I’m not breaking any new ground here, but it’s obvious that the peak of novelty New Year’s Eve numerical eyewear was 2000-2009
10/10 for legibility, visibility, and typography
for years now, this industry has been stubbornly clinging to an idea that has become too cumbersome. if you will indulge me, I will now rate 2023’s new designs:
5/10 best I can say is “it gets the job done.” it does clearly read as 2023, but the typography is bad & the visibility leaves much to be desired.
2/10 happy 20?3, i guess. they started with a decent font, but these are illegible and everything about the eyehole placement sucks.
6/10 hear me out: this is an okay compromise. it’s a cop out, sure, but it’s a viable alternative. it satisfies the basic requirements of legibility, visibility, and typographical acceptability, yet it lacks all whimsy. this feels like when you don’t do a project the way the teacher intended but you pass anyway on a technicality. this isn’t school, though, so i’m failing this design.
1/10 come on, guys. if you’re going to use the top of the 2 as an eyehole, at least use a font with a more open design, perhaps something art deco. at least when you look in the mirror with those LEDs directly in your line of sight, you won’t notice how bad the glasses look.
7/10 now we’re getting somewhere. like the first design, it uses the 3 as the second eyehole but it does so without compromising the shape of the number. unfortunately, the lack of outlines does negatively affect legibility and there may be some visibility issues for the left eye.
9/10 this is as good as it’s gonna get, folks. an actual graphic designer was clearly involved here. the typography is appealing, the color works, visibility looks good. nicely done.
Only a few hours left until the clock strikes midnight (in my timezone at least). Tell me one good thing that’s happened to you this year, as well as one thing that you’re looking forward to for 2024! (It doesn’t need to be anything big, it can be something small).
Of course, I hope that you’ll have one. I hope that your 2024 will be fantastic.
But
That’s a really high bar. This is life we’re talking about. And, life can be a right bastard. It’s random. So much of what happens to us is not within our control. We lay out plans, we set goals, we make changes, we try our best and yet… the universe throws any number of obstacles into our paths that we can’t see coming.
So, here’s what I do wish:
I wish your coping skills are up to the task. I hope you keep strengthening them.
I wish that when you’re in the shit, you treat yourself with grace and talk to yourself kindly.
I wish that even when things are bad, you remember and notice the small things that are still good.
Finally, I do wish that randomly good things happen to you too, that you see the progress from your hard work, and that the changes you’re making improve your life.
Life is amazing, terrible and everything in between so, for 2024, I hope you remember and accept that.