Notebook
Here's where we post periodic updates on what we've been up to at Fathom. Reflections on the interesting stories that emerge from our client work, side projects, after-hours rabbitholes, and other miscellaneous threads of inquiry.
A post from Tim Ripper, who we loaned from Yale's graduate program for a summer internship. Sadly, we had to return him a couple weeks ago. Here he shares his experiences with one of the projects he worked on at Fathom these past few months. —B
Last week we were lucky to be able to welcome Dan Shiffman to the Fathom offices for a full day of Processing workshops. Dan is a professor at the Interactive Telecommunications Program program at NYU, and is the author of Learning Processing and Nature of Code. (As far as we know, he is also our first guest to commute to the office via ferry from Maine.)
For the last couple of years we've sold posters (All Streets and Dencity) and a book (Frankenfont) as fun side projects that give us a chance to do some print work—in this graphic design-heavy office, we all still love print, and the chance to create proper physical artifacts. Since we give away the proceeds, I've been meaning to do an update on where we've sent the contributions.
If a picture is worth one thousand words, then think of the following process video as a nonfiction novella. You can remove your reading glasses as necessary.
When I was in graduate school, I took a type design elective taught by the excellent Cyrus Highsmith. The first week we each gathered and refined the basic formal elements that would define the nature of our typeface. In my case, I wanted a display face optimized for the screen — with rounded slab serifs, a roomy x-height for readability, and bowls with a distinctive tear shape to them. What emerged was Shoestring, a "simple, friendly, open type face for blogs. Suitable for boilerplates and headlines. Optimized for use on screen."
Popular Science publishes a special energy issue every two years. We designed a 2011 spread that looked at where U.S. energy comes from, where it goes, and how much is lost along the way. The biennial is upon us, so we were excited when Katie Peek got back in touch for this year's issue. She asked us to research the innovations in renewable energy production that were taking shape worldwide, and to propose a couple of stories.
As debates around the state transportation bill heated up this month, we teamed up with the Transportation for Massachusetts Coalition (T4MA) to create a series of infographics that capture the complexity of the Bay State’s transportation network. Since most of the Fathom team commutes via public transportation (the rest bike to work), we felt strongly about contributing clear and readable graphics that could be used in the course of the T4MA advocacy campaign. We have a vested interest in seeing that network remain in good working order, accessible, and affordable.
As debates around the state transportation bill heated up this month, we teamed up with the Transportation for Massachusetts Coalition (T4MA) to create a series of infographics that capture the complexity of the Bay State's transportation network. Since most of the Fathom team commutes via public transportation (the rest bike to work), we felt strongly about contributing clear and readable graphics that could be used in the course of the T4MA advocacy campaign. We have a vested interest in seeing that network remain in good working order, accessible, and affordable.
I am fascinated with metro maps. You may be more familiar with the term "metro" as the T, subway, L, Underground, Tube, Tram, BART, Muni, Subte, T-bana, U-bahn, Tren-Urbano, SkyTrain, MTR, Tren Electrico, T-bane, S-tog, Rapid, and even Clockwork Orange depending on your home city.
When you have young children, at some point you will probably need to come to grips with the idea of vacationing at Disney World.