Eliel / Visual Field Notes
No. 01 / Compiled 21 May 2026

Northern
California
Modernism

Northern California Modernism is less a style than a temperament. It shows up in JB Blunk leaving the saw mark in the wood, in Sea Ranch deferring to the hillside it sits on, in a road sign that moves a stranger with a seagull and a number.

The common thread is restraint. Nothing here is decorated. Everything is built, marked, or carved to be understood, and then left alone.

This board collects that temperament, from the bridge and the signage system to the architecture, the craft, and the land underneath all of it. It ends on a personal note, a set of photographs from days surfing Stinson Beach.

01

Typography · Switzer

A contemporary grotesk in the Swiss tradition. Neutral, precise, built to read cleanly at any size.
Switzer
Aa
Extralight 200
Aa
Light 300
Aa
Regular 400
Aa
Medium 500
Aa
Semibold 600
Aa
Bold 700

Why this typeface

Swiss design is the tradition I keep coming back to. The grid, the objectivity, type treated as a neutral system instead of a signature. Switzer sits squarely inside it: even, low-contrast strokes, open counters, terminals cut without ornament. It is built to be read, not admired.

That is the whole argument for using it here. I have spent a career on information design, making dense, high-stakes information legible under pressure. Switzer is that instinct in a typeface. It carries a display headline and a paragraph of body copy in one clear voice, then stays out of the way.

It is what good information design looks like when it stops talking about itself.

--t-display Sea Ranch 76 page headline
--t-head Built and left alone 44 section headline
--t-sub Redwood, fog, and salt 32 key line, pull quote
--t-lede A grotesk in the Swiss tradition. 24 intro, small heading
--t-body Read quickly, in motion, by everyone. 20 running prose
--t-small List descriptions and receipts. 16 list description
--t-data 1962 / 2026 14 lowercase data
--t-micro Scenic Route · 49 Miles 12 uppercase label

Eight steps on the same 4px unit as the spacing scale, so one unit governs space and type. The 14 is the one deliberate exception. Uppercase set with 0.18em tracking reads optically larger than the same pixel size set lowercase, so lowercase data gets 2px back to sit level with the labels beside it. That is optical correction rather than drift. The top four steps are fluid and scale down on narrow screens; the numbers shown are their desktop values.

02

Grid & Layout

One discipline in both directions. Twelve columns across, a 52px pitch down, and a single gutter shared by both.
Copy1 / span 6
Artifact8 / span 5
Key line1 / span 4
Running prose7 / -1

Twelve columns, 24px gap, inside a 1240px container. Every content edge lands on a column line; the bar is zero drift. Full-bleed media may break the container, content never does.

28 module
24 gutter
52 pitch, drawn to scale.

The 24px gutter is deliberately the same on both axes, so gutters read identically across and down. That one shared number is what makes two grids feel like one.

--sp-44
--sp-88
--sp-1212
--sp-1616
--sp-2424 · gutter
--sp-2828 · module
--sp-5252 · pitch
--sp-104104 · between sections

Every step is a multiple of 4, the same unit the type ramp sits on, so one unit governs space and type. Four steps carry the structure: the gutter, the module, and the two multiples of the pitch that set section rhythm.

How the grid is constructed

The horizontal grid is the strict one. Blocks sit on explicit column spans, so a page can be checked rather than admired: turn the overlay on and every content edge should sit on a line. Zero drift is the bar.

The vertical grid is a rhythm rather than a lock. A block's top position is the sum of every variable-height block above it, and CSS cannot round that to a line. Section boundaries, headings and media land on the rhythm; a paragraph of unknown length pushes the next block a few pixels off. That is the honest limit, and it is fine. The goal is an order the eye reads, not a ruler-perfect snap.

03

Palette

Weathered wood and fog, held against one warm signal.
White
#FFFFFF
The default state. Pure and clear, the ground the whole board sits on.
Marine Layer
#AEB3B0
Mid grey with a green cast. The color of an overcast afternoon.
International Orange
#CF4520
The Golden Gate Bridge specification. The one warm signal, used sparingly.
Cypress Ink
#1B1A17
Near-black for type and rules. Carries the structure.
04

