04.23.20
Michael Bierut + Jessica Helfand | Audio

Episode 125: Zoom Aesthetics


This week, Jessica and Michael talk about social, economic, and aesthetic implications of gathering only in videoconferences. Whether it’s a work meeting, a chat with family, or a therapy appointment, Michael says,
All of that is happening in exactly the same context. You know, your butt is plonked in the same chair you use for this. You're looking at the same sort of proportions screen… it's this great crushing, leveling of all the differences of being in a little room, a big room, a musty room…
And Jessica adds,
But if you’re watching a jazz performance, they’re not watching you.
Also mentioned this week:

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Posted in: The Observatory




Michael Bierut + Jessica Helfand Jessica Helfand, a founding editor of Design Observer, is an award-winning graphic designer and writer. A former contributing editor and columnist for Print, Eye and Communications Arts magazine, she is a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale and a recent laureate of the Art Director’s Hall of Fame. Jessica received both her BA and MFA from Yale University where she has taught since 1994. In 2013, she won the AIGA medal.

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