HST's cover letter for a newspaper job

In October 1958, a pre-fame Hunter S. Thompson applied for a job at the Vancouver Sun. The Ottawa Citizen recently published the quintessentially-Hunter cover letter, which also appeared in The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967 (The Fear and Loathing Letters, Vol. 1).

Oh Hunter S. Thompson, how I wish you were still alive and could be my friend. Do you think this cover letter would fly today? I kind of want to work in a setting where this no-bullshit culture is present. What would that be, do you think?

Caroline

Gap = Nap

So often I talk about my love of graphic design and typography and why I find it fascinating and important. Everyone knows it's not wise to use Lucida Calligraphy as the font for their resume, but apart from that, what's the big deal, right? I didn't always understand the importance of design, but watching the documentary "Helvetica" was really a turning point for me.

Last night the Twittersphere apparently exploded with news about the clothing retailer Gap debuting its new logo on their website. None of the responses were positive; mostly just shock as to how it was so bad.

Designer Bobby Solomon had this to say: "For the last year or so the company has been using a ton of Helvetica Neue in their store-wide branding and advertising, so when I saw the logo it made sense that they would make the move towards the same look. But what absolutely boggled my mind was the tiny, blue, gradient square that sits awkwardly behind the letter “p”. Where before you had a classic, if even outdated logo, now in its place is something that looks like some kinda’ online bank.

There was a lot of brand equity in that big blue square and they didn’t move far away enough from the source for this logo to even begin to feel new or exciting. I think the bigger problem that Gap faces is the fact that they’ve lost their style identity. When I look at the front page of Gap.com I see J.Crew knockoffs, but without the attention to details in the product shots or styling. Gap was once known for their basics, but even that title has been taken away by younger upstart American Apparel, which isn’t in such great shape either. A sad refresh of a logo and confused style direction; things aren’t looking good for the Gap."

All this commentary because of a seemingly harmless logo change. But there lies my point. Design and typography can have huge impacts, ranging from business to psychological. It can be used to completely re-invent (or in this case damage) something. That to me is the most fascinating aspect about design.

What do you think about the new logo? What does it say to you, if anything? How does it make you feel? I thought Solomon's online bank comment was spot-on.

In my humble opinion, I don't even like their use of Helvetica Neue. Any use of Helvetica today just makes me think, 'boring,' 'lazy,' and 'unoriginal.' Not something any business wants clients to think.

Caroline

Posters of Normality

Hiller Goodspeed is a designer and illustrator who created a series of posters of everyday events. If my boring routines were illustrated in the format of a band poster or witty illustration, even sitting next to [transcendental] transients on the L wouldn't be so bad.

Caroline

140 Characters of Art

Thanks to the creations of Twitter user l_I__I_l, Twitter is now a platform for the visual arts. I think I just found 140 reasons why Twitter got a little better.

Caroline

Soup's up!

Do you often find yourself hungry, annoyed and wondering, 'what the fuck should I make for dinner'?

Never ask again.

Thanks Jess Lee for the find!

Caroline