As editorial director at AIGA, I keep tabs on all the design news (so you don’t have to) and bring you only the best bits. Behold: my hit list of the most interesting things I’ve seen, read, and watched this week. Follow along all day every day on Instagram @AIGAdesign and Twitter @AIGAdesign. 

This week I…

…support AIGA Medalist Seymour Chwast’s War With War, a book that will feature new, never-before-seen work by the Push Pin legend (if it gets funded on Kickstarter). The reward tiers are pretty sweet, and include some choice vintage prints from Chwast’s personal collection.

…doff my hat to AIGA Medalist Robert Brownjohn’s daughter Eliza, who lovingly archived her dad’s work online so we can scroll through his smart, cheeky Pepsi ads, Rolling Stones album covers, and James Bond film titles (among many others) in one place. Be warned: there are tons of large files on the site, so click the link and go pour yourself a drink while you wait for them to load (BJ would approve).

…keep an eyebrow firmly raised at MoMA’s announcement that its current expansion will not abolish design exhibitions altogether, even if it has done away with a dedicated design section in the museum—something they’re calling a “gentle reconfiguration,” language that smacks a bit too much of Gwyneth Paltrow’s “conscious uncoupling” for me to totally believe. (See Fast Co’s quick history of the evolution of museum curation for background.)

…take a break from all the $20 bill redesign hate with this fun, ranty (in a good way) article that breaks down all the design gaffes in the bill’s history (as far as women are concerned) including: a weirdly chilled-out Lady Liberty, the very politically incorrect baptism of Pocahontas, and Alexander Hamilton’s droopy man pony.

…don’t know what’s sadder: the fact that these major companies seemingly copied a bunch of logos from the ‘70s, something an Alibaba VP pointed out earlier this week, or the Twitter comment that defends designers by basically saying there are only so many ways to render a letterform so eventually all logos will look alike. Which is like saying hey, there are only so many colors of paint, so eventually all paintings will look alike.

…won’t surprise anyone by saying I’ve been keenly following the online-mag-to-print-mag design evolution of Tablet by Pentagram partner Luke Hayman, whose smart and elegant translation of the Jewish culture publication from digital to analog may not be for everyone, but, as he points out, “if you make a magazine for everyone, you round the corners. Everyone is ‘fine’ with it, but no one is passionate about it.” 

 

…wish more interviews read like It’s Nice That’s chat with the Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared characters, Yellow Guy, Red Guy, and Duck. Hey Duck, you’re not the only one who’s scared of Planet Hollywood and loves street magic. #soulmates