Inspiration

79 frames. Filter by theme, or click any frame to enlarge.
79 frames

The Bridge

9 frames
Golden Gate Bridge tower seen from below
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01Straight up a towerThe Bridge
Close view of Golden Gate Bridge cables and clamp
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02Cable and clampThe Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge at golden hour
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03Golden hour, Golden GateThe Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge seen from below at the waterline
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04The Golden Gate, from underneathThe Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge at dusk with the lights of San Francisco behind it
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05The span and the cityThe Bridge
Close detail of the crossing steel beams of the Golden Gate Bridge
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06Where the beams crossThe Bridge
Looking straight up the orange structure of a Golden Gate Bridge tower
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07Up the orangeThe Bridge
Rows of rivets across the orange steel plating of the Golden Gate Bridge
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08Rivets, in rowsThe Bridge
Looking up through the steelwork of a Golden Gate Bridge tower
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09Up through the steelThe Bridge

Grids & Type

8 frames
The cover of Neue Grafik, New Graphic Design, issue 2 from July 1959, its trilingual masthead and contents set on a visible blue grid
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10Neue Grafik, issue 2Grids & Type
A red Graphik magazine cover on Josef Muller-Brockmann, the headline and subhead aligned to a visible white column grid
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11Muller-Brockmann, on the gridGrids & Type
A 1963 poster for the Internationale Juni-Festwochen at the Stadttheater Zurich, white type on blue over a red grid, the year set very large
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12Stadttheater Zurich, 1963Grids & Type
A study poster on Josef Muller-Brockmann in red, blue and orange blocks on a red grid, with an Akzidenz-Grotesk specimen panel
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13Funktion, Form, FarbeGrids & Type
An A3 poster grid system in warm off-white and orange, headed typografie schweizer, with the baseline grid and column rules left visible in red
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14A3, 297 by 420Grids & Type
An A0 Swiss Style grid system sheet, the words Swiss Style set large over a fine red column and baseline grid, with specification notes along the top
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15Swiss Style, A0Grids & Type
A monochrome poster on Dieter Rams built on a four-column grid, a Braun radio centred above a pull quote about a product being bought to be used
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16Rams, ten principlesGrids & Type
A tribute poster for the 60th anniversary of Helvetica, a vast red 60 on a yellow ground with the title set tight in the typeface itself, and the contributing studios listed in a narrow column down the left
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17Helvetica at sixtyGrids & Type

Signage

9 frames
Weathered blue 49-Mile Scenic Drive sign on a pole
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18The 49-Mile marker, weatheredSignage
Mount Tamalpais Old Mine Trail wooden sign
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19The Old Mine TrailSignage
Black and white photograph of a Bolinas road sign
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20The Bolinas sign, againSignage
Stinson Beach green highway sign
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21Stinson BeachSignage
A California 1 Pacific Coast Bike Route sign
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22Pacific Coast Bike RouteSignage
A green California road sign pointing to Mt Tamalpais, Muir Woods and Stinson Beach, set against redwood trunks
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23One arrow, three placesSignage
Overhead terminal signage at SFO, airline names over numbered doors beside a stacked white-on-black panel directing to hotel shuttles, off-airport parking, shared ride vans and the SFO parking shuttle
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24The curbside stackSignage
An SFO gate sign in white on charcoal, aircraft pictograms and arrows sending Gates G1 to G14 one way and Gates E1 to E13 and F1 to F22 the other, with a line noting that SFO has changed its gate numbers
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25Gates, renumberedSignage
A curved sign at the Marin County Civic Center in rose and gold, reading 245, Marin County Courts, Grand Jury, with braille set beneath the number
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26Marin Civic Center, 245Signage

Architecture

15 frames
The Sea Ranch post office, a timber building marked with the ram supergraphic beside a boardwalk through native planting
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27The Sea Ranch post officeArchitecture
A tall grid of windows framing redwood trees at the Mill Valley library, two chairs in the light
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28Wurster's Mill Valley LibraryArchitecture
Mid-century interior with a bubble lamp and bookshelf
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29Bubble lamp, wall of booksArchitecture
A bed beneath a headboard of assembled wood blocks by JB Blunk, against a plank wall
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30Blunk bedArchitecture
A mid-century house set into a hillside
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31A house set into its slopeArchitecture
The red barn buildings and courtyard of the Mill Valley Lumber Yard, with Mount Tamalpais behind
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32Mill Valley Lumber YardArchitecture
A wood-lined window seat looking out to the ocean
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33A window seat to the oceanArchitecture
An Eames lounge chair by floor-to-ceiling windows looking into trees
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34An Eames chair, facing the treesArchitecture
The redwood-panelled living room of Stewart Brand's Sausalito houseboat, bookshelves and windows onto the marina
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35Stewart Brand's houseboatArchitecture
A Sea Ranch interior with a chair facing the ocean
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36Inside Sea RanchArchitecture
The red entrance of the Heath Ceramics factory store in Sausalito, framed by blue and dark tile walls
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37Heath SausalitoArchitecture
A building at Sea Ranch with a ram supergraphic
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38The Sea Ranch ramsheadArchitecture
A low wood-clad beach house set among dune grass and coastal scrub
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39Wurster beach houseArchitecture
Sausalito houseboats at dusk, their lit windows reflected in still water below the hills
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40Sausalito HouseboatsArchitecture
The skylit central corridor of the Marin County Civic Center, a long barrel vault of glazing overhead, gold screens and numbered office fronts down both sides, and a curved white balcony wall enclosing the escalator well, all over a polished terracotta floor
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41Inside the Civic CenterArchitecture

