May 2018 | Typography wars
It feels like ages since I’ve typed [period] [space] [space] at the end of a sentence, but I’ve actually only been one-spacing my sentences for about six years or so. I still remember catching on to the trend; all the cool kids were one-spacing after a sentence, and I wanted to modernize my look.
Long gone were the typewriter glory days. Computers were all about variable-width fonts, which improved the eyes’ ability to see that little space between sentences without making a big show of it (looking at you, two-spaced docs). I forced myself to one-space for an entire day, and at the end of that day, my muscle memory had replaced two spaces with one after end punctuation. New research shows that cognition might be improved if we revert back to two-spacing our sentences.
You should read this article for its spatial poetry, if nothing else. BUT, the study was done with Carrier New font, which has a fixed width, unlike most modern fonts, whose characters’ sizes vary (making it a smidge easier to read the space between sentences). What I’m saying is, it’s not time to revert to two-spacing just yet.
1
DOUBLE SPACE! SCIENCE SAYS SO.
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STOP COPYING SLACK’S PRODUCT ...
... and start copying their commitment to diversity. Slack doesn’t employ someone whose specific role is to improve workplace diversity (other big tech companies do), yet Slack has a much more diverse workforce than those big companies. Slack’s secret? Diversity isn’t something one person or team is focused on improving; it’s sewn into the fabric of Slack’s hiring and growth processes.
A few pro tips other companies should imitate:
-Empower everyone in the company to support diversity efforts
-Show that fairness and inclusion build stronger teams and better products
-Hire outside of traditional pipelines
-Write inclusive job descriptions
-Warm up that interview process
Slack has room for improvement, but it’s way beyond the other tech titans on diversity. Routinely rated as an amazing place to work. A scrappy startup that has grown into a force. They’re doing things right.
3
FIX THE PACKAGING, SAVE THE TURTLES
If you’re concerned about the growing mass of plastic polluting our oceans, beaches, streets, and bodies while strangling, suffocating, and otherwise damaging and killing countless animals (which is to say, if you have a soul), you may be interested to know that there’s a company making six-pack rings that break down into edible snacks for ocean life. I’ll happily pay more for drinks if it means animals don’t mature with plastic belts lashed around their necks and bodies.
Across the spectrum of research linking exercise to happiness, the verdict is: exercise (of pretty much any sort – your walking, your yoga, your jumping jacks, your seven-minute workout, your stretches, your marathoning, your ultra marathoning) makes you happier. You can even add up all those tiny bits of exercise you get each day into one big, beneficial exercise bucket.
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EXERCISE A LITTLE. FEEL A LOT BETTER.
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A NEUROSCIENTIST’S GUIDE TO OFFICE DESIGN
Ever since I entered cubicle land, I’ve been intrigued by how office environments affect workforces (or, to use the warmer term, people). Neuroscience is creeping into architecture and interior design, resulting in buildings and workspaces designed to bolster creativity, improve collaboration, and support mental and physical wellbeing.
How to design the best office experience:
-Incorporate greenery (like, the actual living kind)
-Play some nature sounds for calming, healthy white noise
-Encourage people to move
-Provide nutritious snacks
-Keep the noise level down