my new toy

I am a recent, proud owner of the Nikon D5000. Not only did I catch a great price, but this camera turned out to be a real beauty as it produces great quality photographs. I am no professional photographer (and not looking to be one), so this DSLR works out great for my needs and purposes. I was looking into the D90, but a friend much more into photography than I am, Kris Szupa, said the D5000 was well worth it for my needs — and I couldn’t agree more. Kris even owns the D90 and was impressed with how well the D5000 worked and photographed. I’m also investing the extra money the D90 would have cost me into a 18–200mm lens.

Of course since opening the DSLR I’ve decided to show off my photography “skills” (or lack thereof) by starting a new Flickr account for just my photographs (for my design inspiration Flickr account visit here). I’ll be posting random photos of everyday occurrences, so viewer beware. You never know what you might get!

Also since I’m nerdy and love tea I’ve decided to do a little twist on the normal Project 365 by photographing tea I drink everyday for the next year. I’m already 23 days behind when I started so I’ll try my best to make up for it and add some extra photographs along the way.

Oh yeah — I also purchased one of those nifty Gorillapods. Still waiting for it to arrive.

recommended for design reading

I often receive emails asking for my favorite typography book or a good book recommendation on learning web design and CSS — so I’ve decided it’s time to organize my recommended reads in an Amazon store organized by category: typography, graphic design, creativity, logo and brand identity, web design, and business.

The collections I’ve organized are books I stand by and suggest as a must read for anyone interested in the above topics, although my book collection is much larger than what’s listed in the store (I think I currently have close to ninety books). I’ll also be adding more over time as I finish reading so don’t forget to bookmark and follow along.

I also had a goal at the start of 2010 to read more books indirectly related to design — one of which I just finished — a fantastic and thought-provoking read by Roger von Oech, A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative. If you are looking for a timeless read on how to think different, expand your thought process and the way you approach design / life than this book is for you. You can see a few notes I’ve wrote on it here.

I’ve also just opened the book Spunk & Bite: A Writer’s Guide to Punchier, More Engaging Language & Style, as I engage to learn new techniques to improve my writing style and polish up my writing in its entirety.

Hope you enjoy the recommendations. Let me know your thoughts once read or if they’re already part of your book collection.

new slab on the block

Hoefler & Frere-Jones have done it yet again with the new beautiful modern day slab serif, Vitesse.

Described as confident and stylish with responsive engineering and riding, this slab is definitely worth taking for a ride and purchase. Read more about Vitesse on the H&FJ website.

In other exciting news this morning, visitingphilly.com just received a much needed stylish and striking redesign done by the talented folks of Happy Cog East. The large and beautiful photography really captures the essence and feel of Philadelphia — will definitely help attract new visitors to the site and city.