WEBSITE | It's the perfect combination of smart writing and impactful imagery, in the service of fascinating, compelling stories about the natural world. BIOGRAPHIC (biographic.com), an online multimedia magazine powered by the California Academy of Sciences, is a treasure trove of information that arranges its stories under six headers — Wild Life, Places, Systems, People, Discoveries, Solutions — with crossover among categories and the option to focus on individual elements (opinion pieces, articles, photos, videos). Read about everything from old-growth logging in Alaska's Tongass National Forest to the KwaZulu-Natal sardine run off the coast of South Africa (Look it up: it's a thing. A big thing) to the ongoing plight of the honey bee, with one common theme, more important than ever: Nature is worth protecting.
FONT | That's right, font. As in typeface. For example, these words are printed in a font known as Gotham X Narrow. A font called COMMON SANS, developed by the Stockholm design studio Essen International, features a unique element, intended as a response to a mounting wave of anti-immigrant sentiment in Sweden: When you type the word "refugee," the font itself, using software called Glyphs in an OpenType file format, autocorrects it to "human." As Essen puts it, "Being a refugee is a temporary status, being a human is permanent. Humans are amazing. A stamp on their passport should not let us believe otherwise. Rewrite, retype, rethink." You can download Common Sans for your own use at commonsans.com.
SERIES | Not watching the NBA FINALS? You're missing history in the making. For 71 years, the league has matched its conference champions in a best-of-seven final, but two teams had never played for the title three consecutive times — until now. After taking Games 1 and 2 at home, Golden State is halfway to its second crown in three years; with victories in Games 3 and 4 at Cleveland this week, the Warriors would become the first NBA champion to go undefeated in the playoffs. Golden State's offensive arsenal features Steph Curry, a ringless-for-now Kevin Durant and former WSU star Klay Thompson; the defending champion Cavaliers are led by this generation's most dominant player, LeBron James, making his seventh consecutive finals appearance and seeking his fourth title, and rising star Kyrie Irving. The Warriors, who last June became the first team to blow a 3-1 NBA finals lead, have one thing on their minds: revenge. ♦
