Grids: January 2011 Archives

Happy Birthday Ronald Reagan!

Appreciation 01.31.11 posted by Robert Newman

February 6 marks the 100th birthday of President Ronald Reagan. Thanks to the combined efforts of the Newmanology Facebook page and the Stephen Kroninger Drawger page, we've collected a batch of classic Reagan publication covers, posters, and illustrations from the 1980s. These feature the talents of Gary Panter, Sue Coe, Anita Kunz, Ralph Steadman, Julian Allen, Robert Grossman, and more, as well as art directors Roger Black, Louise Kollenbaum, and the Gran Fury design collective.

(Above): The Progressive, April 1982. Illustration by Steve Brodner, art director: Patrick Jb Flynn.

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Cover of the Day, January 31, 2011

Cover of the Day 01.31.11 posted by The Editors

Welcome to The SPD Cover of the Day. We'll be posting our favorite covers every Monday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for the best and coolest magazine and newspaper covers, as selected by our stellar group of experts.

China Reform, February 2011
Creative Director: Nai Lee Lum
Illustration: Edel Rodriguez

Cover of the Day, January 28, 2011

Cover of the Day 01.28.11 posted by The Editors

Welcome to The SPD Cover of the Day. We'll be posting our favorite covers every Monday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for the best and coolest magazine and newspaper covers, as selected by our stellar group of experts.

Time, February 7, 2011

Art Director: D.W. Pine

Photo-Montage by Andrew Eccles. Reagan and Obama heads: Getty Images

Your Moment of Type Zen #4

Typography 01.26.11 posted by Gail Anderson

It's much easier to do the photo thing on my bike than in the car, so you'll be seeing more of these NYC posts in the coming weeks. There's an endless supply of typographic eye candy around the city, so it's pretty much a no-brainer. I'm learning that you just have to be careful of curious pedestrians... and people who definitely don't want to be in the picture.

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Cover of the Day, January 26, 2011

Cover of the Day 01.26.11 posted by The Editors

Welcome to The SPD Cover of the Day. We'll be posting our favorite covers every Monday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for the best and coolest magazine and newspaper covers, as selected by our stellar group of experts.

Architectural Record, January 2011 (split run covers)
Creative Director: Francesca Messina
Art Director: Helene Silverman
Photographer: Jason Frank Rothenberg

Fast News for January 25, 2011

News 01.25.11 posted by The Editors

SPD MEDIA MIX is our regular list of publication design, digital, and media news and updates. Please send your links and news items to SPD at mail@spd.org and we'll add them to the Mix.

>> At Fast Company, Alice Alves has been promoted to Art Director. She'll be joined by Ted Keller, former art director of GreenSource, who will have the same title at Fast Company....

>> Murdoch's news app The Daily: Will it be USA Today or The National? Good background and analysis from Newsonomics....

>> Anti-trust battle brewing over iPad subscriptions?...

10 Takeaways from the SPD Judging (Digital Edition)

Websites & Apps 01.24.11 posted by Robert Newman

Joe Zeff was a judge at the SPD annual competition this past weekend. He was on the digital jury that judged website and iPad app design, and posted 10 lessons learned on his blog. There's lots of smartness there, including this: "It is one thing to target readers, and another to engage users." See Joe's blog for the full list of 10 Takeaways from the SPD Judging.… MORE

Cover of the Day, January 24, 2011

Cover of the Day 01.24.11 posted by The Editors

Welcome to The SPD Cover of the Day. We'll be posting our favorite covers every Monday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for the best and coolest magazine and newspaper covers, as selected by our group of experts.

Billboard, January 29, 2011

Design Director: Andrew Horton

Illustration: Joe Zeff Design

Pimp my Data!

Infographics 01.21.11 posted by Neil Jamieson

Cool motion info graphics are nothing especially new, but when they start popping up at the end of Will Ferrell movies they certainly do grab your attention. In a bid to get the lucky attendees of Steve Duenes' "Art + Info" masterclass in February all inspired, check out these cool end credits from last summer's Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg movie "The Other Guys".

Watch the credits after the jump... … MORE

Fast News for January 20, 2011

News 01.20.11 posted by The Editors

SPD MEDIA MIX is our regular list of publication design, digital, and media news and updates. Please send your links and news items to SPD at mail@spd.org and we'll add them to the Mix.

>> Reader's Digest launched their first app for the iPad....

>> Victoria Advocate art director Ryan Huddle is joining the design department of The Boston Globe, where he'll work on the Sunday magazine and the daily G entertainment section...

