Hero of the Week: Steve McQueen

Recently, LIFE Magazine made much of the photo archive available to the public online. This massive treasure trove of iconic imagery is wonderful, and a great way to kill several hours at a time. Check 'em out here.

Last month LIFE posted 20 unpublished photos of Steve McQueen just hanging out in his free time. They feature McQueen doing all the things you would think he would do in his free time. As GQ put it, "LIFE just unearthed 20 candid photos of McQueen doing exactly what you imagined him doing off-set: chugging beers, playing with guns, practicing his jabs at the gym, shamelessly breaking public deceny laws, and speeding in cars like nobody's business. Check it out".

From LIFE:

In the spring of 1963, Steve McQueen was on the brink of superstardom, already popular from his big-screen breakout as one of The Magnificent Seven and just a couple months away from entering the Badass Hall of Fame with the release of The Great Escape. Intrigued by his dramatic backstory and his off-screen exploits — McQueen was a reformed delinquent who got his thrills racing cars and motorcycles — LIFE sent photographer John Dominis to California to hang out with the 33-year-old actor and see what he could get. Three weeks and more than 40 rolls of film later, Dominis had captured some astonishingly intimate and iconic images, photos impossible to imagine in today's restricted-access celebrity world. Only a handful of those photos have ever been published… but now, in celebration of what would have been McQueen's 80th birthday (March 24), LIFE.com presents these never-before-seen gems from that legendary assignment, along with insights from Dominis about the time he spent with the man who would become known as the King of Cool.

Post It Animation Is Awesome

Saw this clip over at GQ. So cool.

A stop-motion animation clip by Savannah College of Art and Design student Bang-yao Liu. Be sure to catch the making-of too.

Like Wim Crouwel? Then You Have Hit the Jackpot

Here is a treasure trove of brilliant Wim Crouwel work from across the decades. Spend some time here, you will enjoy it.

Is Archer Played?

One of the best contemporary typefaces, Archer (the entire family) from the great, great Hoefler & Frere-Jones is everywhere these days. ISO50 asks the obvious question, is Archer played?

From ISO50:

One of the very first articles I ever wrote for this blog lamented the careless proliferation of Archer, the slab serif from H&FJ. At the time, I was specifically reacting to the unfortunate redesign of the San Francisco Chronicle. That was in February of last year. Since then, the typeface has spread itself ever further, and continues to pop up just about everywhere.

Lauren Adams wrote a article about this very topic over on the AIGA blog. She states, “Archer’s instant stardom raises questions about its appropriateness. Can a font with such a defined character properly suit so many purposes?” She goes on to point out numerous recent examples of Archer’s continued domination of the ‘friendly’ typeface sphere. I was excited to see her article, as this issue continues to bug me the more I spot those little ball terminals. (Be sure to check out the blog she mentions, Archer Alert, for recent examples of Archer in the wild.)

At the end of my article back then, I asked if “Archer was the next Papyrus” — a polarizing contention to be sure — but maybe now my question doesn’t seem so far fetched. Before you get all crazy on me, let me say again that I am a *fan* of Archer. It looks good. I have nothing against the way it is drawn and actually think that it is quite amazing (like all of H&FJ’s work). Though as Lauren states, “an elegant typeface doesn’t simply translate to universal functionality.” I would add that such a distinctive typeface shouldn’t translate to ubiquity.

Like Papyrus, Archer shares a unique personality and the aforementioned “defined character”. Just as Papyrus became the go-to font for “exotic” or “earthy”, Archer has become the easy choice for “friendly” and “approachable”, which makes its misuse all the more prevalent. The more Archer is used in scenarios where it’s vaguely appropriate, the less effective it becomes in situations where it actually makes sense. As Christopher Simmons points out in the comments over there, “In unskilled hands even a Stradivarious will only make noise”. With Archer being clumsily wielded as frequently as it is, it’s this “noise” that has rendered unbiased viewings of the typeface impossible.

So I’ll ask again and this time duck for cover, is Archer the next Papyrus? Is it just a matter of time before the next summer blockbuster uses Archer for the movie poster?

Personally, I don't think that it is possible for Archer to be the next Papyrus, as Archer is a much more refined, correctly cut face. But the fact is that it is everywhere.