Having trouble nodding off or in search of a proper restful night’s sleep? Maybe this podcast can help. This is a compilation put together by our resident audiophile of melodies that send us to sleep in a totally good way. Featured in this podcast are These New Puritans [thesenewpuritans.com] / Saint Etienne [saintetienne.com] / Charlotte Gainsbourg [charlottegainsbourg.com] / Bows [via last.fm] / Add N to (X) [addntox.com] / Luna [fuzzywuzzy.com] / Stereolab [stereolab.co.uk] / Crystal Castles [crystalcastles.com] / The Telescopes [antennarecords.com] / SeeFeel [via the dreaded MySpace]. If you’ve got a particular track that you use to help you drift off let us know what it is by leaving a comment or tweet after this post. Night night, Sleep tight, Don’t let them there pesky bed bugs bite.

[Download MP3]

Okay, so I’ve been a bit slack on the old blog posts lately. As you can imagine, organising Linefeed’s escape from Bubbleland and return to Old Blighty has been taking up a lot of brainspace. New posts coming up include a video discussing the most note worthy magazines from the last decade as well as news about LineRead #3 and the start of a new series entitled ‘Why Blog?’. All this and more coming up, meanwhile you can now have a flick through LineRead #2 via Issuu. And remember, if you’d like to nab a copy to have and the hold forever you can still purchase one via MagCloud [magcloud.com]. I do believe there’s 25% off at the moment too.

This edition includes a new project called ‘disconnect then fracture’ ✖ an investigation into occultish cinema, tv, music and publications ✖ a round up of creative talent from the linefeed archives ✖ a look at why modern politics is broken ✖ a feature on the trouble with typography ✖ a debate on whether Australian graphic design in trouble ✖ 3 out of our 100 things plus scatch and sniff stickers from the vault and loads more.

On the theme of evolving logos is this one for the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) [abc.net.au], one of the most beloved (and much debated) institutions in the country, which has seen its lissajous curve [wikipedia] logo grow from a simple line drawing to a reflective, metallic 3D object. Like many people who grew up with it, I have a fondness for the 1975 – 2000 iteration (shown above), however this is a good example of how to succesfully expand and develop a logo overtime without the need for a complete revision. ☀ Linefeed’s Notes: ABC is Australia’s equivalent to the BBC, you can tell because there’s loads of BBC programmes on it. Heath is right, in that this is a good example of how to keep hold of a mark without completely redesigning it every few years. If anything, the current 3D effect logo is a little over evolved. Not to mention, over photoshoped, over shiny, and over bowed, in which I mean, it looks kind of wonky and has lost the simple geometry that made it so attractive in the first place.

The problem here though is that the popular interweb as we know it, in terms of age and attitude, is a teenager. Us older types linger on sites that are constantly battling with the choice between stagnation and change. It’s a given that blogs stay relevant by changing as often as they can. Stop posting for while and your audience eventually dissipates. What’s happening now is that the blogging as a format has begun to share a similar fate, coming across as predictable and a bit stale.

It’s an odd thought that blogging itself could become an outmoded exercise. Once, both beacon of hope and scrounge of ‘proper’ journalism, blogging reached out from the internet and effected huge change in the way people consume mass media. Newspapers are still on the run from ‘citizen’ journalism, unsure whether to embrace or reject this intrusion into an age old arena. You get the feeling they are increasingly worried about the 140 word counts you need to get yourself noticed on Twitter these days though or how to distract the nattering masses using Facebook or whittle down their content to fit an iPhone app.

We here at Linefeed have been musing on the future of blogging for some time now and although we still feel it’s a valid and entertaining way to communicate with an audience of like minded individuals (and, indeed, friends – if you have read this far you are definitely a friend of Linefeed and thanks for stopping by), we can see the cracks appearing. That’s why you can now listen to our podcasts [linefeed/podcasts], watch our vids [vimeo.com/lineout] and buy our print-on-demand magazine [magcloud.com/lineread].

Finding new formats to disseminate our information is all part of the fun. One major change were making right here, right now is to shift our focus slightly back to print. Most of the articles appearing on Linefeed will now have been written for LineRead rather than the other way around. It’s a subtle shift but one we think will benefit both this here blog and our printed publication. Sounds a bit revisionist, I know, but there is the possibility that one day the internet itself will become passé, whereas print seem to endure and endure. Besides, things still just look better in print, don’t they?

Designed by Ken Cato [cato.com.au] in 1986, the Australian Made [australianmade.com.au] logo is used to certify products that have been substantially created in Australia, to help promote and encourage Australian industry. It’s a fabulous logo, with it’s hyper-stylized kangaroo and green triangular form making it one of the most recognizable and desirable logos in the country. ☀ Linefeed’s Notes: Cato Partners will go down in history as one of the most aggressively commercial of all Australian graphic design agencies and the major design player in 1980s Australian corporate culture. Looking at their recent work you get the impression they are still revelling in their glory days, while the rest of the world has moved on. Still, there’s no denying that they helped define an identity for Australia that continues to permeate the country’s visual culture.

