The Play issue, from NBA branding to Lego urbanism.
On the Cover: Symphonic Band—Univ. S. Illinois / 1965, by Paul Octavious, from the series “Grandpa’s Records.” Octavious says: “My Grandpa Jud used to play records for me all the time as a kid. I would sit on his floor while he propped his feet up, sat back in his worn leather chair, and smoked apple tobacco from his pipe. Whether it was rock or gospel, Grandpa’s head would nod to the rhythm of the beat. I would always know what record was playing by the spinning colors and patterns in the center of the player. The rotating gradients would put you in a trance, only to be stopped by Grandpa changing the record.”
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FEATURES
 Living in Lego CityPolice checkpoints. The Burj Khalifa. Bears. What kind of urbanism is Lego creating? By Alexandra Lange |
 Meet the McDonald’s Mets? The push to sell uniform ads By Paul Lukas |
 Mighty Mississippi The grit and gospel of a Portland record label By Douglas Wolk |
 Hand Drawn Competition Our annual look at the best in illustration |
 Touch and Go Patrick Smith’s subtle worlds By Bill Kartalopoulos |
 Re/Creation A visual essay on our work away from work By Ted McGrath |
UP FRONT
Errata
A Correction
Grids+Guides
Steven Heller hits the bull’s-eye, Cass McCombs talks type, and Charles Schulz gets naked.
DEPARTMENTS
Dialogue
Steven Heller gets straight to the point with David Rees.
Stereotype
Paul Shaw and Stephen Coles judge an Olympics of type.
Interaction
A theory of amateur information design
Best Practices
How should companies present transparency?
Observer
Rick Poynor on designers’ latest efforts to self-publish
Education
Western-style design education comes to Doha, with a few hiccups.
IN BACK
Back Issue
Martin Fox digs up sports and symbols from the archives
Reviews
Teal Triggs on a visual history of the London riots, and Margaret Eby on Stefan Sagmeister at the ICA Philadelphia
The Goods
A monolith for the digital age; Norah Jones meets Russ Meyer; a self-published novel gets a new face; and a tool for fuss-free quotes.
In the Studio
Lust’s high-tech 17th-century Dutch office
One Perfect Thing
The playing card