September 2014 Archives

From the SPD Archives: Publication Design 39 Cover, 2004

From the SPD Archives: Publication Design 39 Cover, 2004

SPD50.jpgOne of our favorite SPD book covers is this jacket from the SPD 39th Publication Design Annual, published in 2004. The cover originated as a photo shoot by Stephen Lewis for design director Debra Bishop at Martha Stewart Kids magazine. It was picked up and altered by Robert Priest, who designed the book with his team from Priest Media. The Pub 39 book features the best publication design from 2003, selected by a distinguished set of judges, and co-chaired by Carla Frank, design director of O, the Oprah Magazine, and Luke Hayman, design director of New York.

On the turn page, Debra Bishop and Robert Priest share their memories of the creation of this book cover.
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SPD's 50th Anniversary Speaker Series kicks off with a panel discussion with the innovators from one of the industry's most-beloved publications, Entertainment Weekly.   Tickets are selling so fast that we've had to move the event to the SVA THEATER (333 w 23rd st)  Tickets are sure to go quickly, so get yours today!


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Cover of the Day: The New Yorker: October 6, 2014

Cover of the Day: The New Yorker: October 6, 2014


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Welcome to SPD's Cover of the Day, a portfolio of brilliant magazine and newspaper covers from around the world.

The New Yorker October 6, 2014
Creative Director: Wyatt Mitchell
Art Editor: Françoise Mouly 
Illustration: Christoph Niemann

Want to submit your cover to be considered for our Cover of the Day? Send us a jpeg of your cover with credit info to SPDsubmissions@gmail.com
Brooklyn Banners by Josh Gosfield

Brooklyn Banners by Josh Gosfield

Illustrator/art director Josh Gosfield created a striking series of banners for Brooklyn's Atlantic Antic festival, which was held on Sunday, September 28. The 8-foot banners helped celebrate the 40th anniversary of Brooklyn's largest street fair. One local business representative gushed to the New York Daily News that "What Toulouse-Lautrec did for posters in Montmarte in Paris, Gosfield is doing for street banners in Brooklyn."

See more of Gosfield's street banners here, and read more in the Daily News.
Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 8: Tim Leong

Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 8: Tim Leong

-1.jpgOn September 30 at the SVA Theater in NYC, every design director from Entertainment Weekly's 25 year history will gather for an historic event, For the Love of Enterainment Weekly. The evening is part of SPD's 50th anniversary celebration, as well as an advance notice of EW's 25th anniversary, which is February 16, 2015.

Former EW design directors Michael Grossman, Robert Newman, John Korpics, Geraldine Hessler, Brian Anstey, Kory Kennedy, and current DD Tim Leong will show their work and give an inside look at the magazine's creation. There will also be a special tribute to former DD Amid Capeci.

As a lead up to the event, SPD will be showcasing the cover pages of each design director. Here are the EW covers of the magazine's eighth (and current) design director, Tim Leong. These covers all date from 2014. The photo director for these covers was Lisa Berman.

(Above): Photographer: Robert Trachtenberg, photo editor: Natalie Gialluca

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NY Art Book Fair, September 26-28 at MoMA PS1

NY Art Book Fair, September 26-28 at MoMA PS1

The NY Art Book Fair will be held this weekend, September 26-28 at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, NY. Presented by Printed Matter, the Book Fair is described as "the world's premier event for artists' book, catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines." Best of all, it's free! There are lots of events and of course, beautiful books and more to view (and buy). More info here.

Cover Of the Day: Bloomberg Businessweek

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Welcome to SPD's Cover of the Day, a portfolio of brilliant magazine and newspaper covers from around the world.

Bloomberg Businessweek September 24, 2014
Design Director: Rob Vargas
Illustration By: 731

Want to submit your cover to be considered for our Cover of the Day? Send us a jpeg of your cover with credit info to SPDsubmissions@gmail.com
Inside the Consumer Reports Redesign

Inside the Consumer Reports Redesign

Kevin Brainard and Cybele Grandjean known for their redesigns of Condé Nast Traveler, Martha Stewart Living, and Condé Nast's Brides, have launch a redesigned Consumer Reports--and their new partnership Area of Practice, along with Robert Spica.


Area of Practice developed the strategy and redesign for the new Consumer Reports in close collaboration with VP and general manager Brent Diamond, director of growth initiatives Steve Cooper, editor in chief Ellen Kampinsky, and creative director Tim LaPalme.


