I think these tea bags are way too cute. I love that they come in a little wardrobe.
via swissmiss
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Snow. And Salt.
We're expecting a winter storm in Chicago tomorrow, including 8-12 inches of snow. (Oh wow.) The Tribune posted this picture of the salt trucks picking up their loads in anticipation. HOLY COW, that's a lot of salt!
via Chicago Tribune
Letterpress Printing
I had my first letterpress printing class last night at Columbia College. It was so wonderful! We had a tour of the printing equipment, an overview of setting up type, and assembled our names to print stationery next week. The whole time I was just blown away by how everything I was learning explained why typography and typesetting on the computer is what it is today. Here are some of my favorite new things:
- What we know in Microsoft Word as 'paragraph spacing' is called 'leading' in typography. In hand-setting type, you place leads in between each line (varying the thickness based on your type size). Thus leading. It's all about the leads.
- The pieces of metal that you set type with -- including the letters, punctuation, etc. -- are called 'sorts.' Benjamin Franklin was a printer and when hand-setting type would occasionally run out of letters (those dang e's are just so common!). Apparently he would get very hot and bothered by this and storm around his shop. Thus, his assistants would see him and say, "Benjamin Franklin must be out of sorts again." And that's why we have that idiom today.
- A 'font' is actually an amount of type. (Microsoft Word brainwashed us all!) The correct term is actually a 'typeface.' (That's going to take getting used to...)
This picture shows how each typeface is stored. Each of these drawers holds the complete alphabet + punctuation for a specific point size of a specific typeface. Roman, Italic, and Bold would all need their own drawers, in each size. So if you wanted to have 12 pt, 16 pt, and 30 pt in roman, italic, and bold available for a typeface, you'd need 9 drawers of 9 complete alphabets. That's a lot!
This is the organization for the 'California Job Case' which many drawers follow. You can imagine why it takes so long to hand-set something when you look at it.
This last photo is to show you what the type looks like when it's set. You have to place the spacers between words and leads between lines to make for easy reading.
I'm so excited for the next 7 weeks of classes!
all photos via google images.
- What we know in Microsoft Word as 'paragraph spacing' is called 'leading' in typography. In hand-setting type, you place leads in between each line (varying the thickness based on your type size). Thus leading. It's all about the leads.
- The pieces of metal that you set type with -- including the letters, punctuation, etc. -- are called 'sorts.' Benjamin Franklin was a printer and when hand-setting type would occasionally run out of letters (those dang e's are just so common!). Apparently he would get very hot and bothered by this and storm around his shop. Thus, his assistants would see him and say, "Benjamin Franklin must be out of sorts again." And that's why we have that idiom today.
- A 'font' is actually an amount of type. (Microsoft Word brainwashed us all!) The correct term is actually a 'typeface.' (That's going to take getting used to...)
This picture shows how each typeface is stored. Each of these drawers holds the complete alphabet + punctuation for a specific point size of a specific typeface. Roman, Italic, and Bold would all need their own drawers, in each size. So if you wanted to have 12 pt, 16 pt, and 30 pt in roman, italic, and bold available for a typeface, you'd need 9 drawers of 9 complete alphabets. That's a lot!
This is the organization for the 'California Job Case' which many drawers follow. You can imagine why it takes so long to hand-set something when you look at it.
This last photo is to show you what the type looks like when it's set. You have to place the spacers between words and leads between lines to make for easy reading.
I'm so excited for the next 7 weeks of classes!
all photos via google images.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
How cool is this? (No pun intended.)
There is a gallery of photos in the Tribune today showcasing Canada's Hotel de Glace (Ice Hotel). I realize that I regularly share my distaste for the cold, but seriously, this place looks awesome. Maybe only for one night though...
It's a hotel made completely from ice. They rebuild it every year using metal structural supports, packing the snow and ice, letting it freeze around it, and then removing the support. The walls are so thick that it usually stays about 25 degrees inside. Yes, this would require winter coats, etc. But yes, it would be oh so cool. They even supply you with the sleeping bags!
Check out the whole gallery here.
It's a hotel made completely from ice. They rebuild it every year using metal structural supports, packing the snow and ice, letting it freeze around it, and then removing the support. The walls are so thick that it usually stays about 25 degrees inside. Yes, this would require winter coats, etc. But yes, it would be oh so cool. They even supply you with the sleeping bags!
Check out the whole gallery here.
Monday, January 4, 2010
A love letter for you
I came across this cool project called "A love letter for you." It's a series of 40 murals in Philadelphia designed to be viewed from public transportation. It was hard choosing which ones to put up here... therefore I'm showing you lots. Haha. You can check them all out here.
via i love typography
via i love typography
Happy New Year!
How much do I miss sunny, warm Hawaii on days like today? On WEEKS like this week? Oh so very much. Especially when getting warm to your toes means you have to take a shower. The highest temperature we're getting in Chicago this week is 21 degrees. And that's before windchill. Thank goodness for warm clothes and radiators and hot showers!
Oh, and Happy New Year! Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!
Oh, and Happy New Year! Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!
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