Asset Library 009: Maurice Sendak, love songs, and sharing your work

Happy new year, etc.

Welcome to Asset Library, my graphic design newsletter where I share inspiring and interesting design, tools, articles, etc. on the first Monday of the month.

Happy new year! I am very happy to be back in your inbox. 2024 was a huge year for me: I left agency world after five years and went brand side, I got engaged (!!!), I started this newsletter. It’s been the best thing I have done for myself creatively maybe ever? I missed writing it, talking to my little online friends, collecting inspiration, and having something to do every two weeks.

I have some new ideas for Staring at the Ceiling this year, but I am mostly just excited to be here, keeping things consistent. I feel inspired and ready to “get after it,” as they say.

🪩 Some year in review and new year things

2024 recurring design trends via Brand New

Who is Pantone’s color of the year for? via Elizabeth Goodspeed

Design trends for 2025 via Creative Boom

Best album art of 2024 via Creative Review

Best movie posters of 2024 via Creative Review

💡 100 ways to share your work that aren’t social media

I often hear people in my life yearn for a way to share their personal art outside of Instagram and the like. This list felt new-year’s-resolution-adjacent and casts a wide net for motivations in sharing work—connecting with others, growing your business, getting over shyness, building a consistent practice. Take a look.

🏺 The Maurice Sendak exhibit at the Denver Art Museum

Maurice Sendak was an illustrator known for Where the Wild Things Are, Little Bear, and In the Night Kitchen. The exhibit was in depth and surprisingly moving, full of his studies and illustrations. It really felt as though you were walking through his mind and his sketchbooks. He was a visionary and saw children as complex and intelligent beings who deserve beautiful art.

“You cannot write for children. They're much too complicated. You can only write books that are of interest to them.”

One of my favorite parts of the exhibit were the studies and final illustrations for A Hole is to Dig, which is a list of definitions for children like “rugs are so you don’t get splinters in you” and “the sun is so it can be a great day.” I got choked up multiple times throughout, not for any particular reason, but I think because his work is merry, sweet, joyful, and wise.

The exhibit closes February 17, go if you can!! It’s very kid friendly and they have a little reading room full of his books :’)

I love how sweet so many of the studies are, especially the little “boodlyboodlyboodly” kid and the existential little dog.

🌀 Design details that feel like magic

Snowflakes falling on the Threads homepage, channels to flipbooks in Are.na, the new flashlight controls in iOS…A lot of very satisfying and joyful creative spells in digital experiences. You can filter by category!!

🖼️ Visualizing the Paris uprising of May 1968

🗞️ Caleb Vandem Boom on designing for Clairo and Vampire Weekend

Clairo’s Charm album art has been working overtime on Graphic Design Substack so I was thrilled to find an interview with the designer behind everyone’s favorite whimsical type.

“Design can expand an artist’s world beyond their audio output. In many cases the visual component may be the first thing to pique someone’s interest, and therefore colour how they experience it, which I don’t take lightly,” he says. “I love that these kinds of projects really have an audience who deeply cares about the work.”

🌀 Is the love song dying? The answer may surprise you

A lovely data analysis of over 5,000 love songs since 1958. Long live the love song!

🛠️ Paletton

Paletton is an online color scheme designer that helps users create harmonious color combinations. You can select from monochromatic, adjacent, triad, tetrad, and freestyle color sets.

🎧 Shaping design and culture at the NYT, Jessi Brattengeier on the Creative Boom Podcast

A great conversation about design culture building from someone who is passionate about it and her job in general.

I am a huge fan of the State of the Times event design and the NYT’s brand work and am looking forward to this year’s edition. Internal brand work is as important as external brand work!!

👁️ A little book preview of what’s to come

I went crazy mode and bought many many design books I can’t wait to share this year.

Thanks for reading! :)

See you next time. On the first Monday of the month, you can expect Asset Library and on the third Monday of the month you can expect In the Clouds in your inboxes.

---