Founded in 1936 as Consumers Union, Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit magazine that serves over 4.5M readers monthly, through unbiased product testing and ratings, research, journalism, public education, and advocacy.


Although Consumer Reports is best known for its product reviews, the team recognized that the organizations lesser known but highly influential advocacy work and focus on consumer empowerment was an unique asset that would resonate with a broader audience. 


Seeking to make the publication more accessible and attractive, to an audience of new readers, Brainard & Grandjean brought on board Martha Stewart Living and Brides alum Mary Cahill as a consulting photo editor.


Together the team started to rethink the editorial voice and shape the content to help create a modern publication that embraces its history and looks toward the future without alienating its core-audience.


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SPD's 50th Anniversary Speaker Series kicks off with a panel discussion with the innovators from one of the industry's most-beloved publications, Entertainment Weekly.   Tickets are selling so fast that we've had to move the event to the SVA THEATER (333 w 23rd st)  Tickets are sure to go quickly, so get yours today!


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Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 7: Kory Kennedy

Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 7: Kory Kennedy

-1.jpgOn September 30 at the SVA Theater in NYC, every design director from Entertainment Weekly's 25 year history will gather for an historic event, For the Love of Enterainment Weekly. The evening is part of SPD's 50th anniversary celebration, as well as an advance notice of EW's 25th anniversary, which is February 16, 2015.

Former EW design directors Michael Grossman, Robert Newman, John Korpics, Geraldine Hessler, Brian Anstey, Kory Kennedy, and Tim Leong will show their work and give an inside look at the magazine's creation. There will also be a special tribute to former DD Amid Capeci.

As a lead up to the event, SPD will be showcasing the cover pages of each design director. Here are the EW covers of the magazine's seventh design director, Kory Kennedy, plus comments by Kory on how the covers were created. These 16 covers date from the years 2012-14. The photo director: for these covers was Lisa Berman; managing photo director: Sarah Czeladnicki.

(Above): October 5, 2012. Photograph: Ruven Afanador, photo editor: Michele Romero.
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From the SPD Archives: Folio covers, 1970s-80s

From the SPD Archives: Folio covers, 1970s-80s

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The May 1979 issue cover (above), which appeared in the SPD15 annual, is just one of the many outstanding Folio covers produced by Steve Phillips during his tenure as art director. Steve started out in advertising, but left Y&R in 1970 to start his own studio. He says, "Leaving was just typical of many people who leave for bigger and better things... and the opportunity to be your own boss. But mainly I wanted to be a graphic designer, not an advertising art director."

He was working with Chuck Tannen while designing some things for YPO (the Young Presidents Organization), when Joe Hansen (Folio's publisher) asked Chuck to be the editor of Folio. Chuck asked Steve to be the art director, and clearly it was the start of a great creative collaboration. Folio's first issue came out in 1972, and Steve stayed on as art director for almost 11 years, designing a series of highly memorable covers along the way.

"Chuck Tannen was a great editor and he also appreciated real creativity." Steve says, "Both of us really enjoyed the sessions we had coming up with ideas, especially for covers. And maybe we felt that Folio, being a voice of the publishing industry should be different and lead the way creatively. Also, thinking differently was part of that era."

After the jump, we've got a brilliant collection of 1970s-80s Folio covers, plus some comments from Steve Phillips on how they were created.

(Above): Folio, May 1979; Art Director, Designer, Photographer: Steve Phillips
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SPD's 50th Anniversary Speaker Series kicks off with a panel discussion with the innovators from one of the industry's most-beloved publications, Entertainment Weekly.   Tickets are selling so fast that we've had to move the event to the SVA THEATER (333 w 23rd st)  Tickets are sure to go quickly, so get yours today!


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Cover of the Day: Magazinemagazine (France)

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Welcome to SPD's Cover of the Day, a portfolio of brilliant magazine and newspaper covers from around the world.

Magazinemagazine (France) Autumn 2014
Art Director: Yorgo Tloupas
Picture: Cédric Viollet
The sticker can be removed and replaced.

Want to submit your cover to be considered for our Cover of the Day? Send us a jpeg of your cover with credit info to SPDsubmissions@gmail.com
Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 6: Amid Capeci

Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 6: Amid Capeci

-1.jpgOn September 30 at the SVA Theater in NYC, every design director from Entertainment Weekly's 25 year history will gather for an historic event, For the Love of Enterainment Weekly. The evening is part of SPD's 50th anniversary celebration, as well as an advance notice of EW's 25th anniversary, which is February 16, 2015.

