The Weekly Wraparound: January 20

Editors’ note: “The Weekly Wraparound” is an editorial roundup of links to the week’s best design stories, posted every Friday by the editorial staff of AIGA.org. For recommendations all week long, follow us on Twitter at @AIGAdesign. 

The internet went on strike for a day, yet still managed to bring us a ton of great stories to link to. Here’s a look back at this week in design:

1.

This week Jessica Walsh of Sagmeister Inc. curated Design Envy, sharing smart and fun picks from giant glass sausage typography to magazine covers that readers can sculpt. Be sure to check out all her selections and don’t forget to cast your vote—the most popular designs will become part of a special collection in the AIGA Design Archives! 

2.

After a collective day of protest against the antipiracy bills SOPA and PIPA, lawmakers have postponed voting in order to reevaluate the language and its impact on internet and media companies. Websites showed their dissent in a range of ways, from total blackouts (Wikipedia) to temporary splash pages (see coverage on Mashable, Creativity Online, Jess3). Gigaom asks: Is this the new face of American activism? Before the next round, read Helen Walter’s critique, with commentary from six designers on what these online protests say about tech’s appreciation for design.

3.

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the fact that design has a massive role to play in the evolution of the web and the next generation of web products,” writes Cameron Koczon in one of the week’s most compelling articles. Calling this “An Important Time for Design,” he considers the opportunities and challenges for designers and how they can seize the day. A must read.

4.

The art of the log-in form (yes, there is one) by Luke W. (h/t @kuanluo)

5.

The Sundance Film Festival kicked off yesterday, sporting a new identity created by Paula Scher of Pentagram. The design centers around the theme “Look again,” described by Sundance as essentially “an invitation to remain surprise-able.” Of her and her team’s fragmented—in a good way—interpretation, Scher says: “The identity provided a wonderful opportunity to combine the graphic representation of the movement of film done in the form of spliced and repeated typography against the calm majesty of photos of open skies and heroic mountains.” (Bonus: Nine short films from the festival are now available online, for your watching and voting pleasure.)

6.

Some 30 miles to the west, in Salt Lake City, another group of creatives convened for the third annual Altitude Design Summit, a gathering for design and lifestyle bloggers to share ideas and connect with marketers. Commenting on the event’s popularity, Estelle Hayes wrote in the Huffington Post: “The Alt Summit has captured the zeitgeist of these shape-shifting times. The Internet is an ideal, easy to access platform for emerging artists and craftspeople—a tough job market has turned more of us into bootstrap entrepreneurs. In a global economy gone mad, Alt speaks squarely to the new aesthetic of 'small economics.'’ Follow the hashtag #altsummit for updates.

7.

The new logo for DC Comics has some super powers of its own. As science fiction publication io9 describes, “The official design can be delightfully tailored to each and every individual character. For example, there could theoretically be a Spider Jerusalem logo barking blue language at would-be consumers.” OK, so we had to Google "Spider Jerusalem," but we’re still intrigued by the concept. Not everyone is pleased with the new look, but learn more about the design by Landor on ComicsAlliance.

8.

Before the apple became ubiquitous with Steve Jobs and computers, it was a symbol for teachers. But who brings an apple for the teacher anymore? As part of its occasional “Redesigns” series, public radio program “Studio 360” (hosted by Kurt Andersen) took on this outdated image by hiring design firm Hyperakt to consider: How would you re-brand teachers? See their results.

9.

AMC’s Mad Men Season 5 campaign kicked off this week with a chilling teaser ad: against a stark, white background, an illustrated figure plummets headfirst, with just the date “March 25” far down at the bottom. Fans know this falling man represents the charismatic but self-destructive character Don Draper. But designer (and Instagrammer) Michael Surtees snapped a pic and asked, is this an appropriate image—particularly on the streets of New York? What do you think? Check out the posters (official and unofficial) here.

Anything noteworthy that we missed? Tell us in the comments.

Compiled by Sue Apfelbaum and Rasika Welankiwar