Ever since Helvetica hit the (video) screens way back in 2007, there has been a plethora of great and intriguing design documentaries that have given the general public, and even us designers, an inside look into our profession. We tracked down some of our favorite new documentaries to share with you. Keep an eye out for these at your favorite independent theater.

Objectified – Trailer
Gary Hustwit’s first documentary following Helvetica highlights industrial design and how everyday objects affect our world. This documentary features interviews from many of today’s top industrial designers including Chris Bangle, Karim Rashid, Tim Brown, along with several top commentators and experts in the field. Covering a wide range of topics in industrial design, Objectified is an awesome introduction into our “object” world. It was just released on DVD last week, so pick it up now.

Art & Copy – Trailer
Art & Copy opens an eye to the advertising world that the public doesn’t normally see. It features commentary by advertisers and an overview of some of the greatest ad campaigns of the last 50 years. This is surely a must-see to anyone who consumes advetisements…which is everyone.

Milton Glaser: To Inform & Delight – Trailer
One of the most iconic American designers of the twentieth century, Milton Glaser has produced some of the most engaging works in the last half century. These include the famous poster from 1967′s Bob Dylan Greatest Hits, The I Heart NY campaign, and several high profile posters for various festivals and campaigns worldwide. Get a better look at the genius of Glaser’s work, process, and theories with this documentary.

Typeface – Sneak Peek
Typeface, which just premiered last month, focuses on the tradition of letterpress printing and printmaking. Featuring historians and printmakers based out of the Hamilton Type Museum in Twin Rivers, Wisconsin, Typeface is the de facto documentary in the wooden type revival.

Died Young, Stayed Pretty – Trailer
Died Young, Stayed Pretty follows the evolution and growth of the current underground concert poster scene, all while questioning whether or not it even exists. Meet some fantastic poster artists, including one of our favorites, Chicago’s own Jay Ryan.

Which one is your favorite? Drop us a comment below. If you feel like going old school, you can check out this series of documentaries produced by the BBC chronicling the invention of the Gutenberg press, arguably the most important invention…ever.

At a conference like AIGA’s Make/Think Conference, it’s impossible to boil down the few precious days into one sound byte, but there has been a quote going around that, if we were to be so bold, could come close to summarizing the very purpose and reason the conference exists:

“Creativity is a habit. It’s not something the happens in the shower.”
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Some of you may or may not know, but today, April 27th, is World Graphic Design Day. A fairly new holiday, with the initial celebration being in 1995, it began as a way to honor the field of graphic/commercial design. On this day we break out the party hats and commemorate our wonderful profession with typeface documentaries, passionate critiques, and catching up with our designer buddies.

How do you plan on celebrating? 

P.S. don’t forget to send your beloved designer friends a card in their favorite font!

It’s in our nature to anticipate the future – we always want to make things better than they already are. Even the smallest ideas, from a single person, can eventually grow into something massive and perhaps even change the world. Just think, because of our desire for progress computers are faster, communication is easier, and we have hundreds of different fonts to choose from!

This simple concept is the foundation of a website community known as The Better Project. We at Rule29 love our social networks, but we love it even more when those networks can change the world through collaboration.
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In most areas Daylight Savings Time messed with lots of sleep patterns this past weekend, but is there any real benefit to this practice anymore? First proposed in 1907 by William Willett, DST has become a controversial topic this time of year. Many claim that DST actually goes against the green movement by increasing our overall energy consumption in the summer months. The extra hour of sunlight forces many to crank their air conditioning for an extra hour, supposedly offsetting the lack of artificial light usage. However, we think that brighter evenings can be beneficial to the green movement!

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