Brian C. Reyes

Thoughts

November 10, 2013

Kind of a Big Deal

Big Data is kind of a big deal. It is everywhere, and it is growing fast. Extrapolating from a study by IDC:

From this massive amount of data, roughly a third is valuable when analyzed (the remainder is composed largely of cat videos and food pictures); however IDC estimates only about 0.5% is analyzed today. Despite this, we see companies already benefiting from taking Big Data seriously. In fact, data from Oracle suggests that top performing companies are 3 times more likely to be using Big Data analytics.

Big Data is serious business, and I am excited to be a part of it.

June 1, 2013

Communicating a Brand with Design

In a Creative Mornings Berlin video presentation, Erik Spiekermann, one of the great type designers of our time, discusses branding on screens. His approach in maximizing space on a small screen is insightful. From the video:

Screen Capture from Spiekermann’s presentation (5:50 in the video)

Screen Capture from Spiekermann’s presentation (5:50 in the video)

“Because it’s Futura it’s Volkswagen…obviously this is not the only screen and the more type you have, the more brand you have. This is all the space you have on this small screen, you’re not going to put the logo everywhere. Volkswagen is blue, if it were Audi it would have to be red. Not every car company has such an obvious color, but Volkswagen is blue and Futura.”

In another example, Spiekermann shows the old Redbull Radio app which used Helvetica and grey and white, “the generic Apple app” he explains. Spiekermann compares this to the newly design app which is “totally branded by the typeface” and the use of the color orange. – Read More –

April 3, 2013

Doves Typeface Revival

2014–UPDATE: They did it! After 3 years of painstaking research and development! Visit the Typespec page and check out the Doves Typeface Revival.

The story of the Doves typeface is somewhat sad and gives the type a sense mystery and intrigue. The type’s creator, T.J. Cobden-Sanderson, had a feud with his business partner who was to inherit the type. Rather than allow his type to be defaced by his former partner, Cobden-Sanderson dumped all the type, along with all the punches and matrices (used to create new letters), into the Thames river. As he was advanced in age at the time, he could only carry pocketfuls of the type at a time, but he persisted every day until he had exhausted the entire supply. As Wikipedia sadly states, “The Doves Typeface is now lost forever.” But there is good news. – Read More –