I’m enamored with this relatively new brand, Best Made Company. They make astonishingly attractive axes, and to boot, they treat it very much like a fashion line with seasonal releases.

What I can identify with most in the brand is the boyscout influence. The red x: taken directly from the first aid merit badge and they don’t try to hide that. It’s bold, and even smarter, simple like the tool. They could definitely go a lot further, but they’ve got a good foundation with type and iconography. Some of the line art used reminds me of the knott tying diagrams in the older scout manuals. That’s just me though.

It’s a very practical tool and even more surprising brand; definitely the luxury brand of the axe world. Best Made Co. Axes. Love the gestalt.

Getting busy in the FontLab, starting on a new face; tentatively “EFTR.” At this stage, it’s just a skeleton showcasing proportions before I draw out the legit specimen as a style guide. After a survey of OCR typefaces, I decided to style some of the more condensed characters wider to help with the horizontal metrics. Dropping the cap height down helped with evening out these proportions. I’m dreaming up a face that reads well at moderate to small sizes on screen and has a subtle technical look to it.

While reading an article in MARK, issue 15, I became interested in this concept of “the new real.” Philipp Schaerer shared thoughts on his concept of real as it applied to non-existent architecture. Buildings that didn’t exist, realized with some handy digital techniques, but not trying excessively hard to pass for believable. Looking into his work, real becomes more and more like a design element.

Schaerer’s interpretation of a floor, architectural body and skins are very convincing. Real people, real vegetation, existing textures are combined into this scenery that is just an interpretation; like an architectural photo. A ceiling is not necessarily a thing, it can be taken as a concept. A ceiling itself makes a boring photo. The idea of a ceiling makes a more interesting photo and does not have to be real. I think this is a liberty any creative can take with their work.

Real is a very serious element and I look forward to exploring its effects in graphic design and renderings. It can be the difference between memorable or accepted –> mundane –> forgotten.