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On the second and third floors of New York Citys International Center of Photography (ICP), a collection of over 40 years worth of Edward Burtnyskys vision of industrial, human impact on the planet will be displayed throughout the summer. Its Burtnyskys first solo, NYC institutional exhibition show in over 20 years, and is more or lessan ode to his lifes work. [Photo: courtesy International Center of Photography] From some of his earliest work in the 80s as a student on the upper level, to his newer, larger scaled work on the lower, each piece represents the development of human industry through a concerned photography lens. [Photo: courtesy International Center of Photography] All the work kind of pokes around into those zones of globalism and as well as the need for materials, and looking at our population growth, Burtynysky says. I was born in 1955 when the world population was under 3 billion people and now we’re over 8 billion. I kind of knew then that we were talking about a human population explosion. Mines #13, Inco – Abandoned Mine Shaft, Crean Hill Mine, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, 1984 [Photo: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York] While studying photography in 1981, Burtynsky was working in big industry to put himself through school. There, he said he decided to focus on big industries like oil and cobalt mining, and define them through photography. Regardless of place or subject, he says he wanted to focus on one continuous idea our impact on the world. Breezewood, Pennsylvania, USA, 2008 [Photo: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York] The works range in location and anthropogenic effect. From large, aerial views of chain restaurants and gas companies on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to up-close portraits of recycling workers in China, Burtynskys work is meant to feel human and appear visually cinematic. [Photo: courtesy International Center of Photography] According to David Campany, ICPs creative director and curator of the show, these photos are not the kind meant to be viewed on a smartphone. I think when you go to the cinema, you’re part of a slightly more collective consciousness, and I think it’s the same when people stand and look at big images, Campany says. [Photo: courtesy Internatinal Center of Photography] The larger scale allows the viewer to get lost in the details within the bigger picture, like being able to look at dusty orange landscapes with sleek linesbut backing up and realizing its a commercial road in the middle of the desert. The show brings together around 70 images of Burtynskys work, and create a survey of the last 45 years of environmental impact. In turn, it makes people look closely at the negative human effect and how each image is interconnected to the larger idea. You might look at that picture of a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa and think that’s got nothing to do with me, but 70% of the world’s cobalt currently comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Campany says. And when you put your hand in your pocket [and feel for your smartphone], you’ve suddenly got a very intimate connection with that image on the wall. Although theres no specific method or direction to view or engage with the work, each piece is generally meant to hold equal value when it comes to lighting and subject matter importance. Burtynsky refers to this as the democratic distribution of light and space. For him, it allows the viewer to fall into the surface of the image itself. [Photo: courtesy International Center of Photography] In 1981, which was my student work, I was looking at our relationship with nature containing nature, controlling nature, greenhouses,and large industrial farms, Burtynsky says. Even back then, I realized farming was our biggest impact in the planet, and it’s kind of makes sense to have a farming as a central image for the exhibition. Despite the works spanning decades of his travels and anthropogenic view, they are all embedded with what he says is a sense of aesthetic, wonder, and impact. Shipbreaking #49, Chittagong, Bangladesh, 2001 [Photo: Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York] Shipbreaking work was some of the most incredible locations I’ve ever photographed and experienced, Burtynsky says. It still stands as one of the most crazy experiences of my life. The pictures that came out of that were sort of wild, and [the one you see when] you come out of the elevator where you see all the menit’s like being greeted by the other world that deals with our shit. In addition to Burtynskys show, ICP is also showing Panjereh, meaning window in Farsi, from Iranian-American artist Sheida Soleimani. The exhibition emphasizes her Ghostwriter series, where she explores her parents’ experiences of political exile and migration through layered, magically surreal pieces. Both exhibits can be viewed simultaneously at the ICP. from June 19 until September 28.