>> Builder magazine debuts its new redesign, by Luke Hayman of Pentagram...

Your Moment of Type Zen #3

Typography 01.19.11 posted by Gail Anderson

I have a thing for portable signs. The letters are always kind of crunchy and the words are sometimes misspelled -- or just plain missing. And the copy itself is often priceless. I've always been drawn to this kind of rural roadside advertising, and am now kicking myself for all signs I've whizzed by over the years. So it's time to start pulling over and taking a few quick shots before I lose out on any more of these little gems.

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Cover of the Day, January 19, 2011

Cover of the Day 01.19.11 posted by The Editors

Welcome to The SPD Cover of the Day. We'll be posting our favorite covers every Monday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for the best and coolest magazine and newspaper covers, as selected by our stellar group of experts.

The Infamous, February 2011
Art Director: Shaun Baron
Illustrator: Pose

Fast News for January 18, 2011

News 01.18.11 posted by The Editors

SPD MEDIA MIX is our regular list of publication design, digital, and media news and updates. Please send your links and news items to SPD at mail@spd.org and we'll add them to the Mix.

>> Brandon Kavulla is the new creative director at WIRED. He was previously design director at Men's Health...

>> New study shows when iPad users read the most (thanks to Magtastic Blogsplosion for the link)...

>> Another look at the upcoming iPad 2.0.....out in April?....

Cover of the Day, January 17, 2011

Cover of the Day 01.17.11 posted by The Editors

Welcome to The SPD Cover of the Day. We'll be posting our favorite covers every Monday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for the best and coolest magazine and newspaper covers, as selected by our stellar group of experts.

Reader's Digest, February 2011
Art Director: Dean Abatemarco
Photo Editor: Bill Black
Photographer: Erik Rank

Wow = Typecalendar.com

Typography 01.14.11 posted by Gail Anderson

Did you know that on January 7th, Charles Addams was born, as well as one Mister Nicolas Cage? Or that January 6th was the date that Nancy Kerrigan got clubbed on the knee by Tonya Harding? Let renowned designer Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich (born November 11th) supply you with all of the fun facts and useless trivia you'll need to dazzle friends at cocktail parties in 2011 with amazing Type Calendar ("A type a day keeps the doctor away"). Roberto's challenge: to create one clever digit design a day that ties in to historical events--and keeps us coming back for more. I think he's got that coming-back-for-more thing covered. Wow.
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SPD Presents: ART + INFO Master Class with STEVE DUENES

Master Class 01.13.11 posted by The Editors

SPD offers you an amazing opportunity (again!)--this time, to spend a day with The New York Times Graphics Director, Steve Duenes, in the second of our Master Class series, ART + INFO. Steve manages a group of 30 NYT journalists who research, design, and program the award-winning diagrams, maps, and visualizations for both the Times' website and newspaper. The team's many awards include not only honors from SPD, but also AIGA, SND (The Society of News Design), and the Society of Professional Journalists. In 2009, the New York Times received the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Communication.

Learn about registration and see more of Steve's work after the jump... … MORE

A Recipe for Hotcake-Selling Magazine Apps

iPad 01.13.11 posted by Robert Newman

Joe Zeff Design has a smart new post on how magazines can start selling their iPad apps "like hotcakes." They argue for reinvention of the product, and point to the new O Magazine Sketchbook App for iPad as an example. And they also argue convincingly that publishers should be targeting the youth audience as an area of big growth. Their final words: "It is not enough to redesign. It is imperative that we reinvent."
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NY Talk: 1980s Downtown Paper Art Directed by Mark Michaelson

Old School 01.13.11 posted by Robert Newman

NY Talk was a downtown arts and culture paper published in the 1980s. Mark Michaelson was the art director from 1984-85 and created a remarkable-looking publication, stunning in its bold, modern, graphic simplicity. For cover imagery he drew on downtown New York artists and his own creative mind. Michaelson went on to art direct New York, Newsweek, Allure, and Radar, among others, and was instrumental in the launch of Entertainment Weekly and the late 90s redesign of Details. In 2006 he published a book of his collection of mugshots, Least Wanted. Here are five classic NY Talk covers.

(Above): NY Talk, December 1984.

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Fast News for January 13, 2011

News 01.13.11 posted by The Editors

SPD MEDIA MIX is our regular list of publication design, digital, and media news and updates. Please send your links and news items to SPD at mail@spd.org and we'll add them to the Mix.

>> New apps by CNN and Roadtrip, an iPad-only travel magazine...

