I am recently back from Costa Rica where I was on holiday with family for the better part of two weeks. The amount of hand-painted signage was astounding, beautiful colors and styles, some inventive some inept. All of which made for very pleasant distractions while driving to and from destinations.

Pleasantly surprised to be apart of New York Times “Favorite Book Cover designs of 2012” To be chosen by Barbara deWilde (whom I greatly admire) is even more of a treat! Click through the collection, some really masterful work to be found.

Had my mind blown tonight by the amazing Sara Soskolne while attending her lecture entitled “Grotesque: birth of the modern sans serif in the types of nineteenth century.” So much information to present, but she managed to do so in a way that was understandable, concise and even entertaining! I not only learned (a lot), I had a good-time too!

Excited to see my Ralph Ellison series featured on It’s Nice That this morning! And subsequently chosen as Print mags Image of the day.

In conjunction with the recent news of the Random House Penguin merger, Alex Merto and I (an SVA cohort and fellow book designer) decided it was wholly appropriate that we join forces and create a merger team for this years WGDFC. So under the banner “Random Penguin” we fought and won our first 3 matches… we then lost two consecutive matches putting us out of the competition, with only 8 team remaining.

This past Saturday I spent in New Haven, CT with six or so other type lovers. We met up mid-morning at Union station and headed to Yale University to seek out its lettering delights. The trip was sparked by an article on “lettering at Yale” written by Reed Reibstein for an issue of Codex.  Reed along side Paul Shaw organized and headed up the adventure, leading us from point to point. The highlight of the day was a underground crypt, with grave stones as old as 1702! See images and read about our day in more detail via Paul Shaw’s post.

Very happy to be apart of The Art Directors Club’s YGX class! Announced today with a brand spanking new website! Looking forward to the big bash later on tonight. Cheers!

I had the rare opportunity to spend the full two day weekend drawing letters as apart of Ken Barber’s ( of Type and Lettering & House) workshop entitled just that, “Drawn Letters.” It took place in the new Cooper building making for a beautiful work environment. Ken Baraber is not only a master letterer but also a personable and funny individual. The direction, critique and advice he so easily gave was both enlightening and invaluable. If interested Ken is teaching another work shop on November 10-11 on Stencil Lettering, check it out!

I was asked to do the New York Times Op/ed illustration for todays newspaper, for an article entitled, “A Glimmer in the Vast Wasteland.” It discusses the Presidential debates as one of the few features of our political campaigns that are still worth while and admired. Have a look! Very happy with the how it all turned out.

The 2011 50 Books/50 Covers winners have been posted on Design Observer. Of which I am honored to be apart of. The surveying of the “best in” book design has roots back 1924, nearly 90 years! This  represents perhaps the longest-standing legacy in American graphic design. Design Observer recently inherited this competition from the AIGA who recently (to some controversy) reformatted their entire competition model.