Thoughts | the mehallo blog. beta.

Alta California: Named after a newspaper

Alta California office, San Francisco 1851; found via Flickr

At one point in my life, I was going to be a journalist. So folly along . . . .

I love history, so every one of my fonts falls into some historical category (or categories, if you look at Jeanne Moderno).

Alta California is my artist’s response to Susan Kare’s early Macintosh font, San Francisco. And it was a tricky build, as I was literally going thru book after book after book of old types – then messing them up, then messing them up more; and redrawing the edges until I had what I wanted.

(Please note, when it comes to ‘grunge typography’ – I don’t trust anything automatic; I’ve always gone in and tweaked the edges until I have something that looks – printed. Printed poorly, but printed.) [Read more →]

Tags: design history, education, fonts, publication design, thoughts, typography by steve
1 comment . . .

Bottled

‘Life summarized in 4 bottles.’

Found via Blame it on the Voices

Tags: photography, thoughts by steve
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Bad shoes?

Heels from Alexander McQueen’s 2010 spring collection

Extreme shoes: Follow the debate over at The New York Times.

Tags: design, fashion, thoughts by steve
2 comments . . .

A Joe’s primer

Once upon a time in Northern California, there were a bunch of restaurants that went under the moniker of Joe’s . . .

Not Mel’s, but Joe’s.

The food: Italian, the atmosphere dark, the portions large. The waiters in suits and ties.

eat at joe’s
I used to eat at them with my father. They weren’t all owned by the same people, just adapted the Joe’s name and served variations of Italian food. Old school California Italian food. Joe’s history is legendary and Joe’s Special is still a staple on menus throughout the region: [Read more →]

Tags: cool finds, culinary, fonts, thoughts by steve
6 comments . . .

Blackbird

‘Just be nice to people. Not because you think it will get you into heaven. Just because it’s right.’ -Natasha Newton, Blackbird Sings

This is one of my favorite quotes. It was posted under ‘Religious Views’ on the Facebook page for UK-based visual artist Natasha Newton. And if one could have the title of ‘social networking ambassador,’ it should go this particular blackbird.

myspace came first
I didn’t trust MySpace. I’d heard about the freaks, the stalkers, the time wasted. But it was Natasha’s simple page that said to me, MySpace isn’t as stupid as it seems to be. She was the first one I followed out to Twitter. Because she does it right. [Read more →]

Tags: art, illustration, photography, thoughts, typography by steve
11 comments . . .

Annie is Deranged

It’s not often one can write a hedline like that.

Sacramento native Annie Rose runs the Deranged Designs fashion studio – and has been doing it a long time.

Her look is punk, her work is prolific, she’s constantly expanding her collection and her approach comes with your basic underground punk doesn’t take shit attitude. But in her case, a really nice doesn’t take shit attitude. Annie is probably one of the nicest punks I’ve ever met. [Read more →]

Tags: cool finds, design, fashion, thoughts by steve
3 comments . . .

In defense of MySpace: good music, art and real shit

‘The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought.’ -Sir Thomas Beecham

My current taste in music comes from too much exposure to MySpace. Music keeps me designing. Keeps me focused. Keeps me in The Zone.

My music picks bounce around a lot. They’re personal. The one constant: I won’t sync with a new band until I’ve been to their MySpace page and test driven.

Unfortunately, I keep seeing remarks/writings/commentary that MySpace is in its 15th minute. Which is such the 21st Century Thing To Do, isn’t it? [Read more →]

Tags: art, cool finds, design, music, thoughts by steve
5 comments . . .

National Banned Books Week

Bebel Platz’s Berlin memorial to Nazi book burning; even the font used in the memorial used to piss off the Nazis

This week is The American Library Association’s Banned Books Week. Here’s a link to the 11 Most Ironically Banned Books of All Time. Go read something that might change your view of the world. Something you shouldn’t be allowed to read. [Read more →]

Tags: design history, education, events, thoughts by steve
1 comment . . .