Personal Notebook
NYT: How PowerPoint has infiltrated the US military
Commanders say that the slides impart less information than a five-page paper can hold, and that they relieve the briefer of the need to polish writing to convey an analytic, persuasive point. Imagine lawyers presenting arguments before the Supreme Court in slides instead of legal briefs.
Dan Hill’s Monocle design notes
Deciding to filter, reflect and craft rather than immerse the user in a constant flow of data in lieu of information.
Edward Tufte Presidential Appointment
“Mission statement: To promote accountability by coordinating and conducting oversight of Recovery funds to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse and to foster transparency on Recovery spending by providing the public with accurate, user-friendly information.”
Dr. Vannevar Bush’s 1945 article is amazing to read on a computer connected to the world wide web. Even more so on an iPhone.
Two-meal diet aids in oldest man’s longevity
“You get in the habit of not eating at night, and you realize how good you feel. If you could just tell people not to eat so darn much.”
IKEA Changes Fonts, Outrage Ensues
After brewing on Twitter and on typography and design blogs for the last couple weeks, the New York Times picked up the story about how IKEA has replaced the venerable font Futura with Microsoft’s Verdana screen font.
Yet it can’t be denied: Ikea is trading away a font with a tradition of modernist design, having elaborate associations, for one that has only one major association: with the computer screen. This is so offensive to many because it seems like a slap at the principles of design by a company that has been hailed for its adherence to them. It is, detractors say, an embrace of homogeneity and globalization, betraying all allegiance to the Ikea warehouse style that coats its version of modernity with a veneer of Swedish idiosyncrasy.
I’ll be curious to see how IKEA reacts, beyond press statements. If you are known for good design, things like this matter.