Amit Jakhu

Anime North 2012

Sun, 27 May 2012 20:59:00 -0400

Anime North 2012

FF Chartwell, a Chart Font

Fri, 18 May 2012 13:55:57 -0400

This has got to be the most amazing innovation in type I have seen in a long while; maybe ever.

Earlier today Erik Spiekermann made mention of FF Chartwell, and, at least conceptually, it’s pretty fantastic.

Similar to the way icon fonts replace keyboard characters with icons, FF Chartwell uses alphanumeric characters to generate beautiful charts on the fly. To my knowledge, however, this works only in software programs and can’t be embedded in web pages.

Update: It can be embedded. It’s possible to embed it, but the current EULA doesn’t allow it. Demo by Yaron Schoen who says, “Besides the FOUT which was really hard (impossible?) to remove, it was glorious.”

The family includes “weights” for creating bar, line, radar, pie, rose, and ring charts. A simple math equation, such as 10+20+30, is all that’s needed to generate the chart. Each value can be assigned a color, which in turn becomes the value’s color in the chart.

In something such as Photoshop, it’s quite cumbersome to change the values, as you have to enable and disable the OpenType feature to do so. In other programs such as InDesign, this isn’t as cumbersome (as shown in the video above).

Here’s a simple example using Chartwell Rings and Chartwell Lines. The same equation is utilized in both charts:

Conceptually, I love the idea and hope to see this and other fonts expand to include webfont embedding, assuming the data could be represented semantically and accessibly. You can purchase FF Chartwell as a whole or as separate charts, and you can find additional usage examples on the FontFont blog.

Beautiful day outside today. (Taken with InstaCam)

Thu, 10 May 2012 21:19:00 -0400

Beautiful day outside today. (Taken with InstaCam)

The Naive Optimist: I don't have nice stuff anymore

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:24:00 -0400

The Naive Optimist: I don't have nice stuff anymore :

ryanleecarson:

I’ve bought some pretty nice cars over the years including a brand new Audi A6 and a Range Rover Vogue. I also purchased a Breitling Navitimer Montbrillant Datora, which is an expensive (and heavy!) watch.

I now ride a bike and wear a Casio watch.

What changed?

Thankfully my pay has gone up a bit over the years (and we were fortunate to sell our Events Company last year), so cash-flow isn’t the problem.

I just realized there wasn’t any real joy in owning expensive things. I think the reason I bought them is because deep down, I thought it showed I was somehow special. How ridiculous is that? I almost didn’t write this post because it’s too embarrassing but I figure it might keep one or two of you from wasting your money on material crap that won’t make you happy.

If you want people to like you, just smile, remember people’s names, show interest in their lives and be pro-actively helpful. Put other people’s happiness before your own. That’s all there is to it.

Real friends will make you happy, because genuine friendships are special.

I can say with confidence, I am no more happy or sad then I was when I owned nice cars and watches. I feel stupid for buying them and I feel sad for people who are still buying the lies that luxury companies are selling.

Finished my last assignment for second year graphic design last...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:56:05 -0400

Finished my last assignment for second year graphic design last night. Kinetic typography of the reunion of Clark and Lex on the series finale of Smallville.

Morning of Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012 at Humber College

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 02:37:00 -0400

Morning of Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012 at Humber College

Dope evening today

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:31:00 -0400

Dope evening today

Imagine this app on a Windows 8 tablet, let’s say Asus...

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:47:04 -0400

Imagine this app on a Windows 8 tablet, let’s say Asus Transformer Prime, with Wacom support. It’s the merging of everything, your laptop and tablet to essentially become your notebook. Really hope Fiftythree releases it for Windows 8.

“I shot the sheriff, but didn’t steal his...

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:24:37 -0400

“I shot the sheriff, but didn’t steal his rifle.”

Not only is this a great cause but the storytelling in this...

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 23:01:01 -0400

Not only is this a great cause but the storytelling in this video is amazing. I really appreciate the work everyone is doing at charity:water. Check them out: http://www.charitywater.org/

I don’t really make a big deal about my birthdays but if I...

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 20:41:00 -0400

I don’t really make a big deal about my birthdays but if I can at least help someone with it, then that’s awesome.

So this year, I’m giving my birthday up.

I’m turning 20 years old and hoping to see people donate at least $20. I think charity: water is doing an amazing job. All of it is going to build freshwater projects for people in developing countries.

Almost a billion people in the world are living without clean water — but how much are they really living? Millions contract deadly diseases from contaminated water. 30,000 people will die this week alone. The lucky ones won’t, but still have to walk hours each day to get dirty water for their families.

I would like to make my birthday matter this year.

The best part: 100% of all donations go directly toward water projects. And about 18 months after this campaign ends, charity: water will show us where and how every dollar we raised ended up helping in the field. We’ll see GPS coordinates, photos and more details about the communities we’ve impacted.

Please join me. http://mycharitywater.org/amitjakhu

Heartbeats and boom-bap. I’d die without this; hip hop!

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:14:00 -0400

Heartbeats and boom-bap. I’d die without this; hip hop!

Video

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:15:34 -0500

Download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:43:00 -0500

Download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Jason Santa Maria - On Web Typography Amazing talk at the Build...

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:27:00 -0500

Jason Santa Maria - On Web Typography

Amazing talk at the Build conference. I recommend you check it out for more info on type and inspiration.

Voltage: Fashion Amplified 2011

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:23:00 -0500

Voltage: Fashion Amplified 2011:

Holy shit! This is an awesome website for typography inspiration!

P.S. The type on the posters/images is actual type.

"You’re not selling a drill, you’re selling the hole in the wall."

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:22:22 -0500

“You’re not selling a drill, you’re selling the hole in the wall.”

- Scott Christie

Happy birthday Nujabes. Rest in peace.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:34:27 -0500

Happy birthday Nujabes. Rest in peace.

“You need to slow down, every once in a while.” -...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:26:08 -0500

“You need to slow down, every once in a while.” - Grieves

“Linotype: The Film” Official Trailer “Linotype: The Film” is a...

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:50:19 -0500

“Linotype: The Film” Official Trailer

“Linotype: The Film” is a feature-length documentary centered around the Linotype type casting machine. Called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” by Thomas Edison, it revolutionized printing and society.

The film tells the surprisingly emotional story of the people connected to the Linotype and how it impacted the world.

linotypefilm.com