Stephen Coles

@stewf

(he/him) Editorial Director & Associate Curator at @letterformarchive.org in San Francisco. Cofounder of @fontsinuse.com & @typographica.org. Primarily on Mastodon: Free Palestine!

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Stephen Coles@stewf· 12d

@mollycrabapple.bsky.social says it straight and clear. Full video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgXI...

Stephen Coles@stewf· 27d

I officially sign on to this statement by @ky.fyi (ky.fyi/posts/ai-bur...).

Screenshot of Ethan Marcotte’s blog:

I prefer to avoid Al usage for ethical, practical, and financial reasons.
1. Ethically: Generative Al tools, powered by data centers which consume vast amounts of water and pollute our environment, are built on the collective theft of the works of millions of artists, developers, authors, and other creatives, supercharge the spread of disinformation and fascism, have repeatedly provoked psychosis and suicide, and concentrate wealth in fewer hands while providing cover for widespread layoffs.
2. Practically: I have found that Al tools overcomplicate implementations and that cleaner, simpler solutions can often be written by hand. Al doesn't
"know" anything, and is making life worse for open source maintainers.
Overreliance on Al risks deskilling.
3. Financially: I dislike sending money to large corporations when alternatives include learning the skill for free and contributing to open source projects. Tokens are currently heavily. subsidized and likely to become more expensive, so would prefer not to make a habit of using them.
I use Al tools sparingly for assistance while refactoring code in languages I understand. I occasionally use it to help compose command line arguments for tools like ffmpeg. I never use Al to generate images, video, or prose.
- Ky Decker, an aside shared in "Do I belong in tech anymore?"

Stephen Coles@stewf· Jul 5

Help a #WorldCup newbie out. Why do stories refer to national teams by their country name, but the U.S. is always “USMNT”? Can’t this be simply “US”?

Screenshot from Apple News with the headline, “World Cup 2026 The Athletic Folarin Balogun available for USMNT vs. Belgium as red-card ban suspended”

Stephen Coles@stewf· Jun 29

Again, the incisive @karenhao.bsky.social clarifies the colonial crusade that is AI.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Jun 21

Here’s Crystal Palace Market in #SaltLakeCity on 13th East near the University of Utah. The photo was taken in 1947, just a few years before my dad ran in to scarf down a few bananas so he could make the ROTC’s weight requirement. He told the story in 1984: stewf.com/stewftone/50... #FathersDay

Black-and-white photo of a storefront. The building has an arched roof, and on the front is a sign: “CRYSTAL PALACE MARKET / DISTINCTIVE SERVICE”.

Photo of a young man standing in front of an unidentified car from the late 1930s or early 1940s.

Stephen Coles@stewf· May 25

Shoulda changed this setting on my phone long ago. Settings > Apps > Safari > Search Engine Been using @duckduckgo.com and @ecosiasearch.bsky.social on desktop for years.

Stephen Coles@stewf· May 19

Nicho asked me about this poster and I didn’t have an answer, so I sent it to Paul Shaw because I figured if anyone would know the 1980s NY calligraphy scene it would be him. We got this reply. Turns out it was Paul himself who did it! Here’s the clip: www.pbs.org/video/apprai...

Screenshot of an email:

Subject: World Trade Center...

On May 12, 2022, at 9:07 AM, Paul Shaw wrote:

Stephen,
where did you get that and who are those guys?
That is a rare item.
It took me over 100 hours to do the calligraphy and
make the mechanical (which was so large I had to
work on my studio tloor). The client wouldn't give
me a sample because they said they cost too much.
In the end a friend took one from a smashed bus
stop shelter and gave it to me.
One interesting thing about the design is the
presence of the Vista Hotel (hard to see because of
the yellow). It wasnot part of the original concept
and in the midle of doing the calligraphy the client
insisted on adding it in. That forced me to redo a
good chunk of the calligraphy. Then, a few years
later the hotel was blown up in a pre-9/11 operation
by Islamic extremists that was probably intended to
take the entire WTC down.
The other note: I was given pages of text to write.
But when I started writing it out it only filled up
about half of one tower. So, the remaining text I
ended up creating.
Best,
Paul

Stephen Coles@stewf· Apr 23

The illustrations vere meant to show the versatility of this wonderful new tool. We had no clue how versatile it would become.” www.instagram.com/p/C3iQHutRm1...

