its introduction in 2000, gotham has been steadily gaining traction potentially making it the helvetica of the 21st century. this utilitarian sans serif designed by tobias frere-jones, owes its form to much of the signage found around new york city. while many brands have adopted helvetica as a brand element including target and apple, increasingly gotham has been the go-to font for logos and word-marks over the past decade. underconsideration has started a blog dedicated to logos that feature gotham as the font of choice.