AN OLD SOFTIE
Christoph Niemann’s work for clients like the New Yorker, Fast Company and the New York Times Magazine wouldn’t exactly be called kid-friendly—his last book was named 100% Evil. But Niemann had another audience, his two young sons, who needed to be tucked in at night. An epic, improvised bedtime story about a helicopter, a fire truck and a do-gooder cloud evolved into Niemann’s first children’s book, The Police Cloud (Random House). Written and illustrated by Niemann, the story is set in a New York-inspired metropolis that’s just as graphically intriguing for parents. But more importantly, The Police Cloud has received the stamp of approval from its original audience, 5-year-old Arthur and 2-year-old Gustav. “They still like to hear good-night stories at bedtime,” says Niemann. “But sometimes Arthur says, ‘Please be quiet, I just want to sleep.’” www.thepolicecloud.com

CATCH PECHA KUCHA
No, it’s not a rare communicable disease, but Pecha Kucha does possess similarly contagious qualities. Devised in 2003 as a networking event, the first Pecha Kucha was held by architects Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham at their Tokyo club SuperDeluxe as a way for designers to share their recent work with an audience. Although Pecha Kucha is Japanese for the sound of conversation, Klein and Dytham were smart enough to realize the inherent dangers in inviting loquacious designers to talk about themselves—they’d never shut up. So they created a very specific rule that’s become the magic Pecha Kucha formula: Each participant’s visuals are limited to 20 slides, with only 20 seconds allotted per slide. That 6:40 format is so universally appealing that there are now regular Pecha Kucha gatherings in at least 47 cities around the globe. www.pecha-kucha.org

FRAGILE FLORALS
Glassmaker Leopold Blaschka and his son Rudolf worked out of a Dresden studio in the late 1800s, last in a lineage directly descended from 15th century Venetian artisans. Their transcendent recreations of marine life became famous for both beauty and scientific accuracy. Across the Atlantic, the Botanical Museum of Harvard was finding itself responsible for educating an increasingly curious Victorian culture about natural history, yet it lacked proper teaching models: Flowers pressed or preserved grew faded and brittle; wax and papier-mâché replications were clunky and awkward. In 1886 museum director George Lincoln Goodale traveled to Dresden to commission the Blaschkas, beginning a 46-year relationship with the museum that resulted in hundreds of works known as the Glass Flowers of Harvard. Seventeen flowers will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at the Corning Museum of Glass, along with sketches, personal papers and 25 of the Blaschkas’ signature sea creatures. Botanical Wonders, May 18 through November 25, 2007, www.cmog.org

LUSTIG FOR A LARGER AUDIENCE
When Kind Company accepted the task of turning the life works of Alvin Lustig into a voluminous website, the intent was first and foremost to create a proper archive for the celebrated mid-century designer. But the firm also wanted to expose a new generation to Lustig’s incredible range of work, namely over 100 book covers designed for publishers like New Directions and Knopf. Working with Lustig’s widow Elaine Lustig Cohen, Kind Company selected four covers that were lovingly reproduced as limited-edition screen prints. The 400 prints released in February have been going fast, and not just to graphic designers. Interior designers, book collectors and mid-century enthusiasts from all over the world have also placed orders, which according to Kind Company’s Greg D’Onofrio means they’ve achieved what they set out to do. “Our main goal has always been to communicate this hugely important—yet somewhat unknown —design pioneer to a much larger audience.” www.alvinlustig.org

ART SCHOOL BIBLE
The California Institute of the Arts is known for attracting a generally enlightened, if extremely diverse, student body. Incoming students matriculate from one of six schools: Art, Dance, Music, Theater, Film/Video and Critical Studies, each an independent entity with its own culture. To create the school’s 2007 catalog, CalArts faculty members Mr. Keedy and Penny Pehl took on the behemoth task of designing separate catalogs for each of the six different disciplines, yet uniting them all with one graphic language. Sticking with one Keedy-designed type family did the trick, down to creating distinctive ornamental patterns employing the typeface’s characters. Embossed foils and a dizzying palette complete the six books, which can stand alone or be packaged together with a seventh book, an overview of the institution. Prospective students can grab only the field of study that intrigues them. But after they see one book, it’s more likely they’ll want the full set of everything CalArts has to offer. www.calarts.edu