Comic Sans is actually quite a controversial font, considering it’s quirkiness. Not that I would ever use it. It has been over (ab)used and often doesn’t fit the bill. Via ban comic sans I stumbled upon an interesting short documentary about it.

Insanely increase the speed with which Photoshop operates by using a RAID card with one or more SSD harddrives. These solid state disks are extremely reliable (30 years of continued performance), do not generate heat, are not noisy (no moving parts) and are extremely fast. They used to be extremely high priced, but a 32 Gb SSD card for around 100 bucks has become a whole lot more affordable. And 32 gigs is plenty of space for a swap drive - you could always hook another up like that. How and what has been blogged by Scott “ISO50″ Hansen in his article SSD + RAID = Performance Photoshop. Read it and weep!

A very detailed and interesting article over on SmashingMagazine about redesigning Craigslist. A very popular and very outdated-looking website. No doubt you heard about it, haven’t you? I know you did! Never made use of it, especially not after all these Uhh Yeah Dude podcasts about Craigslist.

In this article, we’ll take a detailed look at the design, layout and usability of Craigslist and point out some areas where we feel change and improvement are possible. This is only one opinion of what could be done to improve the site. Our goal is to demonstrate the process of evaluating a website in certain areas and determining specific improvements that can be made. Hopefully this will help other designers who are attempting to evaluate websites of their own or of clients.

Dan Reynolds released his new typeface Malabar today. It’s already available as regular, bold, italic, bold italic, heavy and heavy italic. Reynolds on Malabar;

The family grew out of Martel, a multi-script project that I created on the MA Typeface Design course at the University of Reading in 2008. Malabar received a Certificate of Excellence in Type Design at the Type Directors Club of New York TDC² competition in 2009.

You’ll find much more information and details on Dan Reynolds’ TypeOff blog.

One map that really gets me going is the Panamap. The way the creators used lens technology is quite clever.

You know those birthday cards or special edition DVD covers which displays different images under different angles? All very much fun ‘n all that - but Urban Mapping Inc. has actually put it to good use.

By cutting each layer of information up into tiny slits and introducing them to a lens you can tilt the map to get the information you are looking for instead of having three seperate maps. They call it Mapaction™ technology.

To be honoust, the technology was already there. But hey, who cares? This map is awesome.

Perhaps you have seen or heard about this book; The Atlas of Experience. It’s a book, well, atlas filled with maps on human emotions.

It’s been quite a hit in the Netherlands. The company behind it even creates fictional maps for businesses.

They also have wall maps. Though many are already sold out. Their topics are more boardroom-like too.

A favorite stop on the internet is the Strange Maps blog. A place where you’ll find, well, strange maps.

It’s curious to see how information can be made visual through the use of a map. In one way maps aren’t different from other types of data visualization.

One book in particular - Data Flow from Gestalten - has some awesome examples. It collects works that transcend the space between design and data visualization.

Not only has it iconic designs, but there are also a number of unique maps in it. Check out the links for more pictures.

Gasp! I almost forgot; the Tokyo Railway Calendar by Zero Per Zero. Pictured above is the calendar from 2007, currently the 2009 version has not been released yet.

This is the most awesome of maps I have ever seen… so far. Tokyo has over 1500 stations. Can you imagine that? Zero Per Zero also have maps from Osaka, Seoul and New York.

I want one! I ordered one!

If you have more awesome examples of maps, atlasses or websites to check out - do not hesitate to drop us a line!

Nobody passes up free stuff, do they? If you agree, head on over to Grain Edit. Today will see a new giveaway. Last time they gave away some class-a goodies.

You design. You draw. You illustrate. You film. You craft. You need to make money. That can be pretty challenging if you haven’t got a platform to launch from. Say a website, a shop, or knowledge of XHTML. Let alone getting customers! Maybe you don’t like the production process, or you love the production process but don’t like setting up shop. Well then, here’s a nice list for you (illustrators, crafts(wo)men, designers and anyone else) to sell your goods. It’s a bit like websites to showcase your work, but the difference is here you can actually make a buck or two.

inPRNT! - http://www.inprnt.com/

Great for designers, illustrators, photographers and other 2D artists. Beta, not open to submissions just yet.

inPRNT is a service that was created to help artists. We want to make creating and distributing art as easy as waking up and putting your shoes on. Artists are free to signup for an account and submit prints to the gallery.

Read the full story…

Cargo is the system behind SpaceCollective. This personal publishing platform is now in beta, you’ll have to request an account at the website. More information from the Cargo website:

Cargo evolved out of the system that runs the SpaceCollective community. We found it remarkably successful and efficient in creating visual content on the web, placing a strong emphasis on design, layout, image quality and typography. Our goal is to dramatically increase the accessibility and exposure of creative individuals on the Internet, while aspiring to build a networked context that will contribute to the culture as a whole.

We’ll be looking at O.K. Parking’s O.K. Periodical #2: Failure. The first time we’re (re?)viewing a magazine on Pixelkink (PK). Payed for it. Got it in the mail. Read it and made pictures. Every single issue is unique. The magazine’s production process was designed to do just that. Every cover has been treated with an extra coat of ink, each pattern is different. And the first 32 pages have been exposed to printing errors. I can only imagine the look on a printer’s face when they asked him to do this. But Ando B.V. did a good job. The 120 grams paper the magazine was printed on is smooth and matte and it has a sturdy bind by Hexspoor. Here you see the cover of the version I got. The topic being failure, it even included a torn page, or well, it’s remnants. It’s a decent 96 pages and everything has been documented well. There are a couple of typo’s here and there, mostly missing letters - but then again, it is about failure…

Read the full story…

French documentary makers and a team of interaction designers have launched digup•tv yesterday, featuring video interviews and editorials in HD quality with all sorts people from every nook and cranny of the creative industry.

digup•tv conducts surveys, enters production studios, and gives the floor to designers, artists and researchers. The publication deals with creation processes, and shows a new light on a changing world, invaded by codes, signs, screens and messages. Relationships between commerce, art, science and technology are being formulated again in this universe. It is a human adventure…

Watch their trailer on digup•tv or right here: