I was initially skeptical, but the more I play around with Canva Affinity, the more I like it.

I love how quickly I can prototype a typeface idea in Fontstruct.

Even though it rained earlier, we got out to Gather Columbia late this afternoon. Lots of great food options. Fun atmosphere. Another cool addition to Columbia.

As I move into working on my dissertation, it feels strange to not have a “class” this semester. It’s been a long time since I wasn’t reviewing syllabi at the start of a semester…

2026: A Fresh Start: https://bobwertz.com/2026/01/01/a-fresh-start.html

Farewell 2025.

pregame film study: we have 38 plays designed to neutralize this player in-game adjustment: hold him until they kick you out of the game

More Apple Logo Variations: https://bobwertz.com/2025/12/30/more-apple-logo-variations.html

I’m watching the World Darts Championship on Peacock and I have so many questions. Apparently, they are currently doing a speed round, the crowd is wild, and a couple of spectators are dressed as Ronald McDonald.

An exciting and hectic 2026 ahead: https://bobwertz.com/2025/12/27/an-exciting-and-hectic-ahead.html

I just made the move from an iPhone 12 Pro to an iPhone 17. Lots of advancements over the last 5 years.

Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas from Team Wertz.

A cubano at Indah coffee.

Enjoyed Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. 🍿

My last day in this job is tomorrow… my office is mostly packed up and I’m checking off the last few things off my to-do list. I’m realizing that on Monday, I start an entirely new job with an empty to-do list and an opportunity to rethink how I organize notes, track tasks, etc.

Some personal news… I’ve accepted a different position at the University of South Carolina as Director of Research Training in the Carolina Grants and Innovation Hub. I’m so incredibly excited about this new role and can’t wait ... https://bobwertz.com/2025/12/08/some-personal-news-ive-accepted.html

Saw a McLaren on my way home from the grocery store today, close to my home. Yesterday, I saw a Lamborghini. I recently saw a Ford GT. Where are all of these luxury sports cars coming from?

Spending the day working a graduate school paper. Camped out at a coffee shop listening to New Order and writing. Hopefully, I’ll get my first draft completed today.

This afternoon has been a long day.

This really resonated with me this morning. Seth Godin on Captaincy: "Captains set the agenda, create tension and lean into possibility. Captains aren’t just doing their job, they’re creating something that others thought was unl... https://bobwertz.com/2025/11/14/this-really-resonated-with-me.html

Seth Godin: “Stuck is a situation, stuck might be a problem, and stuck can be a choice."

I’m playing around with Affinity. Lots of good options to customize the interface. Some really nice typography features. But why can’t I export multiple artboards?

Thirty years ago, Liz and I went on our first date. Crazy to think that we’ve been together for 3/5 of my life…

Watching Gamecocks Women’s Basketball. So much talent on this roster. I think they are going to be fun to watch this year.

One app, three modes: The most interesting thing about the new version of Affinity isn’t the price.: https://bobwertz.com/2025/11/03/one-app-three-modes-the.html

I’m conflicted about Canva making Affinity free. On one hand, Affinity will continue to provide a high-quality option to an Adobe subscription that won’t break the bank. But I don’t trust free software to be there for the long haul…

My peer-reviewed journal article, Logo Love? An Exploration of American Consumers’ Critical Attitudes toward Logos, is finally live on Visual Communications Quarterly. Excited to finally get this released.

When you start your day discovering a plumbing issue… it’s not a crisis, but it is something I’m going to have to deal with when I get home tonight. Hopefully, it is something I can just handle…

Finally made it to City Limits Barbeque. Even with all the hype, it exceeded my expectations. Outstanding.

Impressed with the new Methodical Coffee in The Bull Street District in Columbia. Really awesome to see this area finally coming together.

I’m taking the day off from work to just be a Ph.D. student today. I’ve got a paper to work on, I’m attending a research symposium and I’ve scheduled a meeting with our grad school coordinator about my dissertation process and comps.

Rian Hughes is one of my favorite type designers. This brief interview covering his 30 years of type design and promoting his Kickstarter was wonderful. (Also, I completely backed the Kickstarter!)

Interesting that Microsoft released some process images on Instagram to explain the thinking behind their new icons. They are correctly treating this icon refresh as a type of logo rollout and people who care about the icons will appreciate the glimpse into the redesign process.

Hate to see that South Carolina basketball’s Chloe Kitts tore her ACL and will miss the season. She’s one of my favorite Gamecocks, and hopefully, she’ll come back strong.

Picking an NFL team: https://bobwertz.com/2025/10/12/picking-an-nfl-team.html

I never thought I needed to install a clipboard manager on my Mac. I was wrong. I absolutely love the clipboard history integrated into Spotlight on macOS Tahoe.

Symbolism is strange: https://bobwertz.com/2025/10/12/symbolism-is-strange.html It’s always funny to me what pop culture symbols acquire added cultural meaning.

This article is about software development, but I think this passage relates to leadership, too: "When you go too far up, abstraction-wise, you run out of oxygen. Sometimes smart thinkers just don’t know when to stop, and they c... https://bobwertz.com/2025/10/08/this-article-is-about-software.html

An interesting post from Simon Sinek on leadership. "Most of us want to be noticed. We want our efforts to matter, to be acknowledged. But the best leaders I’ve ever met are the ones who don’t need the spotlight. They’re the one... https://bobwertz.com/2025/10/06/an-interesting-post-from-simon.html

I thought college football fans were intense on social media. F1 fans are on a different planet. Goodness…

The economics of academic publishing are strange. The whole thing seems powered by lots of free (or low paid) labor in the name of service to your field.

Hanging out on the back porch and enjoying a glass of bourbon after a long week.

Seth Godin on leadership today: "Weak leaders (bosses, parents, captains and shift managers) resort to authority because they don’t trust themselves and their team enough to actually lead." This is so incredibly true. And just ... https://bobwertz.com/2025/09/30/seth-godin-on-leadership-today.html

Maybe longevity isn’t a liability. (If you know, you know.)

Me: I can’t believe no one is talking about Clemson losing to Syracuse. Also Me: I forgot that I blocked “Clemson” and “Dabo” in my social media apps so I didn’t have to listen to people talk about Clemson.

Centralization of media was a mistake.: https://bobwertz.com/2025/09/20/centralization-of-media-was-a.html

F1 Qualifying is sometimes more exciting than a regular race. Today’s quali was incredible. Going to be tough to beat Max tomorrow.

It’s finally cool enough that I can drink my coffee on the back deck.

Home today for a warranty repair to our AC unit that developed a slow leak over the summer. Service is expected to take 3-5 hours. Goodness, they must be disassembling the whole thing.