Bob Wertz

SbB Powertrain in use: Eurobasket

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:45:01 -0400

Being a type designer can be weird. You create your design. Share it with the world. And then someday, unexpectedly, it shows up again.

I designed SbB Powertrain over a decade ago and I was very surprised to see it pop up in a clip of Gamecock Women’s Basketball player Ali Tournebize dunking in the 2024 Eurobasket U18 bronze medal game. Turns out that FIBA uses Powertrain as part of the identity for their Eurobasket tournament. It was used heavily for the 2024 and it looks like they are still using it in some places. Here are a couple of examples that I stumbled across.

If you look closely to the videos, Powertrain is used for the 2024 at center court and on some of the courtside screens. So much fun to see my type design in use, especially in a global context. Learn more about SbB Powertrain and my other fonts at sbbfonts.com.

Bob Wertz is a type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:41:05 -0400

This academic study in Visual Communication analyzing G.I. Joe “Knowing is half the battle” PSAs from the early 1980s is amazing. Sadly not open access, but you should read it if you are Gen X and have access through your university library.

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:03:14 -0400

I’m fascinated by the minimalist approach that Slate is taking with their EV pickup. I see opportunity for customization, but others see a small truck without a built-in sound system. This article does a good job of summing up the challenges Slate faces in taking a radically different approach.

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:52:44 -0400

Witnessed a drone delivery yesterday for the first time when shopping in southern Charlotte. Apparently, it’s a partnership beween Doordash and Wing, and only available in a four mile radius of the shopping center we were in. Strange to see a drone lower a package to the ground, and then fly off.

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 21:26:01 -0400

Go Gamecocks!!!! 🏀

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 18:35:20 -0400

Spring is here. I looked up while grilling and noticed our backyard trees are finally all green again. 🍃🍃🍃

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 20:54:31 -0400

Ryan got his first high school start tonight when the starting goalie injured his hand in warm ups. He got the win and a shut out.

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:07:13 -0400

Bored, while sitting in a very long middle school car line. (I’m near the front.)

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:22:42 -0400

The South Carolina Women’s Basketball team is so impressive. Strong win against Oklahoma today. Ta’Niya, Raven and Tessa shot the lights out, scoring 60 of the team’s 94. Looking forward to the next game against TCU or Virginia. Go Gamecocks. 🐓🏀

More examples of Apple’s non-traditional approach to visual brand management

Sat, 28 Mar 2026 12:31:42 -0400

Apple seems to be one of the most tightly managed brands in the world, but they actually use their logo much more whimsically than any other big brands. I’ve written in the past about logo usage that runs against typical brand management best practices. On the eve of their 50th anniversary, I’ve come across two more examples. I wanted to share them as a way to continue to document Apple’s approach to visual identity:

The 50th Anniversary “Logo”

Apple has artwork that essentially serves as an alternate logo for their anniversary. It’s a stylized treatment of their logo (below), which includes a rainbow of colors that harkens back to their old six color rainbow logo.

The Apple Hello Instagram post

Apple shared an Instagram post with a series of animated takes on the Apple logo, but the sequence starts with the old six color logo.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hello Apple (@helloapple)

Both examples take the Apple logo shape and use it as a structure for artwork. You typically don’t see large companies allowing or promoting this kind of variability with their logo. And you rarely see an old logo pop up, even during an anniversary. The artwork feels true to the Apple brand, but runs counter to what other brands do. In brand management, rigid consistency is king. As designers, it’s worth noting that Apple of all companies allows such flexibility within their visual identity guidelines, and maybe we can learn something from how they use their logo and brand creatively.

Bob Wertz is a type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 11:14:00 -0400

The parking garage is so eerily empty when I get in early.

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 19:59:18 -0400

I’ve been impressed by Kagi News. A nice AI-curated summary of important news stories, updated once a day. Provides links to a spectrum of sources, and the site has an RSS feed, so I can easily add it to Feedbin.

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 17:18:30 -0400

Coffee shops should all have a rack of reading glasses for sale. I occasionally forget mine when I go to write or study, and I would completely pay an inflated price for a pair of reading glasses in the moment. I can’t be the only one. I think they’d make a nice profit.

