I find it fascinating that two of the most advanced, well funded technology companies on the planet--Google and Amazon--get headlines for attempting to create a service which, for the most part, replicates what the United States Postal Service, UPS, and FedEX already provide to 99.9 percent of the United States and much of the world.

Sure, I can see lots of altruistic applications for Google and Amazon drone deliveries to remote locations-it's just ironic that getting to a place and dropping something off (as a money-making proposition) seems to command such attention by the media (especially when you consider what it will ultimately take to deliver even a 10 pound package by drone). Or, for that matter, to deliver a couple of sheets of paper to an individual house for less than half-a-dollar.

Here > http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/17/google-working-on-new-drone-after-wing-design-failed/

Be well,

Chuck

On the 500th anniversary of his death, there is some recent recognition of printer and innovator, Aldus Manutius. (Also, of course, the namesake of the Aldus Corporation, developers of the PageMaker desktop publishing program, and others, that were folded into the Adobe suite of tools when the two merged in 1994.)

Who created the first italic typeface? In her article on Aldus and the exhibit from the New York Times, Jennifer Schuessler tells us...

"Most of Aldus's contributions to the art of printing are more subtle, like that first italic typeface, which he created with the type cutter Francesco Griffo, a shadowy fellow who broke with Aldus acrimoniously and then slugged a man to death with an iron bar before reputedly meeting his own demise at the end of a hangman's rope. Italics, which were intended to mimic the humanist handwriting of the day, first appeared in a modest five words in a 1500 edition of the letters of St. Catherine and soon spread to other Aldines, and beyond."

Thanks to Roger Black for pointing us to it.

The exhibit, "Aldus Manutius: A Legacy More Lasting Than Bronze," is at The Grolier Club in New York City...

Here > http://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/02/27/arts/design/20150227ALDUS-slide-CP0W/20150227ALDUS-slide-CP0W-superJumbo.jpg

In case you're in New York City, the exhibit runs through April 25, 2015...

Here > http://www.grolierclub.org/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=289914&ssid=169184&vnf=1

About the Grolier Club...

Here > http://www.grolierclub.org/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=268768&ssid=136857&vnf=1

A Tribute to the Printer Aldus Manutius, and the Roots of the Paperback by Jennifer Schuessler at the New York Times...

Here > http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/arts/design/a-grolier-club-tribute-to-the-printer-aldus-manutius.html?_r=0

From John Hockenberry's The Take Away, a discussion about Aldus Manutius: The Steve Jobs of the Renaissance: Meet The Man Who Set Books Free...

Here > http://www.thetakeaway.org/story/aldus-manutius-and-birth-paperback/

Yes, there is an Aldus typeface...

Here > http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/linotype/aldus/?refby=ib

That's the subject of a thoughtful post from the Society for News Design (SND) by Paul Wallen, senior designer at ESPN magazine. I found particularly interesting, the varying opinions stated by some of the artists, designers, and art directors he invited to contribute.

Design plagiarism: Myth or reality? by Paul Wallen...

Here > http://www.snd.org/2013/09/design-plagiarism-myth-or-reality/

Google has announced some significant changes in its search result algorithm. First of all it is including, "content from indexed apps more prominently in search". And second, beginning April 21st, it is, expanding its use of "mobile-friendliness" as a ranking signal.

In other words, whether it applies or not (some complex apps clearly do not lend themselves to a mobile interface), you need to have a mobile solution of some kind to achieve the highest search engine optimization.

Thanks for Karla Humphrey for pointing us to it.

Google's Mobile-Friendly Test page...

Here > https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

Official news regarding, "Finding more mobile-friendly search results"..

Here > http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2015/02/finding-more-mobile-friendly-search.html

A couple of provisos via Search Engine Land: The algorithm is on a "page-by-page basis and runs in real-time, which eases the concerns of many webmasters"...

Here > http://searchengineland.com/google-mobile-friendly-ranking-factor-runs-real-time-page-page-basis-216100

Honestly, I did not know "Acme" actually has a meaning. 

For some reason I always thought it was a named adopted by companies that wanted to appear at the beginning of alphabetical listings (or appear in Road Runner cartoons).

