Christopher Sabatini has been the design director at
amNewYork for most of its existence, since its launch in 2003. The free daily newspaper is given away at NYC subway stops and in news boxes around the city, and competes for eyeballs with another daily freebie,
Metro New York.
am New York publishes five days a week with a circulation of between 350,000-400,000, mainly in Manhattan. Their target audience is commuters 18-40 who don't read other newspapers.
Sabatini has given the covers of amNewYork a bright, sassy, tabloid feel, like a funner, hipper New York Post, complete with funky Photoshop constructions. It's all done on the fly, with no time and a very limited budget. The covers pop off the pages, grabbing commuters as they head into the subway. Sabatini says, "We see ourselves as the initiator of conversation with our readers, whether it's about the story of the day or about trends that New Yorkers are seeing or experiencing."
amNewYork's covers are all self-created and produced, usually with stock photography. They have that wacky, bespoke news magazine feel of alternative weekly papers like the
Dallas Observer,
Westword, and
Riverfront Times. The design confronts myriad challenges, like multiple cover ads and limited production values, but it still comes off as smart, original, engaging, and full of passion, qualities we like and admire.
Sabatini gave us comments on some of his favorite cover designs for amNewYork.
Christopher Sabatini: (Left): November 17, 2008. I went away on vacation and designer Sara Baumberger and her Photoshop skills did this amazing cover. (Right): October 1, 2008. We have a small staff, and I try to give them a chance to do covers (or any other pages). This is another cover design and image by designer Sara Baumberger.
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