Isometric pixel illustration of a Mac as a coffee grinder.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Apr 23

So we played around with it, and to make a long story short, that encounter on DeHaro Street in San Francisco changed our professional lives. Here is a series of MacPaint illustrations that Rudy did for Apple's Bandley Shuffle, a magazine for Apple employees.

Isometric pixel illustration of a Mac flying with pilot goggles and scarf.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Apr 23

It smelled like we could make some money, so we said yes. We remember very vividly showing up at DeHaro St in SF, and there’s his little boxy machine with a tiny screen with a big smiley face on it and some kind of device connected to it that looked very much like a mouse that they called a mouse.

Isometric pixel illustration of a Mac in a party mask and blowing a noisemaker.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Apr 23

Emigre: “In 1984, the art director at Macworld nagazine contacted us and asked if we wanted to try out this new computer called the Macintosh. They seemed eager to get people to use this machine so they could show what it could do and resent the results in their start-up magazine.

Isometric pixel illustration of a Mac as a jukebox.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Apr 14

Reminds me of the Italian Casas Cantoneiera (housing for road maintenance workers). I took these photos in Sardegna.

Photo of a rundown stucco building with peeling red paint. A sign says "CASA CANTONIERA".

Photo of a rundown stucco building along a roadside with a mountain in the background.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Mar 29

Rallied today in Alameda. #NoKings

Photo of the back of a man walking on a sidewalk. He wears a sandwich board festooned with US flags. On the board is a 1940s illustration of a woman saluting and the text “BE PATRIOTIC / FIGHT TRUMP”.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Mar 15

Letterform Live afterparty with @laureola.bsky.social & @nicholowry.bsky.social. Nicho is the genuine article. My brother Matt met him at @roadshowpbs.bsky.social in SLC. A year later, and thousands of appraisals since, Nicho recalls what Matt brought, its value, and that he was my brother.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Feb 24

#AntiquesRoadshow Feedback Booth

Stephen Coles@stewf· Feb 24

The all-time best #AntiquesRoadshow appraisal. (Newport, RI, 2017.)

Stephen Coles@stewf· Feb 18

This is Kevin. He lives on a street near us, and hasn't left the block in 5 years. No one knows where he came from and no one really takes care of him. He just walks around like a neighborhood cat. #Rockridge #RockridgeKevin #Peacock #Peafowl #Birding

Stephen Coles@stewf· Feb 17

AI as religion.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Feb 17

Bicycles and rocket ships. Journalist @karenhao.bsky.social on the biggest myth surrounding #AI, live at @hayfestival.bsky.social Cartegena 2026. Her book: Empire of AI karendhao.com

Stephen Coles@stewf· Feb 10

Flickr celebrates its 22nd bday w/ data: blog.flickr.net/2026/02/10/2... Interesting that the Most Used Cameras of 2025 is nearly evenly split between cameras and phones, with many brands represented, showing the platform’s diverse user base. More stats: www.flickr.com/cameras #Flickr #Photography

Graphic showing a macro photo of an insect (credit Dale Harding), a headline (Canon EOS R6) and a list of “Most Used Cameras”:
1. Canon EOS R6 Mark II
2. Sony A7 Ill
3. Apple IPhone 16 Pro
4. NikonZ 6II
5. Samsung Galaxy S23
6. Google Pixel 8 Pro
7. Fujifilm X-T5
8. Olympus E-M1Markll
g. OM SYSTEM OM-1
10. Panasonic DC-G9

Stephen Coles@stewf· Jan 25

I feel privileged to live in this city & wish to share it with more people of all backgrounds. Which is why we need to build more housing now! Yes, in my backyard: #Rockridge, a transit-connected district near the city core. No, to pretend progressivism that makes exceptions for the wealthy. #YIMBY

A marble wall inscribed with faux-Greek lettering: “Immortal love,
Forever full.
Forever flowing free …
Forever shared,
Forever whole.
A never ebbing sea.”

