Multidisciplinary Reflections on LATTC’s Legendary Sign Graphics Course

Multidisciplinary Reflections on LATTC’s Legendary Sign Graphics Course

Between the hours of 7 a.m. to 12:20 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, you will find a group of students at Los Angeles Trade Tech College painstakingly painting small black lines onto large sheets of butcher paper. It’s a unique and peculiar sight, unlike any other you will come upon at another college— and that’s because this is the only class of its kind in the country.

Welcome to LATTC’s famed Sign Graphics program, which has been taught at the college since 1924. It’s said that LATTC itself was founded around this course, and then expanded its class offerings from there. 

MAKHNO Studio’s Harmonious Method for Modernity Within This 100-Year Old Home

MAKHNO Studio’s Harmonious Method for Modernity Within This 100-Year Old Home

Compared to the energetic buzz of Tokyo, the city of Kyoto still operates at a satisfyingly measured hum, retaining much more than a veneer of the country’s deep seated traditions, crafts, and history. It is a city where heritage still survives in spite of the encroachment of contemporary conveniences and technologies, and where the history of many businesses can be measured in decades…or even more than a century.

Meen is a Collaborative Typeface That Embodies the Middle Ground

Meen is a Collaborative Typeface That Embodies the Middle Ground

AI. There isn’t a corner of the design world not talking about artificial intelligence–what it means for humans in the creative process, how it will change intellectual property protections/concerns, and whether it reflects–not corrects our oh-so-human biases. The conversations are happening in the philosophical realm, industry-wide, and at the production level at design studios such as Athens-based brand.new.

Beautiful Glitches: Jacob Hashimoto’s New “Kite” Works

Beautiful Glitches: Jacob Hashimoto’s New “Kite” Works

It’s an interesting moment for artist Jacob Hashimoto. For nearly three decades, his kite-constructed works have captivated viewers with a fusion of meticulous hand-craftsmanship and the optical effect of digital pixels. His wall works often consist of six suspended layers of circular paper and bamboo “kites” that obscure as much as they reveal, shifting with every footstep. His newest exhibition

The Daily Heller: The Empathetic Sketchbook

The Daily Heller: The Empathetic Sketchbook

Sketcher Press is the love child of Gabriel “Gabi” Campanario and all the illustrators who are given the chance to compile their work under his self-funded imprint. “I love the power of drawing as a storytelling medium,” says Campanario, who launched Sketcher Press in 2022, but whose interest in publishing has overlapped with a decades-long career as a journalist and newspaper artist.