• About + Contact
  • Work
  • Writing
    • Notes
    • Observed
Jonno Cohen
  • About + Contact
  • Work
  • Writing
    • Notes
    • Observed

Observed #18: 1 May 2016

This edition, we have two Tel Aviv picks, vexillological infographics and a nifty tool for editing websites.

Read more

tags: 99pi, tel aviv, israel story, jane bordeaux, uri lotan, ma'agalim, flags, ferdio, infographics, website editor, bookmarklet
categories: Audio, Data visualisation, Illustration, Tools, Video
Sunday 05.01.16
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #17: 27 March 2016

In this edition, best enjoyed over a cup of your favourite freshly brewed coffee: a film of a book, a parking-free future, a stunning video for my current favourite song, Mortal Kombat with scientists, and L.A.'s ghost streets.

Read more

tags: the martian, andy weir, ridley scott, self-driving cars, parking, clive thompson, the chemical brothers, wide open, beck, dom&nic, the mill, science kombat, diego sanches, los angeles, ghost streets, maps
categories: Video, Reading, Design, Music, Illustration
Sunday 03.27.16
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #16: 7 June 2015

Here for your enlightenment: a ridiculous, accurately scaled graph; a typeface that's equal parts Futura and Proxima Nova; a collection of plagiarised and inspired derivative works; a sting operation exposing bad science journalism; and my gushing about my favourite design book. Enjoy.

Read more

tags: photography, cameras, khoi vinh, geomanist, copy anti-copy, marian bantjes, plagiarism, science, journalism, john bohannon, chocolate, frank chimero, the shape of design, design philosophy
categories: Data visualisation, Typography, Graphic design, Reading, Design
Sunday 06.07.15
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #15: 15 March 2015

As I do every February, I spent a full three days recently observing interesting work at the Design Indaba conference. So I'm kicking things off again with a special Design Indaba-themed edition.

Read more

tags: design indaba, ross cairns, tommaso lanza, the workers, after dark, where you are, visual editions, ambio, teresa van dongen, michael bierut, how to, pentagram, dominic wilcox, variations on normal, watch sculptures, yoni bloch, interactive, bob dylan, interlude
categories: Design, Graphic design, Video, Product design
Sunday 03.15.15
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #14: 14 November 2014

Observed this week, there's an(other) animated alphabet, skeletons all the way down, Weezer's comeback, and a new animated show. Enjoy!

Read more

tags: louis mallart, animation, alphabet, markus feder, trade gothic, typography, infinite corpse, exquisite corpse, surrealists, corpsey, skeleton, web comic, comic strip, weezer, everything will be alright in the end, buddy holly, island in the sun, frederator, cartoon hangover, bee, puppycat
categories: Typography, Illustration, Video, Audio, Music
Friday 11.14.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #13: 7 November 2014

In this week's edition, we have craft, coffee, clowns, cities, and a non-alliterative 90s software flashback.

Read more

tags: yasuo ozakaki, colossal, craft, woodturning, dolls, kokeshi, japanese, clowns, france, mime, hell's grannies, interactive, windows 93, zombectro, jankenpopp, rian van der merwe, elezea, coffee, urbanisation, data visualisation, lincoln institute of land policy, atlas of urban expansion, population, johannesburg, htxt
categories: Video, Reading, Big data, Art
Friday 11.07.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #12: 24 October 2014

Oops. October's been a whirlwind month. Between deadlines and a new team setup in the studio and lots and lots of days off for the Jewish festive season, my weekly link list has had to take a back seat. But here we are, back on the Observed wagon, with a bold type-driven identity, amazing wildlife photography, new music, old music origin tales, and Moby Dick as a Mole.

Read more

tags: natural history museum, wildlife photographer of the year, wildlife, award, nature, typography, TGIF, pattern, two-colour, hong kong, john roderick, roderick on the line, systematic, brett terpstra, merlin mann, the long winters, alt-j, this is all yours, an awesome wave, china miéville, railsea, moby dick, moles, trains
categories: Audio, Design, Graphic design, Photography, Reading
Friday 10.24.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #11: 22 September 2014

A glimpse of the business of design with ways to screw up a client presentation and client feedback for God, then a scientific ABC, algorithms in action, and a beautiful poem about dying.

 

Read more

tags: feedback, slate, diagrams, clients, mike lacher, science, mcsweeney's, mike monteiro, algomation, dying, new yorker, khyati trehan, data visualisation, poetry, history, archimedes, tesla, edison, programming, comic sans, clive james, breakthroughs, client presentations, poem, japanese maple
categories: Reading, Big data, Design, Illustration, Typography
Monday 09.22.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #10: 15 September 2014

This week we visit outer space: your brain doesn't know how big the moon is, and an astronaut is stuck on Mars. Also, amazing backlit paper cut dioramas, and tools to help you name stuff.

Read more

categories: Video, Tools, Reading, Art, Design
Monday 09.15.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #9: 8 September 2014

Kung Fu Fighting, watercolour crystals, data visualisations of ancient texts and a geometric pattern font, right here in this edition.

