The iconic and era-defining work of Milton Glaser

Just as what is arguably his most iconic and well-known work gets updated (perhaps ineffectively) and a new anthology of his work is released, The New Yorker has a comprehensive profile on Milton Glaser by Adam Gopnik:

No art director’s work was more influential or instantly identifiable than that of Milton Glaser. The extent of that style, which adorned books and records and movies—and is revealed in a new anthology from Monacelli, courtesy of Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber, titled simply “Milton Glaser: Pop”—is astounding. Glaser was famous as the co-founder and original design director of ‘New York’ and as a creator of two images that helped define two decades. One was the 1966 poster of Bob Dylan that showed him with snakelike hair blossoming into a skein of rainbows. The other was the 1976 “I❤️NY” logo—which was commissioned by the State of New York but promptly adopted as a local symbol of the city, and, being keyed to the city’s unexpected revival, is the closest thing there has ever been to a logo that changed social history.

But Glaser’s real achievement lies in what the book lays out: a breathtaking empire of imagery that encompassed both decades and more. Anyone who came of age in the sixties and seventies will be astonished to discover that so much of the look of the time was specifically the work of Milton Glaser and Push Pin Studios, which he founded with Seymour Chwast and Edward Sorel and then oversaw.

Reading the above intro to the profile I can’t help but wonder, is that the last time the graphic design on a poster or a logo had that much impact and influence?

Tech as Art: Supporting Artists Who Use Technology as a Creative Medium

The report Tech as Art: Supporting Artists Who Use Technology as a Creative Medium, presents findings from a field scan commissioned in 2019 by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Ford Foundation and the Knight Foundation:

This report is the result of a two-year research initiative exploring the multifaceted creative practices of artists who engage with digital technologies. The research examines the creative infrastructure supporting tech-focused artistic practices and provides insight into the existing challenges and opportunities faced by artists and organizations working at the intersection of arts and technology.

The report (available here) shares detailed findings; identifies challenges; and ends with recommendations for different stakeholder groups, including funders, arts practitioners, policymakers, and educators. Of particular interest to me is the section addressing artists creating projects within and between virtual worlds using extended reality technologies to create completely new forms of art experiences never seen before.

The following essays were commissioned as a companion to the report:

“Recoding the Master’s Tools: Artists Remake Systems of Oppression and Extraction in Technology” by Vanessa Chang

“How Artists Can Bridge the Digital Divide and Reimagine Humanity” by Agnes Chavez

“Teaching the Co-Creators of a New Economy from Lincoln, Nebraska” by Megan Elliott

“Artist Perspective: Building Afrocentric Technoculture and Community” by Ari Melenciano

“Space, Time, Sustainability, Community: Giving Digital Artists What They Need” by Stephanie Pereira

“How the Arts Sector Can Support Transformational Technology” by Omari Rush

“Funder Perspective: Broadening Support for Arts and Technology” by Eleanor Savage

“Future World-building Depends on Artists and Collaborative Networks” by Kamal Sinclair

“Where Is the Public Discourse Around Art and Technology?” by Hrag Vartanian

“A Call-to-Action in STEAM Education” by S. Craig Watkins

Building the next computing user interface

Craig Grannell, writing for Wired UK, delves into Apple’s announcements during the recently concluded World Wide Developer Conference and what role they may have in making audio the next big user interface:

This infatuation with audio is also a refreshing change in a world routinely obsessed with what you see rather than what you hear. We’re so often informed about innovations in AR and VR, dazzling environments and visual immersion. But voice UI and audio are just as important –and, in some ways, more so when you consider Apple’s reasoning regarding focus and clarity.

Much of what you can glean from AR you can get from audio, and with fewer distractions. An always-on AR overlay can be disruptive and in your face. It changes how you experience and interact with the world, in a not necessarily positive fashion. Audio input, by contrast, is fleeting and focused. It enhances the concept of mindful and meaningful tech use, in context, unlike equipping all humans with a heads-up display. Bose tried something similar with its Frames audio glasses, but couldn’t stay the course.

A counterpoint argument is that Apple Glasses are long-rumoured and may appear in the near future. But, even then, it’s the union of the senses combined with the foundations Apple is laying that will make them all the more powerful. Apple is being considered about the audio layer to the point than if visuals are added, the company will have a big advantage over rivals trying to do everything at once – or, worse, multiple organisations attempting to combine fragmented resources to achieve the same goal. Plus, importantly, Apple has that sense of focus.

While Grannell focused on audio, the work Apple is doing for accessibility across all their devices and operating systems is what resonates with me. In a special 10 minute session titled Accessibility by design: An Apple Watch for everyone Apple engineers and designers highlight their approach to accessible design, iteration and community engagement.

I suggest you watch the whole session, but if you prefer you can jump ahead to around the 6 minute mark, where you can see the Apple Watch team addressing this question ‘could we create a completely gesture-based human-to-computer interaction?’ and see what they achieved using four very simple hand gestures to fully control the watch, which feels like an evolved version of hand tracking for head mounted displays.

That pursuit of “gesture-based human-to-computer interactions” sounds very much like the development of a new user interface. Between the accessibility features on AirPods Pro with spatial audio and the accessibility features on Apple Watch and the many years of accessibility design work, Apple appears to be introducing features that are helpful to many right now, while simultaneously getting everyone used to those features and how they work. In the process creating the human interface for spatial computing.

The simple genius of a good graphic

In a talk that's part history lesson, part love letter to graphics, information designer Tommy McCall traces the centuries-long evolution of charts and diagrams -- and shows how complex data can be sculpted into beautiful shapes. "Graphics that help us think faster, or see a book's worth of information on a single page, are the key to unlocking new discoveries," McCall says.

In a talk that's part history lesson, part love letter to graphics, information designer Tommy McCall traces the centuries-long evolution of charts and diagrams -- and shows how complex data can be sculpted into beautiful shapes. "Graphics that help us think faster, or see a book's worth of information on a single page, are the key to unlocking new discoveries," McCall says.

One Small Step for the Web… Tim Berners-Lee launches Solid

Tim Berners- Lee, inventor of the Web, launches Solid via Medium post:

I’ve always believed the web is for everyone. That’s why I and others fight fiercely to protect it. The changes we’ve managed to bring have created a better and more connected world. But for all the good we’ve achieved, the web has evolved into an engine of inequity and division; swayed by powerful forces who use it for their own agendas.

Today, I believe we’ve reached a critical tipping point, and that powerful change for the better is possible — and necessary.

This is why I have, over recent years, been working with a few people at MIT and elsewhere to develop Solid, an open-source project to restore the power and agency of individuals on the web.

Solid changes the current model where users have to hand over personal data to digital giants in exchange for perceived value. As we’ve all discovered, this hasn’t been in our best interests. Solid is how we evolve the web in order to restore balance — by giving every one of us complete control over data, personal or not, in a revolutionary way.

Solid is a platform, built using the existing web. It gives every user a choice about where data is stored, which specific people and groups can access select elements, and which apps you use. It allows you, your family and colleagues, to link and share data with anyone. It allows people to look at the same data with different apps at the same time.

Solid unleashes incredible opportunities for creativity, problem-solving and commerce. It will empower individuals, developers and businesses with entirely new ways to conceive, build and find innovative, trusted and beneficial applications and services. I see multiple market possibilities, including Solid apps and Solid data storage.