Melanie Bender Design

07/24/2024

https://www.fifteen.ca/

Some really great prints, retro and otherwise, at this site.

07/16/2022

This little guy just flew into one of my windows. He’s alert and moving but clearly recovering, too. Anyone know what kind of bird this is? Very pointy beak, mostly dusky all over.

04/11/2022

Fascinating visual exploration!

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/29/arts/design/juan-gris-cubism-collage.html

The greatest breakthrough of 20th-century art was something you probably did in elementary school.

01/14/2022

My favorite letterforms. And Trajan is my favorite typeface. Simply beautiful.

A 1970 rubbing by Father Edward Catich and a 2021 recutting by Paul Herrera bring the classical Roman capitals to life at the Archive.

10/18/2021

Been years since I’ve been part of this group, but I still enjoy their shows.

Today’s the day! Our All Members’ Show, a non-juried exhibit “Celebrating 45 Years of Calligraphy in Chicago” is available ONLINE for all to view! Take an art break and wander through the virtual gallery at https://www.chicagocalligraphy.org/all-members-show-2021

09/06/2021

Amazing biscuit art.

Welcome to the Early Modern Biscuit Library.

Inspired by early modern books in the collections of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Folger Shakespeare Library.

All biscuits decorated by hand - some were painted using food colouring gels & lustres, others were piped in royal icing.

Biscuit flavour: orange, cardamom, and vanilla.

Sources, clockwise from top left:
- Preface to the First Folio (1623; Folger)
- Spine of Hall's Chronicle (1548, rebound during the C19th; SBT)
- Frontispiece to The Maid's Tragedy (1619; Folger)
- Inner bindings of Folger First Folio 77 (1623, rebound during the C20th)
- Frontispiece to Poems of Mr. John Milton (1648; Folger)
- Spine of an embroidered bible (1629; SBT)
- Gabriel Harvey's annotations in Facetie, motti, et burle... (ca. 1580-1608; Folger)
- Spine of Folger First Folio 16 (1623)

Biscuit recipe: https://ontotheplate.wordpress.com/2014/01/01/a-sugar-cookie-just-to-my-liking/

Royal icing recipe: https://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/2014/02/royal-icing-for-cookie-decorating/

For more of my biscuit art, see my website: https://ellahawkins.com/biscuit-art/

04/30/2021

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/arts/design/photography-midcentury-vogue-bazaar-jewish-museum.html

Great examples of photography and editorial design abound at the Jewish Museum. (Catch the catalog, too.)

01/30/2021

Yes! These brochures are the best and have been for years. Beautifully designed.

Bro, can you pass me that pamphlet?

Brochure.

Many park visitors enjoy collecting the free brochures that are offered at each National Park Service site. Today, each site's brochure is in a standardized format called a "Unigrid". The Unigrid System was developed in 1977 when modernist designer Massimo Vignelli was enlisted to create an efficient and cost effective design for NPS brochures. The brochures are known for their reliability, thoroughness, visual appeal, and standard design elements that contribute to the National Park Service graphic identity.

See a brief history of the unigrid/brochure at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/hfc/a-brief-history-of-the-unigrid.htm

Do you collect park brochures? What's one of your favorites?

Image: A ranger at Nebraska’s Scotts Bluff National Monument hands a visitor a park brochure (that predates the current unrigid design) ca. 1970.

01/15/2021

These are beautiful.