Former EW design directors Michael Grossman, Robert Newman, John Korpics, Geraldine Hessler, Brian Anstey, Kory Kennedy, and Tim Leong will show their work and give an inside look at the magazine's creation and visual legacy. There will also be a special tribute to former DD Amid Capeci.

As a lead up to the event, SPD will be showcasing the cover pages of each design director. Here are the EW covers of the magazine's sixth design director, Amid Capeci, plus comments on how they were created. The covers date from the years 2009-2010. The director of photography for all of these covers is Lisa Berman.

Note: Amid Capeci passed away in 2012.

Above: July 30, 2010. Typography by Joe Zeff Design.
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From the SPD Archives: Weekly Newsmagazine Art Directors, Early 1990s

From the SPD Archives: Weekly Newsmagazine Art Directors, Early 1990s

This latest entry from the SPD Archives features a titanic gathering of weekly newsmagazine art directors, from the early 1990s (no one seems quite sure of the exact date). This of course, was back in the day when the three major newsmagazines had many millions of circulation, giant staffs and budgets, and huge influence on creating the national conversation on politics, news, arts, and lifestyle. Featured in this photograph, are from left to right: Rob Covey, design director of U.S. News & World Report; Patricia Bradbury, senior art director of Newsweek; Peter Comitini, cover art director of Newsweek; Rudy Hoglund, art director of Time; Roger Black, art director of Newsweek; and Arthur Hochstein, design director of Time. As with the date, no one is quite sure what event brought this stellar group together, but everyone seems to think it was organized by Roger Black.

All of the people in this photo continued to have notable careers in publication design (and other areas) after this. In fact, they all probably did much better than the magazines they worked for at the time!
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SPD's 50th Anniversary Speaker Series kicks off with a panel discussion with the innovators from one of the industry's most-beloved publications, Entertainment Weekly.   Tickets are selling so fast that we've had to move the event to the SVA THEATER (333 w 23rd st)  Tickets are sure to go quickly, so get yours today! … MORE
Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 5: Brian Anstey

Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 5: Brian Anstey

-1.jpgOn September 30 at the SVA Theater in NYC, every design director from Entertainment Weekly's 25 year history will gather for an historic event, For the Love of Enterainment Weekly. The evening is part of SPD's 50th anniversary celebration, as well as an advance notice of EW's 25th anniversary, which is February 16, 2015.

Former EW design directors Michael Grossman, Robert Newman, John Korpics, Geraldine Hessler, Brian Anstey, Kory Kennedy, and Tim Leong will show their work and give an inside look at the magazine's creation. There will also be a special tribute to former DD Amid Capeci.

As a lead up to the event, SPD will be showcasing the cover pages of each design director. Here are the EW covers of the magazine's  fifth design director, Brian Anstey, plus comments on how they were created. The covers are from the years 2008-2009. The photo editor of Entertainment Weekly during this period was Fiona McDonagh, followed by Lisa Berman.

Above: Stephen Colbert and John Stewart parody The New Yorker cover, October 3, 2008.MORE
From the SPD Archives: The 15th Call for Entries, 1979

From the SPD Archives: The 15th Call for Entries, 1979

The SPD 15th Call for Entries, published in 1979, is one of the most unusual of its kind. While previous and later calls tended to be large format posters that folded into a mailer, this edition was a fake magazine, called Showtime. The cover and inside pages featured a series of photographs by John Nation of a Louisville, Kentucky-based actor, wearing a wide variety of hats and costumes.

The project was the brainchild of Stephen Hall, who at the time had a studio in Louisville and was consulting for a variety of publications, including Louisville magazine. Hall went on to a very successful career as an art director, publication executive, and fine artist. He's still hard at work, both as an art director and a painter, and is based in the Washington, DC area. Stephen talked with SPD about creating the 15th Call for Entries and much more. We also have a slideshow of Stephen's work.
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Entertainment Weekly. The Covers Part 4: Geraldine Hessler

Entertainment Weekly. The Covers Part 4: Geraldine Hessler

-1.jpgOn September 30 at the SVA Theater in NYC, every design director from Entertainment Weekly's 25 year history will gather for an historic event, For the Love of Enterainment Weekly. The evening is part of SPD's 50th anniversary celebration, as well as an advance notice of EW's 25th anniversary, which is February 16, 2015.

Former EW design directors Michael Grossman, Robert Newman, John Korpics, Geraldine Hessler, Brian Anstey, Kory Kennedy, and Tim Leong will show their work and give an inside look at the magazine's creation. There will also be a special tribute to former DD Amid Capeci.