Read more

tags: Asia, China, kung fu fighting, NPR, riff, song, stereotype, crystals, mineral admiration, karina eibatova, watercolour, birds, playing cards, sefaria, jewish, talmud, tanach, bible, data visualisation, ildikó valicsek, patterns, modular, geometric
categories: Audio, Art, Big data, Design
Monday 09.08.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #8: 25 August 2014

My observing this week has been curtailed by multiple deadlines, but I did come across a few noteworthy tidbits, from a graphic identity combining hand lettering with edge painted cards to designer crab homes, as well as my current favourite working soundtracks and two beautiful animated shorts.

Read more

tags: Apartment One, Pulaski, hand lettering, aki Inomata, 3d printing, hermit crabs, Lettering, Andrew bird, Mikey please, Alex Griggs, Rdio, Identity, Hideyuki Hashimoto, Adlin inc, edge painting, logo
categories: Graphic design, Art, Animation, Music, Video
Monday 08.25.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #7: 16 August 2014

Slightly delayed after a week of deadline madness, it's this week's edition of Observed. We have handcrafted goodness in the form of paper aviation and vintage-inspired type, as well as a book that took me a year to read (I always read Taleb slowly) and fresh cartoons.

Read more

tags: Powerpuff girls, cindy kinash, Antifragile, flying, Frederator, steampunk, Cartoon hangover, bee, Jules Verne, nassim taleb, spacebear, adventure time, fooled by randomness, True north, Daniel Agdag, manly, bravest warriors, puppycat, chainsaw Richard, paper, charles gibbons, cardboard, the black swan, cartoon, Industrial Age
categories: Art, Video, Typography, Reading
Saturday 08.16.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #6: 8 August 2014

Observed this week: big data and social networks in the Gaza war, a geek-friendly coding font, Robert Plant's latest, and a monkey selfie copyright battle.

Read more

tags: israel, gaza, gilad lotan, gilgul, social networks, social media, filter bubble, input, david jonathan ross, font, coding, robert plant, rainbow, song, david slater, photographer, copyright, monkey, macaque, wikipedia, wikimedia
categories: Reading, Typography, Audio, Big data
Friday 08.08.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #5: 1 August 2014

Last week I was in the bush, observing lovely offline things. But this week I'm back, with a great new book, my new favourite podcast app, logo design advice and more.

Read more

tags: wine, coffee, taste, subconscious, trade gothic, markus feder, alphabet, animation, generic logos, giovanni tondini, overdone, cliche, overcast, marco arment, atp, john siracusa, casey liss, smart speed, voice boost, podcast, federico viticci, macstories, ios, lauren beukes, broken monsters, zoo city, moxyland, the shining girls, fiction, 5fm, zombies
categories: Graphic design, Reading, Typography, Apps
Friday 08.01.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #4: 18 July 2014

It's a mixed bag this week, featuring Twitter-serialised fiction, a Photoshop time-saver, mutual unsuspecting portraits, magic numbers and a rollercoaster zoom through Barcelona.

Read more

tags: Photoshop, plugin, QuickGuide, guides, David Mitchell, twitter, short story, Barcelona, hyperlapse, timelapse, rob whitworth, serendipity, India, global village, numbers, Radiolab, Jad Abumrad, Robert Krulwich, typography, grid, layout, golden ratio, robert bringhurst, elements of typographic style
categories: Reading, Photography, Tools, Audio, Video
Friday 07.18.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #3: 11 July 2014

In this week's edition, generative design, big data, *Alice in Wonderland* and money vs wealth, as well as a couple of beautiful graphic design projects.

Read more

tags: Patricia Tremblay, Laurence Pasteels, Mental Health, Paul Graham, Brain Pickings, wealth, do what you love, Flickr, Yahoo, dataset, Creative Commons, research, Creative Cloud, Mike Chambers, Adobe, generative art, Alice in Wonderland, Maria Popova, Salvador Dalí, Yayoi Kusama, Ralph Steadman, Lewis Carroll, Asketic, The Beginnings, food, packaging
categories: Illustration, Graphic design, Reading, Big data
Friday 07.11.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #2: 4 July 2014

In this week's art-and-illustration-heavy edition, caffeine-addicted wildlife, rivers run through coffee tables, brainsploding paintings and more.

Read more

tags: Wired, Sawdust, Lettering, Greg Klassen, River, furniture, Tim Easley, business cards, Cityville, monoline, Rogan Josh, coffee, animals
categories: Typography, Illustration, Product design, Art, Optical illusions
Friday 07.04.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen
 

Observed #1: 27 June 2014

The first edition of Observed, collecting interesting links and tidbits I come across during the week. First up: snake photos, a beautiful typeface, Stefan Sagmeister interviewed, Christoph Niemann's pre-World Cup trip to Brazil, and Simon Dingle's Awesome Newsletter.

Read more

tags: Newsletter, Stefan Sagmeister, Andrew McGibbon, Simon Dingle, Reading, Illustration, David Jonathan Ross, photography, World Cup, Christoph Niemann, 10and5, The Great Discontent, Typography
categories: Reading, Typography, Photography, Illustration
Friday 06.27.14
Posted by Jonno Cohen