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 19:58:11 -0400

Working at the Starbucks at I-26 and Broad River in Irmo tonight while Ryan is at lacrosse practice. I studied here all the time when I first started grad school. Happy to report that almost a decade after I nicknamed it “Grad School Starbucks” that it is still full of grad students.

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 11:33:10 -0400

I don’t go into Facebook often, but when I do, I’m flooded with fake AI generated stories about Gamecock Women’s Basketball and F1. Judging from the engagement on these posts, lots of people believe them… but most of them are completely made up.

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 22:48:51 -0400

Interesting observation by Nilay and David on the Vergecast last week about the MacBook Neo. For most people, their most essential computer is their phone. A MacBook Neo is an affordable second device targeted at phone-first consumers.

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 09:37:02 -0400

It’s going to be tough to be a McLaren fan this season. 🏎️

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 19:01:58 -0400

The process of finding a roommate for the first year of college in 2026 is a mix of dating app and Instagram stalking. 🤣 My middle child is looking for a South Carolina Honors College roomie…

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 11:42:36 -0400

I thoroughly enjoyed Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Season 1 from start to finish. Some great new characters. I like how they’ve continued to build out the technology and culture of the 32nd century. I’m looking forward to season 2.🍿

MacBook Neo is made for college campuses

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 19:15:17 -0400

I have three kids — one in college, a senior in high school and a middle schooler. They’ve grown up in a school district where they’ve had their own Chromebooks for the majority of their education. They use Google Docs and Slides, plus a host of online tools like Canva. Chromebooks dominate the K-12 education market, but once they graduate, what do they use?

When my oldest went off to college, we purchased an M2 MacBook Air and that’s been the computer that she’s used for the last three years. It’s a great computer, but honestly, it was far more powerful than she needed.

When my senior in high school heads to college in the fall, she’ll be taking a MacBook Neo¹. It’s the perfect computer for what she needs, and a massive step up from the crappy Chromebooks that she’s used for the last decade.

Kids raised with Chromebooks are comfortable with the laptop form factor, and the MacBook Neo is a nice step up for kids heading to college. Affordable, and as a bonus, it works well with the iPhone they likely already have. I expect that next year across campus, most of the computers I’m going to see will be MacBook Neos. It’s a computer made for college campuses.

Bob Wertz is a type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.

I assume in the pinkish Blush color. ↩︎

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 10:04:49 -0400

I don’t know why, but the time change is really hitting me harder than usual this year…

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 08:24:56 -0400

Seth Godin: Small changes to big systems:

Scarcity of creation and scarcity of distribution have been replaced by a surplus of both.

What doesn’t scale? Trust, attention and belonging.

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 17:02:13 -0400

For the first time in my almost 30-year professional career, I have an office with a thermostat that actually works.

My anticlimactic software choice for writing my dissertation

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 23:53:40 -0400

I plan on blogging about my dissertation process, and I figured I’d start with something basic — my choice of writing tools. I wanted to use some less traditional tools when writing my dissertation. When I’m writing for myself, I write in Markdown, usually in an app like Ulysses. I considered something more robust like Scrivener. But neither Ulysses nor Scrivener works easily with Zotero, my chosen citation management program which already contains years of sources and notes on my topic. I was intrigued by Essayist, a new academic writing tool for Mac, iPad and iPhone. It looks well-designed, but has its own built in citation manager. Theoretically, I could export my Zotero Library in a BibTeX format and import the entries into Essayist, but I’m just not confident it will work.

That leaves me with two options: Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

I want to be able to write on my Mac or iPad so honestly, Microsoft Word is the better option for me. Google Docs is frustrating to use outside of a desktop browser. Subscription cost isn’t an issue since the University of South Carolina is a Microsoft school and we’ve already got an Office 365 subscription. It’s a boring choice, but given my requirements, it’s the right choice.

Bob Wertz is a type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 22:34:49 -0400

Just started watching the first season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on Apple TV. Juggling all the time periods is a little complex, but I really like it so far.🍿