As a lead up to the event, SPD will be showcasing the cover pages of each design director. Here are the EW covers of the magazine's fourth design director, Geraldine Hessler, plus comments on how the covers were created. These 16 covers date from the years 1999-2008.

Above: The Dixie Chicks, March 2, 2003.

The Dixie Chicks: We shot this cover right after Natalie Maines spoke out against President Bush while on tour in London, and the band was being called all kinds of horrible names. It was actually their idea to pose nude with all the slurs on their bodies. The original idea was to have bumper stickers made and to plaster their bodies with them, but we had a body painter on set just in case the stickers didn't work. It was a good thing, because the shipment of stickers never made it. The band loved this image so much that they used it for the poster for their movie.


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SPD's 50th Anniversary Speaker Series kicks off with a panel discussion with the innovators from one of the industry's most-beloved publications, Entertainment Weekly.   Tickets are selling so fast that we've had to move the event to the SVA THEATER (333 w 23rd st)  Tickets are sure to go quickly, so get yours today! … MORE
Cover of the Day: Harpers's Bazaar España: October, 2014

Cover of the Day: Harpers's Bazaar España: October, 2014

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Welcome to SPD's Cover of the Day, a portfolio of brilliant magazine and newspaper covers from around the world.


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Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 3: John Korpics

Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 3: John Korpics

-1.jpgOn September 30 at the SVA Theater in NYC, every design director from Entertainment Weekly's 25 year history will gather for an historic event, For the Love of Enterainment Weekly. The evening is part of SPD's 50th anniversary celebration, as well as an advance notice of EW's 25th anniversary, which is February 16, 2015.

Former EW design directors Michael Grossman, Robert Newman, John Korpics, Geraldine Hessler, Brian Anstey, Kory Kennedy, and Tim Leong will show their work and give an inside look at the magazine's creation. There will also be a special tribute to former DD Amid Capeci.

As a lead up to the event, SPD will be showcasing the cover pages of each design director. Here are the EW covers of the magazine's third design director, John Korpics, along with some fun behind-the-scenes comments from John about how they came together. These 13 covers date from the years 1996-1999.

(Left): Howard Stern, March 7, 1997. Photograph by Jill Greenberg.


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SPD's 50th Anniversary Speaker Series kicks off with a panel discussion with the innovators from one of the industry's most-beloved publications, Entertainment Weekly.   Tickets are selling so fast that we've had to move the event to the SVA THEATER (333 w 23rd st)  Tickets are sure to go quickly, so get yours today!


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Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 2: Robert Newman

Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 2: Robert Newman

-1.jpgOn September 30 at the SVA Theater in NYC, every design director from Entertainment Weekly's 25 year history will gather for an historic event, For the Love of Enterainment Weekly. The evening is part of SPD's 50th anniversary celebration, as well as an advance notice of EW's 25th anniversary, which is February 16, 2015.

Former EW design directors Michael Grossman, Robert Newman, John Korpics, Geraldine Hessler, Brian Anstey, Kory Kennedy, and Tim Leong will show their work and give an inside look at the magazine's creation. There will also be a special tribute to former DD Amid Capeci.

As a lead up to the event, SPD will be showcasing the cover pages of each design director. Here are the EW covers of the magazine's second design director, Robert Newman (that's me!) from the years 1994-96. The photography directors for these covers were Mary Dunn and Doris Brautigan.

(Cover left): April 22, 1994, published after the death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.
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From the SPD Archives: Time Magazine Covers, 1977

From the SPD Archives: Time Magazine Covers, 1977

Time, July 4, 1977 
Art Director: Walter Bernard; Designer: Seymour Chwast; Illustrator: Seymour Chwast

-1.jpgTime was redesigned by Walter Bernard in 1977. Eight covers from that year appear in the SPD13 annual, including the July 4, 1977 issue (pictured above) which debuted the new logo designed by Walter. He was kind enough to share some insights and memories about the making of these covers and his time at Time.

Prior to Time, Walter had been at New York magazine for nine years; he left in January 1977 when it was purchased by Rupert Murdoch. Shortly thereafter, Time contacted Walter and offered him the position of Art Director. Walter says, "I told them no, because I didn't like the way the magazine looked." Time wasn't the kind of place to take no for an answer! Walter explains, "In February, I started a secret redesign that was to be presented in April or May. If they accepted it, I would become Art Director. If they didn't accept it, no one would ever know about it." 

