Hilariously over-the-top and aggressive advice on how not to wimp out on designing a business card.

“Life is not about being liked. It’s about being effective… My card is die-cut. My card is foil-stamped. My card is embossed. My card — instead of telling you that I’m a CEO, because who cares about my title? — tells you about the result I generate. I build crowds! Guaranteed. What do you do ‘guaranteed’?”

Antonio Carusone provides a solid primer on basic concepts for elegant typography, including line measure, leading, vertical rhythm and more. Recommended for those new to the craft.

Online resource displaying police photographs and charges for people arrested within the last twenty-four hours in Pinellas, Hillsbourough and Pasco Counties in Florida.

“The information presented here as a public service is gathered from open county sheriff’s Web sites in the Tampa Bay area. The booking mug shots and related information are from arrest records in the order and at the time the data was collected. Those appearing here have not been convicted of the arrest charge and are presumed innocent.”

It’s very well done and makes for fascinating social information, though it raises a lot of questions, too. Also, note that statistical breakdowns are provided for gender, age, eye color, height, etc. But not for race.

This article tells the story of Emmanuel Rodriguez, a 23-year-old pro gaming champion who now works at a Sam’s Club in Dallas. “Video games may be as popular as ever — people in more than 65 percent of American households play, according to the Entertainment Software Association — but the professional sport of gaming has nearly collapsed. Major companies have pulled sponsorships and several tournaments have folded.”

In this must-read for anyone publishing online, Cathy Curtis, former staff writer at The Los Angeles Times and the principal of Los Angeles-based copywriting and communications company Textual, outlines the principles she’s learned for effective writing on the Web.

“This medium has led me to develop a different way of writing — tighter, simpler, more transparent. The results, I believe, are greater clarity and persuasiveness, and a speedier, more user-friendly read.”

It’s like I often say: usability is a quality of writing too.

The renowned type foundry discusses their Girard, their new typeface and product line based on the work of modernist master Alexander Girard.

Henry Sene Yee reveals the creative process he went through to arrive at an appropriate cover image for this account of the 1999 shooting tragedy in Littleton, Colorado. Along the way, he includes and discusses the rejected covers.

A surprisingly detailed post about every child’s favorite coloring tools, including — somewhat insanely — hexadecimal and RGB values for each color. Because you needed that. Via Kottke.org.

These camouflaged stickers were placed on sidewalks so that they would stick to the soles of unsuspecting pedestrians’ shoes. The randomness and ease with which passersby picked up the stickers simulates an accidental tripping of a landmine — without the destructiveness, obviously. The copywriting could be a little gentler, but overall it’s a smart idea. Via Capn Design.

Animated primer on how the credit markets blew up by Jonathan Jarvis. “This project was completed as part of my thesis work in the Media Design Program, a graduate studio at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.”