Photos from May 2026 (that little clock icon means the day has yet to be published)
Chris Glass again, person from Cincinnati that designs things, snaps photos, and attempts not to be a bother. I’m resurrecting this newsletter because I wanted more humanity to pass through screens and realized I need to do my part.
Highlights of May:
It was a month of days swinging between rainy or sunny.
Enjoyed a great walk about Camp Washington and the American Sign Museum.
Had some tasty food including much rhubarb, and a wonderful Indian feast.
Got some good times with family in the mix.
A hard part of the month:
The passing of a crow - I noticed a black bird in our yard last week and found it was injured and could not move easily. After calling wildlife rescue, there wasn’t much to be done. We carefully moved it to be safe from heavy rains, providing water and food (they seemed to enjoy scrambled eggs). It passed the following night and though it hung heavy on my heart, it would’ve been heavier had we done nothing.
An outtake:
Our cat Edie is still bouncing back from treatments to fix what ails her. She’s getting hang-time on the porch, extra treats and lots of love in the meantime.
Edith, with rose petals on porch
The best thing you can do for yourself is to actively increase your surface area for luck to hit you. Go outside, travel more, go to new cafes, take a new route home, go on more side quests… the more you do, the more serendipity and synchronicity will find you.”
Entertainment Section:
Left this David Byrne concert feeling energized and optimistic
Hacks wrapped up after 5 seasons and I thought the ending was touching.
This book of concept art for the second Star War is old, but I still dig it.
A bunch of links from the May:
“What have you tried?”
Ashur Cabrera shares advice in the form of a question he received when hitting a roadblock and asked for help. The approach has held up through many years and upon reading it I can immediately apply it to all sorts of hurdles, big and small. It doesn't solve things, but provides a framework for sure.
Knitting Bullshit
Saved this to share with Kelley. When I first read Kate Davies' piece about AI about knitting, I got lost backtracking through all the prose and photography of her website — it's all so very good. This piece about slop and what matters is a lovely foray.
Unsolicited
Jenny Volvovoski writes, "In 2012, I really wanted to design book covers but didn’t have any book cover work. So I hired myself to redesign my personal library." Now she designs book covers!
An embroidered bouquet of remembrance
Allie Paige memorialized a cat named Boots by using their whiskers in this embroidered bouquet of flowers. NGL, I got verklempt seeing this short video.
Empty Screenings
On one hand I very much want movie theaters to thrive. On the other, I sometimes make purchase decisions based on how few tickets have been sold. Riley Walz made a tool to find the emptiest AMC screenings. / via Ethan
PBS Store
Sometimes you have to make room for another t-shirt and/or tote bag in your life. PBS has a new merch store that combines old logos and traditional screen printing.
Holly Farrell’s book paintings
I dig absolutely all of Holly Farrell's paintings, but these book paintings bring an extra layer of delight as they look like the shelves that lined our family room.
Immigrants and revolutionists
This advert designed by Typographic House in 1969 features a quote by FDR that should not be so prescient today.
Standard Ebooks
"A volunteer-driven project that produces new editions of public domain ebooks that are lovingly formatted, open source, free of U.S. copyright restrictions, and free of cost." Love a well formatted trove! / via James
Times, reader edition
Michael Sippey was frustrated by The New York Times home page design. So he orchestrated a slim version that pulls various feeds into a simple viewer. For the record, I think the Times has attractive elements, but the rhythm shifts of the homepage are jolting and make it hard to parse. Trying to shoehorn old newspapery patterns into a canvas that covers many sections carries unnecessary debt.
Saul Steinberg Foundation
Every time I visit the Cincinnati Art Museum I pause by the Saul Steinberg mural on display and delight in some new detail. This admiration turned realization that his life's work is captured beautifully in a new website that is at first blush clean and simple, celebrating the artwork — yet exceptionally deep. A wonderful trove worth meandering, made by a studio called Condensed.
25 years of equal marriage coin
25 years ago, the Netherlands was the first country in the world to open marriage to same-sex couples. To celebrate they've issued commemorative Euros designed by Koos Breen using type from an LGBTQ designer, MD Nichrome by Rutherford Craze.
LogoArchive.Now
Founded by designer and writer Richard Baird, Logo Archive began in 2015 as an Instagram account to document modernist logos. It has since expanded and this latest branch opens up the doors for all designers to participate. It's mesmerizing, overwhelming and inspiring. Also? I bristle a wee bit when color pops onto the grid.
Klack
I swear this little 5 dollar macOS utility has increased my productivity. (It adds customizable key click sounds when you're typing.) Seriously, I enjoy typing more now. And for the record I did try a mechanical keyboard and while nice it was too tall.
RYBitten
This exploration of color by David Aerne is both elegant and extremely interactive. Poke around the Gamut Preset section, each expands into deeper explorations of pigment mixing, HSL modeling, expandable swatches, rotating sphere view and then some. / via Scott Bom
Edge of Destiny 360°
I previously shared a 360° video of Weekend Update, but this sketch from SNL is a more entertaining use of the technology (that I can't get to work on adblocked Safari, but could in Firefox. YMMV)
Liminal Bingo
I struggle with photography prompt challenges, but these whacky notions by artist Pat Perry for a group photo hunt is joy inducing.
NOIR, better than an OREO
John Gruber says Newman-Os are far better than Oreos. I've little reason to doubt him, he was right about Trader Joes peanut butter cups. He just shared this tidbit by Jake Adelstein about how the Japanese version of Oreos went south, so a local company picked up the slack. I dig these insights about the cookie (and design of it).
3D Printing a pinball machine
I don't have a 3D printer, but this video makes a compelling case for one. It's fascinating to see the process to make it all the pieces work, and extra delightful with all the variants toward the end.
Filling in the blanks
I thought I’d go back in time and create digests for all the months so far in 2026. You can check them out on my site!
Song of the month. Jesse Welles continues to hone his singer-songwriter craft, replying to headlines with poetic tenacity:
That’s a wrap!
See you next month? Or not! Seriously, feel free to unsubscribe. I totally get it.