Needless to say, Time accepted. However, Walter did not become Art Director until July. "That first cover was done before I actually started, and it had to be done quickly, even by Time standards." Walter had been working with Seymour Chwast at the time and hired him to do the illustration. The redesign of interior pages was implemented in August, and Walter stayed on as Art Director for three years.  
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Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 1: Michael Grossman

Entertainment Weekly. The Covers, Part 1: Michael Grossman

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On September 30 at the SVA Theater in NYC, every design director from Entertainment Weekly's 25 year history will gather for an historic event, For the Love of Enterainment Weekly. The evening is part of SPD's 50th anniversary celebration, as well as an advance notice of EW's 25th anniversary, which is February 16, 2015.

Former EW design directors Michael Grossman, Robert Newman, John Korpics, Geraldine Hessler, Brian Anstey, Kory Kennedy, and Tim Leong will show their work and give an inside look at the magazine's creation. There will also be a special tribute to former DD Amid Capeci.

As a lead up to the event, SPD will be showcasing the cover pages of each design director. Here are the EW covers of the magazine's first design director, Michael Grossman (and, he hastens to add, art director Mark Michaelson) from the years 1990-94. The photography directors for most of these covers were Mary Dunn and Doris Brautigan.

(Cover shown: Arsenio Hall, April 27, 1992)
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Leo Jung and Jacqueline Bates join new startup The California Sunday Magazine

Leo Jung and Jacqueline Bates join new startup The California Sunday Magazine


On Sunday October 5, more than 400,000 subscribers to the San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times will find something new within the bundle on their doorstep: The California Sunday Magazine, a startup devised by freelancer Douglas McGray and Federated Media co-founder Chas Edwards. McGray and Edwards' impressive editorial team includes: creative director Leo Jung, formerly the design director at Wired and deputy art director at the New York Times Magazine, and photography director Jacqueline Bates, previously the senior photo editor of W magazine. She also worked in the photo departments of ELLE, Interview, and Wired.

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Cover of the Day: Time, September 22, 2014

Cover of the Day: Time, September 22, 2014

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Welcome to SPD's Cover of the Day, a portfolio of brilliant magazine and newspaper covers from around the world.

Time Magazine  September 1, 2014
Design Director: D.W. Pine
TIME Photo Illustration. Hand: Milos Luzanin-Alamy


Want to submit your cover to be considered for our Cover of the Day? Send us a jpeg of your cover with credit info to SPDsubmissions@gmail.com

From the SPD Archives: The SPD Gala 22, 1987

From the SPD Archives: The SPD Gala 22, 1987

-1.jpgFor our second trip through the SPD Archives, we have this photograph of snazzy looking dudes at the SPD Gala 22 in 1987, when it was still being held at the main branch of the New York City Library on 42nd Street in Manhattan. Pictured from left are Don Morris, who was design director of Metropolitan Home, Josh Gosfield, art director of New York magazine, Robert Best, design director of New York, and William Nabers, Metropolitan Home photography editor. Gala 22 was hosted by co-chairs Amy Bogert, art director of Ms., and Nancy Butkus of Nancy Butkus Design.

All of the folks in this photo have continued to have vibrant and very diverse careers in the years since. Don Morris has directed the design and redesigns of countless magazines, digital platforms, and books via his Don Morris Design studio. Josh Gosfield has had great success as an illustrator, window designer, artist, and author (his most recent book is The Art of Doing, co-written with Camille Sweeney). Robert Best was the longtime design director at New York, followed by an equally stellar stint as design director of Conde Nast Traveler. He is currently consulting through his Best & Co. Design studio and is the creative director of The Nation. William Nabers worked for many years as a photo editor at Fortune, eventually becoming photography director in 2004. William continues to work as a photo editor and teaches at SVA.

Josh Gosfield, Don Morris, and Robert Best shared some memories of the photograph and the times with SPD.
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From the SPD Archives: Publication Design 12

From the SPD Archives: Publication Design 12

-1.jpgWelcome to From the SPD Archives, a weekly look back at graphics, publications, people, photographs, and more from deep in the Society of Publications Designers history. We'll be publishing one or two of these a week for the coming year to celebrate SPD's 50th anniversary. If you've got pictures or visual remembrances of your own that relate to SPD and magazine making history, please send them to us at mail@spd.org.

Our first archival delight is the cover of Publication Design 12, the very first SPD hardbound design annual, published in 1978. The cover is an illustration by Bill Nelson, art directed by Steve Phillips, who was the art director at New Times magazine. It's a reproduction of the 1977 SPD Call for Entries, a poster that was folded and mailed to members. Editing and design of the inside pages is credited to Liz Wilbur, from American Heritage magazine.

