Design History 101

Fleur Cowles and the Making of Flair, History’s Most Beautiful Magazine

This story is part of our Weekend Reads series, where we highlight a story we love from the archives. It…

Design History 101

Fleur Cowles and the Making of Flair, History’s Most Beautiful Magazine

Wild risks, a blank checkbook, and one impossibly fabulous editor

Words by
Rachel Syme

Published on
May 20th, 2022

Form Factor

Modern Period Brands Used to Blend In. Now, Like Everything Else, They’re All About Standing Out

In 2015, a few things happened that moved menstruation from the margins and into the center of the cultural conversation.…

Type Tuesday

Olympe Is a Lively Font Inspired by Vintage Typewriters and Greek Mythology

Name: Olympe Designer: Émilie Rigaud Foundry: A is for Release Date: February 2022 Back Story: French type designer Émilie Rigaud founded…

Digital

The Era of Rebellious Web Design Is Here

You might remember Gawker as an aughts-era blog with all the visual hallmarks of that moment’s web design trends: bright…

Design + Gender

Roberta Williams Is the World’s First Graphic Computer Game Designer—But She’s Famous for All the Wrong Reasons

This story is part of our Weekend Reads series, where we highlight a story we love from the archives. It…

Design + Ecology

Every Brand Is a Climate Brand These Days, and That’s Terrible For the Environment

You’re walking through the grocery store after a long day of work and suddenly you’re confronted by a vegan burger…

Typography

Monospaced Fonts Glance in the Rearview Mirror, Then Look Towards the Future

In the last few years, monospaced fonts were suddenly making appearances in editorial and advertising design, showing up everywhere from…

Digital

The Filtered Photo Revival Is a Sign of the Times

If you take a quick look at Olivia Rodrigo’s documentary-film Getting Home 2 U, the cinematography of Euphoria’s second season,…

Design History 101

The Sisterly Collusion Behind Vanessa Bell’s Book Covers for Virginia Woolf

When Virginia Woolf first published her experimental novel Jacob’s Room in 1922, reviewers recoiled at the cover. Her older sister—the…

Editors’ Picks

Design + Money

Why Pay Transparency Matters in Job Negotiations

When Lesley Carter*, 26, first saw the salaries listed in the Graphic Design Salary Transparency Spreadsheet in January 2020, she…

Books

In CAPS LOCK, Ruben Pater Untangles the Relationship Between Graphic Design and Capitalism

Two things about capitalism: graphic design is totally bound up with it; and it really has to end. You won’t…

Design + Gender

What Would a Feminist Alexa Look, or Rather Sound, Like?

In an episode of the beloved animated 1960s sci-fi sitcom The Jetsons, Mrs. Jetson decides that housework is becoming too…

Packaging design

Can Better Labels Really Fix Recycling?

In the United States, the presence of the universal recycling icon on a product might lead an unassuming consumer to…

Op-ed

Every Design Studio Should Be a Worker-Owned Studio

This op-ed was collaboratively penned by Design Action Collective and Partner & Partners. Design Action Collective is a cooperative design…

Design + Politics

The Evolving Legacy of Ken Garland’s First Things First Manifesto

The late Ken Garland’s First Things First manifesto, written in 1963 on the spur of the moment during a public…

Design + Music

The Cultural Capital of Designing For Musicians

Album art and gig posters have evolved beyond simple pieces of graphic design into an integral part of popular culture…

Design + Politics

On the Ground with Etsy Sellers on Strike

Between April 11-18th, thousands of Etsy sellers collectively put their shops on “vacation mode” to protest a 30% increase in…

Ephemera

These Gorgeous 19th Century Seed Catalogs Were a Prescient Form of Advertising

When horticulturist Warner O’Keefe published his annual seed catalog in 1870, he wrote, “We hope, not only prove a valuable…

Type Tuesday

Venice Blvd, a Chunky, Funky Sans Straight Out of Venice Beach and the Boardwalk

Name: Venice Blvd Designers: Amy Hood & Jennifer Hood Foundry: Hoodzpah, Inc. Release date: March 2022 Back Story: While studying…

Graphic design

Who ❋ Needs Words ✎ When You ➰Have Symbols❓

What are you seeing? In-line images and symbols, reminiscent of old chain ⛓ letter 💌 text messages or everybody’s favorite…

Illustration

A New Wave of Cartoons By Women Artists Unpacks the Joys and Anxieties of Our Lives

Something about the world feels a bit askew right now. Perhaps it is the exhaustion left in the wake of…