Linotype Pilgrim
@symbo1ics.bsky.social
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symbo1ics.bsky.social
Paul Rand, "Thoughts on Design":

Folio: 9

Heading (in margin):
The Beautiful and the Useful

Text:
(laid out as free verse, while Rand is in poetic mode)

Graphic design—
which fulfills esthetic needs,
complies with the laws of form
and the exigencies of two-dimensional space;
which speaks in semiotics, sans-serifs,
and geometrics;
which abstracts, transforms, translates,
rotates, dilates, repeats, mirrors,
groups, and regroups—
is not good design
if it is irrelevant.

Graphic design—
which evokes the symmetria of Vitruvius,
the dynamic symmetry of Hambidge,
the asymmetry of Mondrian;
which is a good gestalt;
which is generated by intuition or by computer,
by invention or by a system of co-ordinates—
is not good design
if it does not co-operate
as an instrument
in the service of communication.

Visual communications of any kind, whether persuasive or informative, from billboards to birth announcements, should be seen as the embodiment of form and function: the integration of the beautiful and the useful. In an advertisement, copy, art, and typography are seen as a living entity; each element integrally related, in harmony with the whole, and essential to the execution of the idea. Like a juggler, the designer demonstrates his skills by manipulating these ingredients in a given space. Whether this space takes the form of advertisements, periodicals, books, printed forms, packages, industrial products, signs, or TV billboards, the criteria are the same.

That the separation of form and function, of concept and execution, is not likely to produce objects of esthetic value has been repeatedly demonstrated. Similarly, it has been shown that the system which regards esthetics as irrelevant, which separates the artist from his product, 

(continued in 2nd image)
which fragments the work of the individual, which creates by committee, and which makes mincemeat of the creative process will, in the long run, diminish not only the product but the maker as well.

John Dewey, commenting on the relationship between fine art and useful or technological art, says: “That many, perhaps most, of the articles and utensils made at present for use are not genuinely esthetic happens, unfortunately, to be true. But it is true for reasons that are foreign to the relation of the ‘beautiful’ and ‘useful’ as such. Wherever conditions are such as to prevent the act of production from being an experience in which the whole creature is alive and in which he possesses his living through enjoyment, the product will lack something of being esthetic. No matter how useful it is for special and limited ends, it will not be useful in the ultimate degree—that of contributing directly and liberally to an expanding and enriched life.”[1]

The esthetic requirements to which Dewey refers are, it seems to me, exemplified in the work of the Shakers. Their religious beliefs provided the fertile soil in which beauty and utility could flourish. Their spiritual needs found expression in the design of fabrics, furniture, and utensils of great esthetic value. These products are a document of the simple life of the people, their asceticism, their restraint, their devotion to fine craftsmanship, and their feeling for proportion, space, and order.

Ideally, beauty and utility are mutually generative. In the past, rarely was beauty an end in itself. The magnificent stained glass windows of Chartres were no less utilitarian than was the Parthenon or the Pyramid of Cheops. The function of the exterior decoration of the great Gothic cathedrals was to invite entry; the rose windows inside provided the spiritual mood. Interpreted in the light of our own experiences, this philosophy still prevails.

[1. John Dewey
Art as Experience, p. 26
Etherial Things] Emphasising the Dewey quote:


John Dewey, commenting on the relationship between fine art and useful or technological art, says: “That many, perhaps most, of the articles and utensils made at present for use are not genuinely esthetic happens, unfortunately, to be true. But it is true for reasons that are foreign to the relation of the ‘beautiful’ and ‘useful’ as such. Wherever conditions are such as to prevent the act of production from being an experience in which the whole creature is alive and in which he possesses his living through enjoyment, the product will lack something of being esthetic. No matter how useful it is for special and limited ends, it will not be useful in the ultimate degree—that of contributing directly and liberally to an expanding and enriched life.”[1]

[1. John Dewey
Art as Experience, p. 26
Etherial Things]
Reposted by Linotype Pilgrim
shanavwhite.blacksky.app
I'm so sick of generative AI.

Stop
Using
That
Shit.
Reposted by Linotype Pilgrim
juliedicaro.bsky.social
So Kilmer Abrego-Garcia will not challenge a deportation to Costa Rica, who has agreed to for him residency, but DHS won’t agree to send him there because it’s not cruel enough.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/u...
For weeks, Mr. Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national who is married to a U.S. citizen, has made clear that he would not challenge his deportation if he were sent to Costa Rica, which has promised him legal residency and guaranteed that he would not be sent back to El Salvador.

