Tagged: design

Super Mario Evolution 4

How Mario Got His Mustache

Super Mario Bros. is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time. For people of a certain age, Mario and other Nintendo characters are better known than old-school cartoon characters like...

Apple iRanch Ranch Dressing 2

Ranch Dressing and Other Modern Inventions

There are many things in this world that are older than you might think. For example, the Pope’s title of “Pontiff” predates Christianity by almost a millennium. The mouse driven computer with a mouse,...

Proposed Flag of Minnesota 2

Redesign 101: The Flag of Minnesota

Like Michigan and Vermont, Minnesota is yet another state with a blue flag and a coat of arms. The flag of Minnesota is not just boring, however. It is garish, gaudy and borderline offensive....

Heraldic Shields Illustrating the Rule of Tincture 3

The Rule of Tincture in Modern Design

Heraldry is the art and study of coats of arms, seals and banners. It’s the medieval equivalent of graphic design, and as someone interested in both history and design, I’ve always found it fascinating....

Super Mario iPhone Springboard 10

Super Mario iPhone Platform

The home screen on the iPhone is made up of little blocks, as are the bricks and boxes in the “Super Mario” series. So one day, I put two and two together and made...

Helvetica Written in Arial 4

Helvetica

Graphic designers really like Helvetica. For the last 60 years or so, this font has dominated the world of visual communications. If you have an iPhone, you look at it everyday. Even if you...