Jezper.se

Thoughts

by Jezper
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    What’s up with Google Photos?

    For “we’re-printing-a-book-with-baby-photos” reasons I’m currently forced* to use Google Photos to organize the photos we want included. And I’m baffled. I just assumed that since Google Photos has been around for so long it would be at least a couple of steps ahead of iCloud Photos Library.

    But oh no. This service is clearly not built by people that care about photos. Or people. Or use cases. Or volume. Or curation. Organise albums in folders? Nope. Batch delete? Nope? Different types of views? Faces identification? It’s complicated for unknown reasons.

    The only thing I’ve found that I was pleasantly surprised by was the ability to batch edit dates of a group of photos while keeping the time relative to each other. That’s quite neat. But that’s all.

    It makes me truly appreciate iCloud Photo Library even more, how far it has come. I need to up my game to convert my Xbox loving, Windows hugging, Android swinging future wife to be to join me on this side.

    *the only service we’ve found that supports the amount of pages we want is Optimalprint, which allows for Google Photos integration or direct file upload. However, if you want the book chronological, direct file upload doesn’t work since they will come into the order they are uploaded which is not sequentially, so it turns into a mess. And there’s no meta data, search or filtering, so you then have to re-arrange based purely on looking at them. That’s a no go. That leaves Google Photos.

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    Caving to trends

    Friskis & Svettis is an institution in Sweden. A non-profit movement started in the late seventies with the goal to get Swedes to become healthier by way of exercise. All Swedes are familiar with Friskis & Svettis, it’s a very strong brand, in fact one of the strongest in Sweden. And they have this beautiful timeless logotype that has been around since the very beginning, inspired by blood vessels and pumping blood. Designed by illustrator and typographer Lars Laurentii, and his personal favorite or all logotypes he designed. It’s a beautiful logotype with immediate and positive brand recognition nationally.

    That’s why it pains me to see them make more and more use of a poorly spaced plain sans serif font like pictured above. I see it on busses, trams, billboards and online. It shows an organisation caving to recent design trends. Specifically the typographical logo trend to replace whatever you have with a minimalist sans serif font (the sans serif invasion) that says nothing about you as a company except that you’re now following instead of leading. The glimmer of hope here is that this generic font (Aperçu) didn’t outright replace the old logo, for now only appending it or as a variant. The old logo is not out, but something is definitely in. And it has me worried and I hope they back away from this.

    They already messed with the original logo once, making a less than stellar job updating it by making the lines thinner and adding rings. The changes disturb the harmony of the original, reducing the legibility and making it a little more sterile. And to no discernible benefit other than change for changes sake. Which is also a red flag of misguided attempts to address some type of challenge you as a company think you have.

    The sans serif invasion is everywhere. Picture from Velvet Shark.

    Not all companies have great logos. Most don’t. And for misguided design departments or desperate marketing teams, I see the allure to follow suit when big successful brands change their logos. But when you’re sitting on one of the highest regarded brands with a price winning logotype everyone recognizes in positive terms, brand affinity through the roof, you should probably think twice before touching it. If your business is in need of change related to trends or globalization or competitors or other business challenges, look elsewhere for change than your logo. Your logo is rarely the reason for your current challenges. And messing with a good one can cost your brand a lot, see also Tropicana.

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    The case for motorcycling

    Motorcycling is generally considered to be a very dangerous hobby so most people will never even entertain the idea of trying it out. We all try to balance risk and reward in life, but I’d like to make the case that the reward of motorcycling is definitely worth the risk. 

    If motorcycling is very dangerous (it is), then the reward must be very rewarding? Yes. Yes it must. If you’ve never tried, I have good news for you. Motorcycling is one of the most rewarding things you can do. I believe I could make a compelling case purely on the sensation of being out in the open, leaning in and out of turns, feeling the wind and the speed. It’s fun, it’s exciting and physical and it’s like nothing else. Bikers know what I mean. But I would like to focus on another aspect, the positive mental health effects of motorcycling.

    I’m a thinker. I think a lot. About the past, the present, the future, the universe, our existence. Sometimes I think a lot, sometimes I think less, but I’m always thinking and I can’t stop it and “just relax”. I don’t mind most of the time, but it always keeps your mind occupied with something. There are very few things in life that can distract you from thinking. I’ve found meditation very hard, I have a difficult time trying to force myself to not think of things while not doing much else and I can’t imagine being the only one struggling. But I’ve found the perfect way to clear my mind and not think about anything and it takes no effort and no training and it happens automatically. You guessed it: a motorcycle ride.

    When on a motorcycle, you know the deal. It’s fast, it’s heavy and it’s hard. You’re riding in traffic, full of other fast, heavy and hard things. The stakes are high, any mistake could turn into a catastrophe. That’s why so much of the training for a motorcycle license (at least in Sweden, at least when I got it 2004) focuses on instincts and awareness. This trains you to be in the ”now” all the time. The combination of speed and risk takes all your mental effort to make sure you got the situation under control. This paradoxically doesn’t tire you, it keeps you calm. There is no mental capacity to think about other things, all the mental computing power is spent on being aware while riding, but since you’re trained to ride you don’t have to exert any mental effort, it happens by instinct once you’ve become a seasoned rider.

    For a thinker, it’s a breath of fresh air to have your mind cleared so completely. Especially when it’s so effortless. Combined with what I mentioned earlier, motorcycling almost turns into a wellness activity; physical stimulation and mental relaxation.

    You should try it.