But the Trump administration has refused to deport him to Costa Rica, and in an earlier hearing this week, Judge Xinis pressed the administration to consider the option or clarify why it was unacceptable.
symbo1ics.bsky.social
Even in the black weight, hinting ensures symmetry, etc
POPPADOMS SPICY MASALA typeset in Arial Black 11pt with anti-aliasing disabled and hinting enabled (The GIMP, OS X)
symbo1ics.bsky.social
10 out of 10 reactionary bigots agree: Weiss is fantastic
symbo1ics.bsky.social
hope your brainworms left a big tip
symbo1ics.bsky.social
it's pretty bad that vendors have largely stopped hinting fonts, but Arial is/was properly hinted! And if you TURN THAT ON:
original image with hinted Arial (anti-aliasing disabled, typeset in The GIMP, 11pt, OS X)
symbo1ics.bsky.social
Please don't say "kerning", that's not the issue here
symbo1ics.bsky.social
What a time to have eyes

#typography
eInk price tag in a Loblaw's supermarket showing poorly rasterised and spaced text in a version of Arial Bold:
"PC POPPADOMS SPICY MASALA"
(PC stands for President's Choice, house brand).
The letterforms are asymmetrical, with uneven strokes, and are crashing together (M's).
Reposted by Linotype Pilgrim
Reposted by Linotype Pilgrim
phoenixcalida.bsky.social
I see things like this and then I see articles about male loneliness and why don't women use AI more

And it sort of feels like there's a connection to be made.
symbo1ics.bsky.social
A LOT of typographic sins were committed in this time period, as people experimented with the new ability to freely apply affine transforms to type (as here).
symbo1ics.bsky.social
Pretty sure it's just mechanical squishing. No, there was no actual condensed version like this, although an ordinary condensed version does exist.
Reposted by Linotype Pilgrim
leanahosea.bsky.social
F-gases degrade into TFA, classed in Germany as 'reprotoxic'. David Behringer told us, “If you’re drinking water, you’re drinking a lot of TFA… China had a 17-fold increase of TFA in surface waters in a decade, the US had a sixfold increase in 23 years."

share.google/CQwGMr8fpwJk...
Rapidly rising levels of TFA ‘forever chemical’ alarm experts
Trifluoroacetic acid found in drinking water and rain is thought to damage fertility and child development
share.google
symbo1ics.bsky.social
there is no social benefit in these scam data centres
hypervisible.blacksky.app
“Advocates are particularly concerned over the facilities’ use of Pfas gas, or f-gas, which can be potent greenhouse gases, and may mean datacenters’ climate impact is worse than previously thought. Other f-gases turn into a type of dangerous compound that is rapidly accumulating across the globe.”
Advocates raise alarm over Pfas pollution from datacenters amid AI boom
Tech companies’ use of Pfas gas at facilities may mean datacenters’ climate impact is worse than previously thought
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Linotype Pilgrim
slurmsmackenzie.bsky.social
GenAI truly was the worst technology to come along at this moment.

An energy and water guzzler when we most urgently need to take climate action.

A disinformation machine as our journalism fails.

A bias machine as fascism takes root.

A job killer in a cost of living crisis.
thevoidencore.bsky.social
The "cognitive decline and brain damage from repeat COVID infections" and "easy to use robot that makes slop and melts your critical thinking skills" is a hell of a combo in a post-fact media ecosystem
Reposted by Linotype Pilgrim
zappit.bsky.social
Link requested this be boosted so we can help Dr. Divya raise money for Palestinian families in need.

It is also a good day to reinstate Link’s account.
My reinterpretation of Link’s profile pic, with the words “Free Link” in yellow repeating in the background.
symbo1ics.bsky.social
Donate, but also download a copy
urocklive1.bsky.social
Just a reminder that Wikipedia is the only remaining reliable source of information that right wing billionaires can't control. (Although they'll never stop trying.)

Please donate to them whenever you can. Even a little bit helps.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Reposted by Linotype Pilgrim
chaoskat.bsky.social
Salvation Army seen feeding ICE today. For anyone who doesn't already know about their bigotry, here is more, No need to give them your money this Christmas, or ever.
unraveledpress.com
It’s dinner time for the police. Appears to be pizza from a Salvation Army van.

Broadview’s “free speech” curfew starts soon, at 6pm.
Reposted by Linotype Pilgrim
saskajanet.bsky.social
Can we talk about an exciting fall visitor to the yard this week?: Purple Finch! #birds (1/7)
Bird that looks like a sparrow dipped in cranberry juice is perched on the edge of a bird bath.
symbo1ics.bsky.social
#auspol
Centrism loves its closed doors
davidpocock.bsky.social
The Albanese govt’s first term was the second most secretive on record.

Rather than changing their ways, they’re doubling down and tightening our FOI system to make it even harder to get information. Not a single expert or member of parliament outside of the Labor party has backed their new bill.