David Byrne has a new collection of illustrations out called A History of the World (in Dingbats) – you can read a good overview at Maria Popova’s Marginalia site – and for those of us familiar with only one popular definition of a dingbat (a dimwitted person), Byrne reminds us that the term is a graphic design/typography term — referring to the little throw-away drawings that used to create space on pages of texts, or provide a visual note to the printer before going to press.
Here’s an example from the past (Canterbury Tales):
Public Domain, Link
Byrne’s book collection of original Dingbats, which he created during the Pandemic, are odd, strange, evocative, mysterious and fun to look at.
For today’s Daily Create, why not create your own Dingbat to share in the hashtag? Sketch out an odd drawing that could be used as a text or page or tweet break for some unknown story or poem or conversation.
Give your Dingbat a title, if you want, or leave it to our imagination.
Tweet your response to @ds106dc and be sure to include the hashtag #tdc3786
Don't Want to Tweet Your Response? Really?