To my surprise, the actual definition is "the culminating point, as of achievement or excellence; summit; peak" (thefreedictionary.com)...

Want to learn the tools of the design trade?

Take a free test drive of Lynda.com here...

Here > http://www.lynda.com/promo/trial/Default.aspx?lpk35=7840&utm_medium=ldc-partner&utm_source=SSPRC&utm_content=655&utm_campaign=CD4245&bid=655&aid=CD4245

Take, for example, the case of Harry Wingfield, a somewhat obscure English illustrator who lived between 1910 and 2002. Certainly presidents and potentates influence the lives of children, but imagine the enormity of the influence this man, who illustrated children's books that sold 80 million copies worldwide, had on those readers.

Not that they all know Wingfield's name-but that they see the world, in some small way, through his eyes. The realistic images he created through his idyllic minds-eye allowed the reader, not to experience the reality of the situation, but to imagine what it might be like.

While researching its publisher, Ladybird Books, I stumbled on an article by John Grindrod from his blog Dirty Modern Scoundrel, dedicated to the rebuilding of postwar Britain. In a discussion of "Ladybird Books obsession with modernism," he writes, "With their warm and sensible illustrations and no-nonsense prose, Ladybird has an incredible knack of bringing together the historical and the contemporary, the fairy-tale and the starkly realistic, taking the fear out of everything and showing a unified, positive and optimistic vision of life. And so this selection of images portrays a top ten in that mould: The Ladybird Book of Postwar Rebuilding."

Now imagine the influence today of the people who are conceiving the ideas, creating the user interfaces, and doing the illustrating. What enormous, unsung influence they have.

Example 1...

Here > https://d3l2rivt3pqnj2.cloudfront.net/highres_images/kingandmcgaw/4/3/436309.jpg

Example 2...

Here > https://www.flickr.com/photos/larkingabout/405159691/sizes/z/

Example 3...

Here > https://www.flickr.com/photos/larkingabout/414342364/sizes/l

John Grindrod...

Here > http://dirtymodernscoundrel.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-ladybird-book-of-postwar-rebuilding.html

315 template files in 19 different categories -- Everything from brochures, newsletters, and direct mail to packaging, calendars, and books (one CD works with both Mac and PC). Use two or three files and you'll pay for the entire book and disc...

For Adobe InDesign

Here > http://www.ideabook.com/the_indesign_ideabook_59.html

Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Group, talks about, "looking for those tiny things that may or may not work, but which, if they do work, can have a success absolutely out of proportion to their expense, their efforts and the disruption they cause."

I love this. Thanks to Jim Green for pointing us to it.

Rory Sutherland: Sweat the small stuff...

Here > https://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_sweat_the_small_stuff?language=en

Sutherland's website...

Here > http://www.thewikiman.com/

And his Twitter feed...

Here > https://twitter.com/rorysutherland

Ever sharing, Michael Flarup of Pixelresort has released an Apple Watch icon template for use with Photoshop...

Here > http://appicontemplate.com/watch

It's a joy (and an education) to look back at the work of one of the pioneers of modern graphic design-Paul Rand. His combinations of ideas and bold illustrations started a new era in design. His influence is everywhere.

(Think he'll run for President in 2016? Oh, that's the other Paul Rand.)

Example 1...

Here > http://www.paul-rand.com/foundation/ads/#prettyPhoto[Stafford]/32/

Example 2...

Here > http://www.paul-rand.com/foundation/ads/#prettyPhoto[babo]/0/

Example 3...

Here > http://www.paul-rand.com/foundation/ads/#prettyPhoto[pennbrite]/1/

These are just a tiny sampling of ads. There is a massive amount of work here-The Paul Rand website...

Here > http://www.paul-rand.com/

Working With Rand...

Here > https://vimeo.com/120619209

The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and Adobe have published some interesting insights into (via its Designer of 2015 project), among other things, the necessary competencies of a designer. Don't miss it.

A list of competencies...

Here > http://www.aiga.org/designer-of-2015-competencies/

Designer of 2015 Trends...

Here > http://www.aiga.org/designer-of-2015-trends/

Defining the Designer of 2015...

Here > http://www.aiga.org/designer-of-2015/

Defining the Studio of 2015...

Here > http://www.aiga.org/studio-of-2015/