>> Tonight at the Type Directors Club: German graphic designer Fons Hickman and Pacific Northwest art director/poster designer Art Chantry...

>> Smart guy Khoi Vinh spreads more doom and gloom about magazine iPad apps: "Stop it Conde Nast. Stop it Hearst. Stop it Adobe. Stop it everyone who's pursuing this all but discredited strategy"...

Your Moment of Type Zen #2

Typography 01.12.11 posted by Gail Anderson

I hope you enjoyed the first batch (or actually, even looked at them). I drive along Route 206 in New Jersey fairly regularly to visit my folks in Leisuretowne (yes, there really is such a place -- and it's a retirement community). There's some crazy-good stuff that I pass along the way, so I'm trying to get some pictures little by little before all those great signs disappear. If you're ever in the area, be sure to say hi to Lloyd and Nola.

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Cover of the Day, January 12, 2011

Cover of the Day 01.12.11 posted by The Editors

Welcome to The SPD Cover of the Day. We'll be posting our favorite covers every Monday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for the best and coolest magazine and newspaper covers, as selected by our stellar group of experts.

The Stranger, January 15, 2011

Art director: Aaron Huffman

Up: In-Flight Magazine Designed by +2 Designers

Appreciation 01.11.11 posted by Robert Newman

Up is the in-flight magazine for Portugal's TAP airlines. Since its launch in November 2007, the magazine has been designed by +2 designers, who are Vasco Colombo and Raquel Porto. It's published monthly in mixed languages, Portuguese and English. Each cover is uniquely designed, featuring illustrative typographic treatments by Colombo. And the magazine features fonts by Portuguese font designers (Van by Ricardo Santos and Glosa by Dino Santos). To see an entire issue of Up, you can download the iPad app version for free from the Apple app store.

(Above): April 2009. Photograph: Alexander Koch, styling: Martin Kulik.

Post-production on all covers: Fernando Martins.
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Fast News for January 11, 2011

News 01.11.11 posted by The Editors

SPD MEDIA MIX is our regular list of publication design, digital, and media news and updates. Please send your links and news items to SPD at mail@spd.org and we'll add them to the Mix.

>> Scott Hall is the new Director of Photography with Creative Director Dirk Barnett for the new Newsweek / Daily Beast enterprise. He had been a Photo Editor at T, The New York Times Style Magazine...

>> More on the state of iPad apps: from Paid Content: "it will take years, not months, to work out how to make apps better than both the web and newspapers"....

>> Former Time art director Arthur Hochstein will reprise his recent caretaker role at Bloomberg Businessweek as he helms Newsweek while Dirk Barnett works on the upcoming redesign...

Hollands Diep: Art Director Jaap Biemans

Cool 01.10.11 posted by Robert Newman

Hollands Diep is the Vanity Fair of the Netherlands. Jaap Biemans has been the art director there since April 2009. The busy Biemans is also the art director of weekly magazine Intermediair, and produces the wonderfully obsessive magazine cover website Coverjunkie.com. Hollands Diep is published every two months, and features a mix of photographs picked up from American glossies, as well as the photography of some of the best Dutch talent. The distinctive logo treatment and the original overall design of the magazine was created by Dutch designer Loes Koomen, when the magazine launched in 2007.

(Above): May 2010. Photograph by Mark Lidell.
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Cover of the Day, January 10, 2011

Cover of the Day 01.10.11 posted by The Editors

Welcome to The SPD Cover of the Day. We'll be posting our favorite covers every Monday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for the best and coolest magazine and newspaper covers, as selected by our stellar group of experts.

Hollands Diep, December 2010
Art Director: Jaap Biemans
Photographer: Neil Wilder

More Alternative Weekly Covers from 2010

Alternative Weeklies 01.07.11 posted by Robert Newman

This is the third and final collection of our 2010 Alternative Newsweekly Covers round-up. Here are 10 more fun, cool, original covers. And half of them were illustrated by the art directors themselves.

(Above): Westword, August 26, 2010. Art director: Jay Vollmar, illustration: CSA Archives.

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The Joy of Stats: 200 Years of Health and Wealth

Infographics 01.06.11 posted by Josh Klenert

Today I discovered this great BBC video featuring Dr. Hans Rosling explaining the past 200 years of world wold health and wealth progress via a beautiful four minute animated infographic.

Watch the video after the jump...

