Each week, we share the top five articles that caught our attention. Here are your must-reads, published here and abroad, for the week of November 28th 2016.
How Apple democratized typography
We should all thank Apple, and Thomas Rickner, Apple’s Lead Typographer in 1989, for the hundreds of typefaces that are now available on all Macs and PCs. Apple revolutionized computer typography thanks to Rickner’s TrueType format, which put print-quality typefaces on the operating system of every personal computer.
→ Read it on Fast Company Pocket
Make Adidas great again
With a line of sports shoes and streetwear must-haves that rival the bold designs of the Nike empire, Paul Gaudio, Creative Director at Adidas, has truly made the brand cool again. How did Adidas once again reach such heights after 67 years in the biz?
→ Read it on Buzzfeed Pocket
Have agencies forgotten the middle class?
Following the results of the U.S. presidential election, advertising creatives have had to face a startling reality: that the needs and desires of middle-class Americans differ greatly from those reflected in ads targeting them during the campaign. So agencies will have to rethink their recruitment and marketing research methods in order to effectively reach this audience.
→ Read it on The Wall Street Journal Pocket
Understanding the “Like” black market
Whether it’s to launch a career, attract new clients or as an ego boost, many people purchase illegal services to lift their numbers of “Likes” and followers. But how does that work, exactly? By combining computer technology with criminology, Masarah Paquet-Clouston, a researcher at the Université de Montréal, and Olivier Bilodeau, a cybersecurity researcher at GoSecure, uncover the black market in “Likes”.
→ Read it on Rue89 (in French) Pocket
Hygge is not as Danish as you think
If the World Happiness Report can be trusted, the happiest people in the world live in Denmark. The concept of “hygge”, a lifestyle that’s built on comfort, cosiness, wellness and keeping it simple, could explain the root of all that happiness. But it turns out that this latest craze, popularized by best-selling books like The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well, is actually more of a British invention. Journalist Charlotte Higgins investigates.
→ Read it on The Guardian Pocket
In your earbuds: Switched on Pop
Hosted by musicologist Nate Sloan and writer-composer Charlie Harding, the Switched on Pop podcast deconstructs pop songs to better understand why they are so successful and how they impact culture. In this episode, the boys talk about the Nokia ringtone, which is heard more than a billion times every day, making it one of the most popular songs in the world. Why is so well liked?
→ Listen to it on Switched on Pop
This week’s favourite thing
There’s a certain pleasure in clicking on a broken link and finding yourself on a funny 404 error page. The Oops Pages Tumblr collects the most clever 404 Not Found pages on the web. Something to help designers and copywriters pass the time!
