SLAMS Rovers // Logo Design

A cool thing happened. Science Leadership Academy Middle School hit the ground running for its first school year.

Our quirky little model has expanded to younger children. There are inquiry-driven fifth graders in Philadelphia doing cool things and apparently loving it.



Also cool is that I was approached to design a logo for SLAMS.



The mascot for the SLA high schools is the Rockets. The middle school decided they would be the Rovers. Pretty adorable, that outer space theme.



For this project I collaborated with founding principal, Tim Boyle, a super-smart human being with immense chill, to bring his vision to life. He wanted something fresh, but not too edu-corporate, and cute, but not too elementary. I loved and appreciated the way he communicated his ideas to me while trusting my instincts to create.

I started by sending over some initial concepts:

Tim's favorites were also my favorites (that's the best), and we decided to workshop those. We stuck with the circular design and tried to eliminate some of its busy-ness. Tim also talked me out of my original color palette to some bolder hues. He was right. Check out the kelly green we chose instead:

As a gift for the founding staff, we decided on square business cards. I think they're playful and modern and crisp.

I loved working on this project from start to finish. It seems like the kids don't hate it, either :) Maybe it'll evolve over the years ...

Progress Report // Books on the Nightstand

My nightstand is now overly cluttered. The book pile is too tall.

I'm in the middle of that thing I always do. I've started nearly a dozen books and am happily in the middle of all of them.

I make no apologies for this.
I am a Beginner of Many Projects.
It's who I am.


Here's what I'm currently reading, more or less:

ALMOST FINISHED

Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
I've loved Saunders' short stories since they were gifted to me a decade ago, and his first novel does not disappoint. It's really a beautiful story, and I was lucky enough to hear Saunders read from it (and get our book signed!) at the Free Library this year.


The Great American Songbook, by Sam Allingham

The first book for this author, who is a friend of the SLA community, is so beautifully written. I love his style and themes and characters. Short story collections are perfect nightstand occupants, and this one is terrific. I recommend it very highly.



STARTED THEN STOPPED BUT I'M STILL IN IT

My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante
A beautifully-written four-part series with a female friendship at its center? You know I signed right up.


The Argonauts, by Maggie Nelson
One of the readers and writers I trust most recommended this one, and she's of course right. I put it down a few weeks ago and now probably need to start it over, but to be honest I'm happy about that.



ONGOING

Difficult Women, by Roxane Gay
This was another awesome reading at FLP, and Roxane Gay signed my copy, "To Amal -- Be difficult." I really enjoy her nonfiction writing, and the characters she's developed here are intriguing to me. Another excellent collection of short stories for bedtime reading.


The Righteous Mind, by Jonathan Haidt
The same friend who recommended The Argonauts told me about this one. It came up in our conversations during the Women's March. It is a social psychologist's exploration of where morality comes from (spoiler alert: humans are not rational beings) and dives into the ways we communicate and understand those who are different from us, especially in politics and religion. I'm loving it so far and have talked about it a lot already.



MISCELLANY

Too Loud A Solitude, by Bohumil Hrabal

This is a re-read; this novel was my favorite assigned text in my freshman seminar at William and Mary, which happens to be one of the best classes I took, ever (shoutout Professor Koloski!). I wanted to revisit it for our trip to Prague recently.


Girl With Curious Hair, by David Foster Wallace
This was recommended to me by a thoughtful and lovely friend who was shocked that I'd never read any DFW. I haven't given it an honest start yet, but am excited to check it out at last.





Oof, I need a book club.
What's in your reading pile?

In My Inbox // Lady Newsletters

At some point in recent Internet history, email newsletters became acceptable and interesting, and I find myself with four inbox treats each week that bring me terrific joy.

Turns out, mine are all from awesome ladies.


I recommend:

The Ann Friedman Weekly // Journalist and podcast-bestie Ann Friedman curates solid journalism and interesting pieces from around the web, often covering feminism and women's issues. Also, pie charts.

The newsletter from Heben and Tracy of Another Round (the Buzzfeed podcast you should be listening to) covers everything from social issues of race and gender and pop culture to animal gifs. I highly appreciate this spectrum of seriousness.

What a treasure Maria Popova is. Brain Pickings, a "weekly interestingness digest," features longer-form pieces about culture and politics, often through a lens of art or literature. I am always inspired by the way Popova places writers and thinkers in context and conversation with one another to shed light on big ideas.

Stacy-Marie Ishmael's short and sweet Galavant Times offers commentary and wisdom and spotlights relevant thinking in three categories -- Engage, Learn, and Connect -- which I think solidly capture what the whole thing is all about.





Subscribe and enjoy and donate where you can.
Most of these are passion projects and it's very clear that a lot of hard work goes into them.


Happy inbox :)