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The Top Alternative Newsweekly Covers of 2010: 10 Runner-Ups

Alternative Weeklies 01.06.11 posted by Robert Newman

Earlier this week we published our list of the Top 10 Alternative Newsweekly Covers of 2010. There were so many good covers from 2010, though, that we decided to add this list of 10 runner-ups. Here's another batch of relentlessly creative, original, and provocative cover designs from across the country (listed in alphabetical order).

(Above): Baltimore City Paper, December 1, 2010. Art director: Joe MacLeod, cut-paper art: Annie Howe.

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Fast News for January 6, 2011

News 01.06.11 posted by The Editors

SPD MEDIA MIX is our regular list of publication design, digital, and media news and updates. Please send your links and news items to SPD at mail@spd.org and we'll add them to the Mix.

>> Liza Aelion is the new Brand CD for Hachette's Woman's Day...

>> Have you noticed? The first deadline for PUB 46, print and digital, is tomorrow. Download entry forms and instructions here if you still need them, and check out this fantastic overview of the expanded Digital categories here...

>> And don't forget to show-off your work to everyone else, too: deadline for the Type Directors Club is also Friday the 7th, get started entering for that here; the Art Directors Club gives you a little more time, with deadlines starting January 21st...

Your Moment of Type Zen #1

Typography 01.05.11 posted by Gail Anderson

I've got a lot on my mind these days (don't get me started), so to relieve some stress, I've decided to take some pictures... of type. Yep, I know -- there are lots of type blogs with amazing, obsessive collections. But are they sharing them with you, right here on GRIDS? I think not. So take a moment from your busy work day, and have a look at some tasty type. Maybe it'll inspire you; that's what I'm hoping for in my own case. These are from upstate New York, in the Ulster County area. Next up, Route 206 in New Jersey, right off the Turnpike. Enjoy.

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Cover of the Day, January 5, 2011

Cover of the Day 01.05.11 posted by The Editors

Welcome to The SPD Cover of the Day. We'll be posting our favorite covers every Monday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for the best and coolest magazine and newspaper covers, as selected by our stellar group of experts.

Up, January 2011

Art Directors: Vasco Colombo and Raquel Porto

Photographer: Alexander Koch

Styling: Ruben Moreira

Post-Production: Fernando Martins

Nike passes the trash

Found Objects 01.04.11 posted by Catherine Talese

There's a new line on the racks just for women: Nike's Premium Print Pack sneakers made from recycled magazines. This limited edition comes in three styles and will only be released in Europe, China and "emerging markets".
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Fast News for January 4, 2011

News 01.04.11 posted by The Editors

SPD MEDIA MIX is our regular list of publication design, digital, and media news and updates. Please send your links and news items to SPD at mail@spd.org and we'll add them to the Mix.

>> Meredith and Hearst reportedly ready to buy ELLE...

>> PBS's Mediashift column has a good rundown and analysis of the state of magazine iPad apps. Thanks to Magtastic Blogsplosion for the link...

>> Fortune: Why Digital Newsstands Stink. Another critical look at iPad magazine apps... and related news from the WSJ about Google's entry into the same Digital Newsstand wilderness...

>> Innovations in magazine publishing (print and digital): why some publications thrived in 2010....

The Top 10 Alternative Newsweekly Covers of 2010

Alternative Weeklies 01.03.11 posted by Robert Newman

2010 was a banner year for alternative newsweekly cover design. SPD has showcased a lot of these covers during the year in our Cover of the Day feature and elsewhere on the site. These papers are free, so they're not burdened with the need to sell copies on the newsstand, which lets the art directors produce bold, original, provocative covers that connect instantly with readers (and also are perfect for getting passed around a lot on the internet). These covers are produced for the most part quickly and cheaply; three of the covers here were illustrated by the art directors themselves. Here's our list of the Top 10 Alternative Newsweekly Covers of 2010. Stay tuned later in the week for our list of the 10 runner-ups.

1.
(Above): The Village Voice, May 26, 2010. Art director: John Dixon, illustrator: Jason Edmiston. A dead-on parody of the Mad magazine Al Jaffe fold-in back covers.

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Cover of the Day, January 3, 2011

Cover of the Day 01.03.11 posted by The Editors

Welcome to The SPD Cover of the Day. We'll be posting our favorite covers every Monday and Wednesday. Stay tuned for the best and coolest magazine and newspaper covers, as selected by our stellar group of experts.

The Village Voice, December 29, 2010

Art Director: John Dixon

Photographer: Chad Griffith

Photo Assistant: Maegan Gindi

See a slideshow of the shoot here.

January 2011 Archives

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