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Tesla launched its Robotaxi service Monday in Austin, Texas, with a limited pilot featuring a small fleet of self-driving cars. Tesla has encountered challenges getting its Robotaxi service up and running, and now it’s facing a new hurdle of its own making: the Robotaxi logo. The self-driving taxis feature a “Robotaxi” logo written out in a graffiti style on the car’s front doors. The scrawled typeface is reminiscent of the branding for the video game Cyberpunk, and hearkens directly back to the Tesla Cybertruck logo (a puzzling choice considering how poorly the Cybertruck has been received). With its sharp edges and careening forward slant, the logo doesn’t exactly scream safe. And yet, that’s exactly what a new autonomous vehicle brand should be doing. AVs require a higher level of consumer trust than your average product or service, since you’re putting your life in its hands. A logo that looks spray-painted doesn’t communicate that, nor does the pilot program’s flat $4.20 ride fee. The logo looks sloppy and casual, not reassuring, Eben Sorkin, art director of the type foundry Darden Studio, tells Fast Company, calling it aesthetically anachronistic and out of sync with current cultural vibes. Would you board a flight with an airline logo that looks like this? he asks. [Photo: Tim Goessman/Bloomberg/Getty Images] The Robotaxi rollout represents a chance for the beleaguered electric vehicle company to change the narrative after CEO Elon Musk’s unpopular foray into government. And indeed, after the Robotaxi announcement, Tesla’s stock rose. From a branding perspective, though, the Robotaxi wordmark isn’t suggestive of a company moving away from the Cybertruck aesthetic that has now become associated with Musk’s DOGE efforts. Rather than using a visual identity that communicates safety, trust, or reliability, the logo is a sign that the company sees the graffiti-style cyberpunk aesthetic of its Cybertruck as the model for branding future products and services. A good logo always tries to convey the brand promise, says type designer and Hoefler & Co. founder Jonathan Hoefler. And this one definitely foreshadows the tragic collisions ahead.
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It doesn’t matter how you spell ithomophones can get you sued for trademark infringement. The startup iyO has filed suit for trademark infringement against former Apple designer Jony Ive’s company iowhich spells its name differently but sounds the same. OpenAI acquired Ive’s io last month for $6.5 billion with the goal of creating a new family of AI devices; iyO, which launched as an independent company from Google’s moonshot initiative X in 2021, makes an AI device of its own. The company describes its iyO One, an AI wearable worn like an earbud that’s available only as a preorder, as “the world’s first audio computer.” It reportedly pitched to Sam Altman’s investment fund and Ive’s design studio in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Following a ruling from U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson, OpenAI erased any mention of its deal with Ive over io on its website Sunday, including a promotional video. The company told The Guardian it took action because of iyO’s legal complaint, which will be addressed in a hearing come October. This page is temporarily down due to a court order following a trademark complaint from iyO about our use of the name io. We dont agree with the complaint and are reviewing our options.https://t.co/suwMRPTHqB— OpenAI Newsroom (@OpenAINewsroom) June 22, 2025 OpenAI has reason to take iyO’s claims seriously. Trademark infringement has been found in plenty of cases in which defendants mark is spelled differently from plaintiffs but pronounced the same, even when the two terms have different meanings, Alexandra Roberts, a professor of law and media at Northeastern University tells Fast Company. The key question in infringement cases is likelihood of confusion. The singer Pink filed suit last year over Pharrell Williams’s proposed P.Inc trademark, for example, and infringement has been found in cases like Seycos and Seiko, both watchmakers, and X-Seed and XCEED, which both made agricultural seed. Courts assessing the likelihood of confusion between two marks consider a number of factors, including the similarity of the marks, relatedness of the goods and services, strength of the plaintiff’s mark, and sophistication of the relevant consumers, Roberts says. Similarity weighs toward a likelihood of confusion, and lack of similarity weighs against it. The I/O naming convention, which stands for Input/Output, is popular with AI companies since their products generate AI output from user input. For iyO, blocking OpenAI from using the io name is about protecting its brand against the combined power of the maker of ChatGPT and a designer who’s worked with Apple on products like the iPhone and iPad. The outcome of the legal dispute could play a role in naming whatever the AI giant and design legend end up creating together.
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