tl;dr #016
The One Where Everyone Returned Slightly More Tanned and DEFINITELY NOT Sunburnt.
Hot off the press! First edition of the year!
It’s only been four weeks, but 2022 also feels like it’s been going for four months… amirite? Still, we’re holding onto our new year’s resolutions and no newsletter goes untouched. This year things are gonna change. Instead of that ad-hoc 2021 energy, we’re on a new rhythm and you can expect a consistent monthly newsletter in your inbox. Delivery will be consistent, at least. Content always was, and always will be, a hot mess of vibe, weekly observations and in-jokes with a splash of shade. Because we didn’t want to totally reinvent ourselves... you know?
That’s enough ramble. Here it is. TL;DR Edition 16 (Edition 1 for 2022, at least). Go on. Eat your heart out.
#graphic-design-is-my-passion
Things have been pretty quiet on the graphic design front the last few weeks. Like getting out of bed once you hit your mid-30s, our #GDIMP Slack channel apparently needs a hot minute to warm up and stretch its legs before jumping into it all, as it were.
One thing that has been discussed is the apparent truism that as much as having a “+” as “t” or a “T” in your logo might seem like a good idea — as much as you want it to work on, like, a mathematical/engineer-y graphic design craft-type level — it just almost universally and always is decidedly not one in practice. While it might seem clever (“You get it, right? It’s a plus? But also, like, a T? 😀”) it’s always clunky and impractical and all-too-geometric and too-clever-by-half and causes more pain than good. It comes down to the subtle delta between what works metrically (what is mathematically sound) and what works empirically (what our eyes enjoy); something we intuitively internalise more and more through experience. It’s the reason that type is always a little bit wonky, tapered, or off-kilter (even the most “geometric” typefaces have quirks baked in purely to please the eye.) It’s the exact reason Novax Djokovitch’s logo works about as well as his attempt to illegally enter Australia, while Fed’s logo was so great he bought it back off Nike. It’s also why Tissot hasn’t made the seemingly obvious jump to reconcile its three T’s.
Few exceptions prove the rule here, like FTP’s StreamTime (which isn’t a plus, so.)
Oh, we also noticed that Blaze Type re-emerged onto the ‘net with big Legend of Zelda energy. 🤙🏽
#code-city
On a cold winter's night Dog was visited by Santa san (サンタさん) over the Christmas break and ended up scoring one of those VR headsets that are all the craze these days with them neckbeard folk (Santa san clearly didn’t check his list twice this year), and like a true cave dweller was excited about the prospect of next gen e-commerce and potentials this technology could have in the looming Metaverse.
The technology that makes all these fever dreams of walking down the aisle of a virtual supermarket (but in ya web browser) a reality is called WebXR.
WebXR is an open source JavaScript API and web specification that defines how a web browser can access the sensors and display on a VR/ AR device that is either tethered to a computer like an Oculus Quest 2 or straight from a web browser on the device itself such as a smartphone. This means you can have a website that you can visit on any capable VR/ AR device and it should just work™. It can then be used in conjunction with WebGL (a 3D graphics rendering API for the browser) to create fully immersive and interactive 3D environments that run right in your Chromes or your Safaris and can be accessed anywhere in the world, meaning this tech is pretty much accessible to anyone with a phone and an internet connection.
It’s currently still in early development and has only partial support by Chrome browsers and android phones at this point in time.
This WebXR emulator chrome extension will help get some of the web examples working for you if you’ve already got a headset
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/webxr-api-emulator/mjddjgeghkdijejnciaefnkjmkafnnje?hl=en
This was also pretty helpful.
#vibe
Last week, the nation (Australia in this case) collectively experienced a ‘please-tell-me-this-is-a-Betoota-Advocate-article’ moment after PM Scott Morrison proposed that children should be allowed to drive forklifts to help ease supply chain workforce shortages. He’s since retreated from this suggestion after it was met with unanimous rejection and considered a “dangerous brain fart.”
We digress, tl;dr is a #happy place for #learning and good #vibe(s). So rather than get political, let’s take a moment to appreciate the beautiful beasts that roam warehouse aisles around the world. What does it actually take to drive a forklift? Before Scomo’s proposal, when was the last time you thought about forklifts? Will we perish one day, not knowing a single thing about forklifts? I bet you didn’t even know forklift rodeos existed.
First, a little experiment: here are few forklifts from the LAM fam, drawn from memory:
A few facts about our forklift friends:
These bigbois use rear-wheel steering for better stability, as the front wheels carry the load. This means it’s easier to manoeuvre in tight aisles. It probably also means you could do some sick donuts.
Because of the rear-wheel steering and its weight (a thicc 4000kg, 3x heavier than the average car) forklifts aren’t very responsive and can’t turn too quickly, as the forklift’s booty tends to swing out.
Forklift drivers spend a lot of time driving in reverse, due to large loads obscuring their vision. Some fancy forklifts have cool rotatable swivel seats to help with this, and with back pain.
Forklifts are misunderstood. Everyone thinks they just go round impaling cars and smashing palettes, but they also have a gentler side.
Forklifts, you are seen. You are appreciated.
#processes-and-platforms
Processes and platforms for a good summer? Sorry to leave you hanging, but better late than never, right? Here are some hot tips from IRL. Get to the beach, remove excess clothing, apply sunscreen (and moderation), read a book, make fun of cheug-AF sunnies, and finally soak oneself in a large body of water. That, or Do Nada.
All that’s to say, we did those things, they worked out and we’re back b. You’re welcome. New Year, New Jokes are we right? Wrong. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. LESSSSHGO. This year, we’re sprinting in sandy footed, with a host of brand new templates for dev, design and production, we have ambitions for over 10, but under 20, side projects, global domination, and maybe an award or pat on the head.
In arguably more useful processes and platforms news, we’ve just upgraded to a Figma Organisation plan, so we can share fonts (there are other reasons, but that’s for sure the main one). We’re still getting our heads around this new comments feature, but one thing’s for sure, it’s made Hypercollaborative™ look and feel a whole lot of ways, don’t you think?
If you’re an OG follower/fan, you’ll know that mid-last year the LAM hive mind became big fans of Richard Feynman. Not because bongos, definitely not because this, but rather because explanations. We’ve been adopting the Feyman Technique to explain literally everything we think we can, and this year on Substack we’ve got a whole lot planned on a range of topics through our Attempts to Explain series. So, if you want all that goodness, and some mo’, don’t miss a beat (bongo call back), subscribe.
tl;dr
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