You might primarily know Panic as the maker of such fine Mac software as Coda and Transmit. However, they’re also the proprietors of a very fine corporate blog. Now, honestly, I tend to skip most software developers’ blogs. But Panic’s is quite different.

For one thing, the design is one of the more clever and enjoyable ones I’ve seen in awhile. At first glance, it doesn’t appear to be that special, but look a little closer, and you’ll see that it’s chock full of little design details that prove to be rather delightful. Utilizing the latest in CSS3, such as CSS-based rotation, Panic gives their blog a look that is delightfully—and literally—off-kilter, adding to the overall feel of a company bulletin board. (You must be using the latest version of Safari, Firefox, or Chrome to see the effect.)

And there are other little details as well, such as the 3D effects applied to the blog header and “older/newer” navigation at the bottom of the page, or the design of the different types of posts (e.g., company announcement, technical/engineering, list of quick links). Again, it all just adds to a casual, fun, and informative feel.

Which, by the way, ties in with and enhances the overall vibe that I’ve always had concerning Panic: namely, that they’re a company that loves what they do—making “Shockingly Good Mac Software”—and they have a great sense of humor. How else do you explain something like their “lost” retro artwork from 1982, this page chronicling all of the rip-offs of their icons and artwork, or their comparison of Japanese and American snacks?

Thread & Water is selling t-shirts and prints from a number of designers, including my friend Aaron, with all proceeds going to provide clean drinking water for Haiti.

An absolute must-read if you spend any amount of time doing web/app design:

The underlying secret to beautiful user interface design is realism: making 2D objects on your screen appear to sit in 3D space with volume, surface properties and undulations that might appear in real life. These faux 3D objects have highlights and shadows just like objects on your desk might have, and they have textures that emulate real objects from glass to sandpaper and everything in between. Designing beautiful user interfaces has more to do with the why than the how.

And it’s nice to see that Mike Rundle takes his own medicine: for example, the subtle highlight on his website’s text adds a nice amount of extra visual depth.

“An Open Letter to James Cameron From Papyrus”:

Goodness knows I’ve worked hard the past 26 years to make a name for myself. And it’s felt great coming to the aid of New Age spa owners, suburban party planners, and young couples looking to save money by making their own wedding invitations. But only now, by appearing in your movie, have I been given mainstream, high-level recognition as a serious typeface. And for that, I thank you.

This made my day. Thank you, Mr. Jonze.

A typographical parody of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face”.

I’ve mentioned this before, but the lovely Mrs Eaves is my favorite typeface. And now it has a sans-serif companion, the handsome and dashing—and appropriately titled—Mr Eaves.

Mr Eaves was based on the proportions of Mrs Eaves, but [Zuzana] Licko took some liberty with its design. One of the main concerns was to avoid creating a typeface that looked like it simply had its serifs cut off. And while it matches Mrs Eaves in weight, color, and armature, Mr Eaves stands as its own typeface with many unique characteristics.

Mr Eaves comes in two variants: Mr Eaves Sans (my personal fave: I love those italics) and Mr Eaves Modern. Via

The results are in, my fellow Nebraskans, and this is the license plate design that will be gracing our cars starting in 2011:

If you wanted proof that your tax dollars are hard at work, ensuring that Nebraska state employees are trained in the latest Microsoft Paint techniques, there you go. And if you wanted proof that some folks have nothing better to do with their online time than be asshats, well, you’ve got that too.

CollegeHumor ran a little contest—“Ruin a Nebraska”—encouraging their users to stop by the license plate survey and vote for the above design. All told, over 40,000 people voted for the design, a figure that includes an unknown number of people who voted via CollegeHumor’s contest.

I can’t say I’m pissed about it—it’s just a license plate, after all. However, it does sadden me that this is the best that Nebraska—a state blessed with some terrific marketing and design firms—could pull off. None of the choices were good—at best, they were unoffensive—but frankly, something as big as this deserves more than just a half-assed attempt like the one you see above.

State officials, such as Governor Dave Heineman, have defended the design by downplaying the its aesthetics in favor of its function. As Heineman puts it:

I recognize that plate designs are a matter of personal taste, but I want us to remember their primary function is to assist law enforcement… During this process, the critical nature of the plate’s purpose was often omitted from the discussion.

The same article also quotes the Nebraska State Patrol superintendent:

Col. Bryan Tuma, the State Patrol superintendent, said it’s imperative that license plates be easy to read for troopers who might be trying to find a missing child or identify a vehicle that might be connected to a crime.

“We need to be able to sort those vehicles out quickly,” he said. “That’s oftentimes in traffic where you have only a quick instant or just an opportunity to glance at that plate and read it.”

Valid points, all of them. But such statements seem to assume that you can have form or you can have function, but you can’t have both. You can have a license plate design that is aesthetically pleasing (for example, that references Nebraska’s rich history or even our state religion) or one that will help law enforcement officials do their job by being legible, but you can’t have both.

This, of course, is a fallacy. Good design and usability—which is basically what Heineman and Tuma are talking about—are not opposed to one another. Rather, they’re two sides of the same coin.