Craft

9 frames
JB Blunk print reading Just do the work
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42Just do the workCraft
JB Blunk rough-hewn wood sculpture forms
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43Blunk's wood formsCraft
A blue-toned photograph of JB Blunk carving a large stone on a hillside
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44Blunk at workCraft
A stacked ceramic sculpture by Peter Voulkos
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45Voulkos, stackedCraft
A tonal yellow grouping of Heath Ceramics
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46Heath, in yellowCraft
A Peter Voulkos stoneware jar from around 1956
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47Voulkos, Jar, c. 1956Craft
Standing Form sculpture by Peter Voulkos
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48Standing FormCraft
A stack of Heath Ceramics bowls in blue, black and orange
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49Blue HeathCraft
A slab desk on wood-block legs in Evan Shively's timber-ceilinged studio at Arborica
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50ArboricaCraft

Redwoods & Fog

13 frames
Fog settling over layered forested ridges
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51Fog over the ridgesRedwoods & Fog
Low sun glowing through a redwood grove
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52Low sun in the redwoodsRedwoods & Fog
Looking straight up the trunk of an ancient redwood
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53Looking up one redwoodRedwoods & Fog
A golden grass ridge on Mount Tamalpais above a sea of cloud
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54The golden ridgeRedwoods & Fog
A moss-covered fallen log on the forest floor
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55A log going back to forestRedwoods & Fog
Close view of green fern fronds
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56Ferns, closeRedwoods & Fog
A narrow trail through a redwood grove
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57The path through the groveRedwoods & Fog
Redwood canopy seen looking upward
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58Into the canopyRedwoods & Fog
An uprooted redwood with a person for scale
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59A redwood, root-upRedwoods & Fog
Sprays of green coast redwood foliage over a fallen log on the forest floor
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60Redwood leavesRedwoods & Fog
Ferns covering the forest floor
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61The forest floorRedwoods & Fog
Mount Tamalpais seen from the south, its ridgeline rising over the Marin hills
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62Mount Tam from the southRedwoods & Fog
Sunset from Mount Tamalpais looking over forested ridges toward San Francisco
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63Mt. Tam sunsetRedwoods & Fog

Ocean & Surf

16 frames
Walking up a sandy path from the beach carrying a surfboard
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64The walk back upOcean & Surf
A surfer carrying a board into the water at Stinson Beach
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65Carrying it inOcean & Surf
A young surfer riding a small wave at Stinson Beach
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66On a waveOcean & Surf
A young surfer holding a surfboard on the beach
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67Holding the boardOcean & Surf
Two young surfers in the white water at Stinson Beach
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68Two of them in the white waterOcean & Surf
Surfers in the water at sunset, Stinson Beach
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69The lineup at sunsetOcean & Surf
A 1966 beach scene of surfers and longboards on the sand at Bolinas, hills behind the bay
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70Bolinas 1966Ocean & Surf
Smooth stones nestled in the hollows of a driftwood log
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71Stones in the driftwoodOcean & Surf
A pile of bleached driftwood on a beach
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72Driftwood, stacked by the tideOcean & Surf
Kelp underwater with fish swimming through
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73Through the kelpOcean & Surf
A length of bull kelp on coastal rocks
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74Bull kelp, beachedOcean & Surf
A surfer on a clean wave
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75One clean waveOcean & Surf
A tide pool at low tide with a green anemone, turban snails, mussels and pink coralline algae
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76Into the tide poolOcean & Surf
A green sea anemone seen from above, ringed by purple sea urchins and mussels
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77Anemone and urchinsOcean & Surf
A green tinted Wilderness single surfboard fin by True Ames
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78True Ames FinsOcean & Surf
The tail of a kelp-tinted Junod longboard with a clear single fin in its box
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79Longboard - Junod kelp single finOcean & Surf