Stephen Coles@stewf· Jan 25

Ended the afternoon at Mountain View, our glorious hilltop cemetery, to take in the countless 19th-century monuments and day’s final rays. Then strolled the mystical halls of Chapel of the Chimes. Built by Julia Morgan, one of the country’s first women architects, it somehow combines Gothic & Deco.

Photo of a gravestone topped by a broken roman column. A group of crows flies overhead.

Photo of a sign inscribed in Gothic ornamental framed concrete. The sign reads: Chapel of the Chimes / Columbarium / Crematorium / Niches / Urns.

Photo of an atrium interior with marble walls, an indoor planter filled with tropical plants, and a lozenge shaped opening to a second floor and glass roof. A geometric stained glass window is on one wall.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Jan 25

We walked to the Oakland Main Library which happened to be celebrating its 75th birthday with concerts and cake. The party was filled with folks of every walk of life, tapping feet to a multigenerational jazz quartet. (Yes, this man is wearing a party hat. I think he’s a library administrator.)

Photo of a wood paneled mezzanine. A man in a suit and gold party hat looks over the railing at a balloon archway with balloons spelling “75”.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Jan 25

Lunch next door at Town Fare, great soul food on Oakland Museum of CA’s sunny midcentury terrace overlooking #LakeMerritt. This public park is people-centered brutalism at its best. A multilayered rooftop garden of concrete & greenery, multiple access points, and endless picturesque views. #OMCA

Photo of a plant-topped concrete colonnade with wood slat roof casting interesting striped shadows below.

Photo of a woman leaning jauntily against a pillar under the colonnade.

Photo of a lake surrounded by trees and buildings. Three white pelicans swim in the lake.

Two people kiss in front of an art deco building (the Alameda Court House). The man wears a kaffiyeh.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Jan 25

It hosted holiday pageants, Harlem Globetrotter games, operas, and rock concerts. It fell into disrepair, but is now renovated & fully open again for the first time in 20 years. Entertaining tour from architecture historian Scooter Marriner. (This portico by Sterling Calder sports a merman. C’mon!)

Photo of a portico with glazed bas-relief depicting a merman undersea riding on two dolphins, a walrus, sea horses, and decoration.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Jan 25

#Oakland is not just underrated, it’s one of the most beautiful & livable cities in the world. @laureola.bsky.social & I spent the day downtown where we witnessed the grand reopening of The Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts. Our city’s auditorium was built in 1915 as a civic arena and theater.

Photo of a large arena with nearly empty wooden seats and light streaming through five arched windows.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Dec 17

Seen on the back of a tanker truck on the road yesterday. I am still puzzled.

Back of a large steel tanker truck. Black Helvetica letters attached to the tank read, “AT NIGHT WE HAUL MILK”.

Stephen Coles@stewf· Nov 9

Mast still pulling.

Screenshot of a post on Mastodon by Stephen Coles that has 46 replies, 680 boosts, and 779 favorites:

“Friends, please stop linking to Spotify like it's ok.

The company steadily siphoned money from independent artists, then spent millions to host Joe Rogan, then littered their library with Al music, and now the CEO is investing in Al weapons.

There are plenty of less damaging ways to listen to music and podcasts.”

Stephen Coles@stewf· Oct 25

If you must use ChatGPT to look something up (you probably don’t), ask it to “always provide citations with answers”. This setting is saved for future chats. Then, at least, you can check the sources, the sources get credit for the content ChatGPT stole.

Screenshot of ChatGPT showing part of a chat. The user prompted “name and link”, and ChatGPT responds:

“Perfect ✅ — from now on, l'll always include inline
citations with the source name and link directly.
Example:
The Eiffel Tower is 330 meters tall (Tour Eiffel -
https://www.toureiffel.paris)”

Stephen Coles@stewf· Oct 22

Go @ebbooksellers.bsky.social!