Web Watch

Brookly Academy of Music

Recognized internationally for its innovative dance, music, theater and opera programming, Brooklyn Academy of music (www.bam.org), America's oldest performing arts center in continuous operation, has presented performances since 1861.

A recebt re-design resulted in a nest of integrated BAM-produced content (videos, media assets and photography) that embodies the sophistication of the organization and puts programs and events in the spotlight. By providing multiple points of access to all content, the site excels at spotlighting the organization, its performances and its programs—with minimal clickthrough.

A low-key graphic approach provides the backdrop for a large number of photographic and video assets. Currently twenty videos, accompanied by Flash slideshows, showcase vivid imagery from both upcoming and past events. The familiar practice of featuring still and video images from live events gives visitors a feel for the energy, enthusiasm, and style of the performances.

Rounding out the site are a number of features that make it a useful planning tool: the Calendar lists all events at BAM and allows filtering by date, genre or program; a Visit section utilizes the Google area attending performances; and Inside BAM has images and seating charts for BAM's various venues.

Despite all the visually-engaging content, the true value of this site launch is that, for the first time, everything BAM-related—from the Next Wave Festival to BAM Education, BAMart and BAM about Brooklyn—can be found in one place.

Lusting for Lustig

Before he died in 1955 at the age of 40, Alvin Lustig carve out a might career as a high priest of modernism. Known for purity, bordering on the austere, Lustig's treatments of type, shape, color and composition defined modern design in America. Create by Kind Company, www.alvinlustig.org collects Lustig's work in advertising, design, typography, and well as jackets for New Directions and Knopf, book that were required reading for highbrows.

Rand-om acts

Paul Rand famously exhorted designers, Don't try to be original, just try to be good. For more than 50 years Rand was both original and great, creating iconic designs that withstood the test of time. His UPS logo remained unchanged for 40 years and a version of his logo for IBM—originally designed in 1956 and revised by Rand in 1972—is still in use today. Examples of his

prodigious output spanning book covers, advertising, annual reports, identity, packaging and posters are collected at www.paul-rand.com

Back-to-school special

Nancy Stock-Allen, an instructor at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, has created an online compilation of her lecture notes on the History of Graphic Design. Topics include the history of handwriting, the origins of advertising, the influence ofthe avant garde on graphic design and the impact of the digital revolution. The site offers design history snippets, capsule biographies of design luminaries, links to resource and a wealth of illustrations. Study up at www.designhistory.org