015: Futurism, spoons, and the Divine Comedy
Please enjoy the last post of the year. <3
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.
🫵 This is a long one, so you may need to read it in your browser.
Welcome to the last post of the year. I’m going to be taking December off which means my next post will be in January and this post will be a hybrid Asset Library/In the Clouds situation. A joint slay, if you will.
I’m looking forward to taking a lil break from the ‘sletter to regroup, think up new ideas, and spend time with the lovely people in my life.
Hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season! Enjoy.
📚 The Cubies’ ABC by Mary and Earl Harvey Lyall (1913)
A satirical alphabet book mocking cubists and futurists where the husband and wife authors expressed their disgust for what these artists were doing. So petty, so funny, the illustrations are incredible. I’m buying the book ASAP.
If they have really expressed their souls in the things they show us, God help their souls!
Such a cool web experience and interactive expression of the brand. It’s so in depth, I need to study this closely.
🛍️ Holiday Studio NY 2025 Calendar
So good. I love browsing calendars and then never getting one.
I came across this site when I was doing some internal spec work for my job. It’s a great resource for spec imagery or if you’re looking to hire freelance creatives.
Hello Artists is an independent creative agency for artists, run by artists. We are the co-creation of Leah Jacobson and Rachel Shapiro, and we are based in NYC and PDX. Founded in 2009, we commercially represent Photographers, Directors, Set Designers, Prop Stylists and Food Stylists whose work pushes creative boundaries.
A visual and interactive analysis of the top 200 sci-fi films from 1950 to present day and how they view the future. Apt for today.
Cami Tellez from Parade talking about taking a legacy brand to the next level. A great and inspiring read. Take a deeper look at the work here. I think L’eggs is one of my favorite brand names. L’🥚s.
💍 In personal news
I got engaged last month!!!!!!??????!!!!!! Can’t stop bursting into tears.
🔌 Personal plug
ICYMI: I shared a gift guide last month. It has over 200 carefully chosen thoughtful gifts for people in your life. I am really happy with how it turned out and I want to make one million of these. Check it out.
You are now In the Clouds heheh
🗞️ A look back on Quincy Jones quotes
Quincy Jones, producer, legend, incredible quote giver, passed away last month. This article is a loving look back at some of his iconic quotes, including his knowing who killed JFK. RIP king!!
“All the guys in the Vatican had these Vatican black shoes,” Jones recalls, but not the Pope. “He had on some burgundy wingtips, man, with thin tan rib socks, man. We had to go and kiss his hand before we left. And when I kissed his hand, I looked down and saw those shoes and it just fell out of my mouth. I said, ‘Oh, my man’s got some pimp shoes on.’ And he heard me.”
T Magazine’s feature on flowers’ role in culture and tradition around the world is beautiful and striking. A worthwhile read that will inspire you to see the beauty in the world. I love flower content!!! It reminded me of this book that I love perusing when I feel like I need a hit of some beauty.
Emilia Petrarca from Shop Rat covering beautiful flatware. Might put these beauties on the wedding registry.
🗞️ Alberto Tandoi walked 400km across London and photographed all of the people who caught his eye
🖼️ 700 years of Dante’s Divine Comedy in Art
A visual retrospective on depictions of the Divine Comedy through works of art.
Thank you so much for reading Staring at the Ceiling and following along. It means the world.
Bye see u next year!!!!
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.
Oooh, I used that public domain Bror Myer skating photos via flickr book archive for a graphic design assignment in art school a year ago. We did a book about the universe, focusing on circle, line and spirals. I came across them during our research… and I loved them! :)
Ah, you mean sharing the assignment (the task), or sharing photos of my finished book/pages? I never scanned it, but could make a photo tomorrow (maybe of the page with the skates!), if you want. But I can also share the assignment – the task was to create a typographic soap opera (which could basically mean anything). We then had to make a script for that (fictional) typographic soap opera… Originally, the teacher had typographic soap opera videos planned but no one managed to do it during the semester's time schedule, so we stayed with the printed scripts and they turned out beautifully and very diverse! Because the task left a lot of room to interpretation :)