Bob Wertz

Went for a stroll around Mungo Park (which happens to be in our backyard). Sun is out, but there is still lots of beautiful snow-covered terrain.

I started reading about alternative academic publishing this morning. Some of the articles are 15-20 years old. I’m a little surprised that over that time, no one has built a successful alternative system. I guess all of the entrenched economic and cultural issues have been too much to overcome.

We got a few inches of snow here in Columbia, South Carolina. Roads are covered with ice and everything is shut down. Staying home today.

Snow is falling steadily here in Columbia.

Looks like Columbia missed the worst of the winter storm. Still some ice out there. The kids have an e-learning day, so I’m grateful my teenage driver doesn’t have to navigate ice this morning. And I’m thankful for the late start for my work today.

For 13 years, I managed the visual brand of the University of South Carolina. I led creative teams and worked with vendors and agencies. I produced banners, designed signage, wrapped buses, worked on TV commercials, and installed 6-foot high USC letters. And while I loved my time as the “Guardian of the USC Brand,”¹ this summer, I started to think about making a career change. I’m getting close to finishing my Ph.D. The design industry has changed in countless ways since I started my career almost 30 years ago, and while some of it is great, there are other parts that I don’t love as much. I wanted to stay at USC, so I started looking for other jobs on campus that I felt like would be a good next step for me.

I assumed that role would be a communications job in a different unit on...

I recently created a couple of new fonts over on Fontstruct: SbB Crunch’d and SbB Papaya 26.

SbB Crunch’d

SbB Crunch’d is a little random. Normally when I start working on a type design, I have an idea of how it will be used. In this case, I started with the shape of the “scalloped edges” and built out the font from there. I like how it turned out, even if I have no idea how I’d use it in a layout.

SbB Papaya 26

Last year, I built a font based on the numerals on McLaren’s F1 livery. The new SbB Papaya 26 updates the font to align with the look of the 2026 preseason McLaren social media graphics. Compared to my original interpretation, the 2026 font is a little more conservative and more readable.

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