The Internetwork
[theinternetwork.com.au]
Australia may be home to the incredible shrinking interweb but there is a bit of a groundswell as far as people wanting to write and read about creative culture online at the mo. Enter the new blog from Right Angle [rightanglestudio.com.au], including posts from top and very current creative talent such as Jeremy Wortsman [jackywinter.com], Jonathan Zawada [zawada.com.au] and Perks & Mini [perksandmini.com].
—
Australian Infront
[australianinfront.com.au]
Australia Infront has been around for an age and stood as the true bastion of Australian Graphic Design online for, pretty much, all of that time. The forums have always been pretty lively though the site languished n redesign hell for quite a few years until recently cause…. it’s back! And featuring a whole new crew of enthusiastic creatives including Jim Antonopoulos [tankstudio.com.au], Rebecca Wolkenstein [rebeccawolkenstein.com], Adam Gibson [southsouthwest.com.au] fellow podcaster Aaron Moodie [peoplecollective.com.au] and your humble author. Go join the conversation.
—
Re-Collection
[recollection.com.au]
Last Aussie Design site for now. Re-Collection is an heroic attempt to reconnect the dots from Australia’s shady graphic past with the present day. Having attempted to unearth a few graphic treasures from Australia’s seemingly disposable recent history ourselves, we know what a task this is so much respect to Dominic Hofstede [hofstede.com.au] for taking on the challenge.
—
Johnson Banks’
Thought for the Week
[johnsonbanks.co.uk/thoughtfortheweek]
Much more than just a thought for the week is the blogsite for the London-based design and branding practise of Michael Johnson and co. Responsible for some of the most widely recognised identities and campaigns in the U.K., their blog offers an insight into their day to day practise and a whole lot more.
—
Things magazine
[thingsmagazine.net]
Things is always chock full of… er.. things. And all manner of things from the little known fact that Australians have the largest homes in the world to a short history of amateur amusement parks to fighting in zero gravity and far far beyond. The site even includes a Pelican books archive. Exhaustive barely touches it.
—
idsgn
[idsgn.org]
Some sites don’t offer anything overly unusual or unique but manage to hit the nail on the head as far as the way they write and present the info there. idsgn is such a site. An instinctual gift for sniffing out design news and trends makes this site a must read for anyone with even a passing interest in visual culture.
—
Grafik Cache
[grafikcache.com]
A similar thing could be said about Grafik Cache. In fact, they’ve made it even easier for themselves by not including any text at all, yet still manage to surprise and inspire with the selection of graphic work they scour the interwebs for on a regular basis. So many times, I’ve seen work on there and thought, ‘Oh, yeah, I forgot about them. They’re doing really nice work!’.
—
Hi+Low
[hi-and-low.typepad.com]
Hi+Low shows how curation makes all the difference when it comes to blogsites you want to hang out at. Graphic design and product design, from distinctly different eras, intermingle in a way that makes for a cohesive archive of ace stuff.
—
Site Inspire
[siteinspire.net]
Site Inspire should be the visual bible for web designers everywhere. Curator Daniel Howells’ [kulor.net] taste in online design is pitch perfect. If the only sites on the interwebs were the one’s featured on Site Inspire, the world would be a much more aesthetically pleasing place. The site goes beyond merely showcasing other people’s work too by offering loads of handy tools for designers to bookmark and categorise the vast bank of references on the site.
—
Friends of Type
[friendsoftype.com]
The typographic sketchbook blog is not a new idea, but again it’s all in the execution. In this case Aaron Carambula [objectivesubject.com], Erik Marinovich [thebiganimals.com/erik], Jason Wong [enormouschampion.com] and Dennis Payongayong have developed an energetic and inventive playground for their typographic experiments and sketches and update on a regular basis.
—
10 magazine
[10magazine.com/blog]
Fashion magazines – there’s not many you’d buy for the writing, are there? 10 is an exception though and their blog carries with it their special blend of affection and irreverence that is their unique selling point.
—
Dear Me, Scott King
[dearme.spex.de]
Ex Art Director for i-D and Sleazenation, Scott King [scottking.co.uk] has been writing a blog for German music and youth culture, Spex [spex.de] for a few months now. Many of Mr King’s personal projects beat design and politics together to create new forms, and you get a taste of the thinking behind much a what he does from here. It’s worth noting that it’s often quite funny too. Sample quote: “Mum! is this what will happen if I carry on smoking?” “Yes son, you’ll grow a gigantic moustache and everyone will think you’re a hermaphrodite from 1973.”

Vvork [vvork.com]
MagCulture [magculture.com/blog]
Brand New [underconsideration.com/brandnew]
Manystuff [manystuff.org]
It’s Nice That [itsnicethat.com]