Tag: illustration

  • A4 For Ever (and Ever)

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in

    Most of my readers know that I am a designer who works in all formats. But, I really love working in print. Colours, textures, and the physicality of it all. Give me a foil stamp or metallic ink any day. Any American designer who’s ever worked for an overseas client or overseas designer who’s ever…

  • The Mars Rovers

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    Perseverance landed on Mars on 18 February, almost a month ago. The video and photography the rover has already sent back has been stunning. We all know she is the most capable rover yet landed on the Red Planet, but what we all want to know is how cute is Perseverance compared to her predecessors?…

  • Another Look at 500,000

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    Yesterday we looked at how the New York Times covered the deaths of 500,000 Americans due to Covid-19. But I also read another article, this by the BBC, that attempted to capture the scale of the tragedy. Instead of looking at the deaths in a timeline, the BBC approached it from a cumulative impact, i.e.…

  • Appliance Matrix

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    Well, it’s Friday. And in the Northeast that means another snowstorm. In normal times, that would mean a nice half-hour walk to the office wherein my overcoat would likely become covered in snow and my trousers soaked in disgusting, salty, slush water. In other words, I’d need to wash and dry my clothes. But what…

  • The Earth Is a Bit Bumpy

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    Last Friday I shared an xkcd post about the relative smoothness of the Earth. This week he posted an illustration but a slightly different scale. You can see more of Earth’s jagged edges. Gotta love the Star Trek reference. I’m betting he used the length of the Kelvin timeline Enterprise, which I personally dislike, as…

  • Viral Mutations

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    With Covid-19, one of the big challenges we face is the rapid mutations in the viral genetic code that have produced several beneficial—from the virus’ standpoint—adaptations. Several days ago the New York Times published a nice, illustrated piece that showed just what these mutations look like. Of course, these were not just nice illustrations of…

  • The Earth Is Actually Quite Smooth

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    At scale. Not quite as smooth as a billiards ball, as is often claimed. But still, with the majority of the Earth’s surface covered by water, the highest mountains of Everest and K2 make for mere fractions of differences in height relative to the Earth’s size. But that did not stop xkcd from making a…

  • How Would the Covid-19 Vaccines Work

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    Over the last week or so, we have been receiving some encouraging news from the makers of three viable Covid-19 vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca. All three have reported their vaccines as at least 90% effective. This doesn’t mean the relevant regulatory agencies have verified that data, but it’s better than injecting ourselves with bleach.…

  • Wear a Mask

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    It sounds so easy, but too many don’t do it. Yesterday, Agence France-Presse published an article about a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that examined the efficacy of the coronavirus’ airborne spread potential. The study centred on a bus trip in eastern China from January, before the widespread adoption of…

  • A Foot by Any Other Name

    —

    by

    Brendan Barry
    in ,

    Measurement systems are important. They allow us to compare objects, buy and sell goods, and get from Chicago to Philadelphia. The latter, according to Google, is 759.6 miles. Or 4,010,688 feet. But what feet? In this piece from the New York Times we get a look at the two different foot measurements used in the…