Inside, the book was printed entirely in black and white, except for 12 pages of color reproductions of the top awards, including the Best of Show Jerome Snyder Award, given to Stuart Silver and Alvin Grossman for American Ephemera, the publication of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As was common at the time, the credits for winning entries included information on the typesetter, color separator, printer, and paper manufacturer.

(Scroll down to the bottom of this story to click on a larger-size version of this cover.)
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Due to Popular Demand, NEW BIGGER LOCATION!

Due to Popular Demand, NEW BIGGER LOCATION!

SPD's 50th Anniversary Speaker Series kicks off with a panel discussion with the innovators from one of the industry's most-beloved publications, Entertainment Weekly.   Tickets are selling so fast that we've had to move the event to the SVA THEATER (333 w 23rd st)  Tickets are sure to go quickly, so get yours today!

An exploration behind the scenes of magazine making from its premiere issue to now. Featuring every design director from Entertainment Weekly's 25 years!

Panelist include:
Michael Grossman
Robert Newman
John Korpics
Geraldine Hessler
Brian Anstey
Kory Kennedy
Tim Leong
With a Special Tribute to Amid Capeci

Buy tickets after the jump...
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WHY I JOINED: Todd Weinberger, Art Director, Men's Journal

WHY I JOINED: Todd Weinberger, Art Director, Men's Journal

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To learn more about becoming an SPD member, click HERE

Since its founding, SPD has been dedicated to promoting and encouraging excellence in editorial design and photography.  As we celebrate this 50th year, we are taking time not only to look back but also to look ahead.  
We're asking our members to show us why they joined SPD. Check out the gallery here.  We would love to see why you joined.  Download the template HERE and send yours to  SPDsubmissions@gmail.com

  
Celebrating 50 Years of SPD

Celebrating 50 Years of SPD

We're kicking off our 50th anniversary all this week on SPD.org. We'll be revealing exciting news on upcoming anniversary events, PUB50, and ways for you to join in the celebration. 


Since its founding, SPD has been dedicated to promoting and encouraging excellence in editorial design and photography.  As we celebrate this 50th year, we are taking time not only to look back but also to look ahead.   Today we launch or new fall membership campaign by asking our members to show us why they joined SPD. We would love to see why you joined.  Download the template HERE and send yours to SPDsubmissions@gmail.com


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WHY I JOINED: Tom Alberty, Design Director, New York Magazine

WHY I JOINED: Tom Alberty, Design Director, New York Magazine

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To learn more about becoming an SPD member, click HERE

Since its founding, SPD has been dedicated to promoting and encouraging excellence in editorial design and photography.  As we celebrate this 50th year, we are taking time not only to look back but also to look ahead. We're asking our members to show us why they joined SPD. Check out the gallery here.  We would love to see why you joined.  Download the template HERE and send yours to  SPDsubmissions@gmail.com

  
First 60 Days: Details ‎Deputy Art Director, Justin Patrick Long

First 60 Days: Details ‎Deputy Art Director, Justin Patrick Long

After flexing his design muscles at Men's Health for two years, Justin Patrick Long transitioned to Details back in June.  He's been busy settling in as the magazine's deputy art director, immediately diving into the September issue, and conceiving various design elements for the magazine's overall design.  Long hails from Indiana, where he graduated from the Herron College of Art and Design and started his career at Indy Men's magazine. He then moved to Los Angeles and designed at Orange Coast magazine, until finally moving to New York.

Justin is relaxed, cool, and determined. His aesthetic aligns perfectly with Details, and it seems like now the pages will be more sophisticated than ever.
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Cover of the Day: Foreign Policy

Cover of the Day: Foreign Policy


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Welcome to SPD's Cover of the Day, a portfolio of brilliant magazine and newspaper covers from around the world.

Foreign Policy  
Creative Director: Lindsay Ballant
Illustrator: Ian Wright
Executive editor, print: Mindy Kay Bricker
Deputy Art Director: Ed Johnson


The cover story, National Insecurity, is a critique of President Obama's second-term foreign policy strategy written by our CEO and Editor, David Rothkopf. We commissioned London-based artist Ian Wright to create a collage of Obama using editorial imagery from the past year, as well as maps and other elements. Ian sifted through over 300 images to create this piece. 
 
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Want to submit your cover to be considered for our Cover of the Day? Send us a jpeg of your cover with credit info to SPDsubmissions@gmail.com

Mitch Shostak Remembered

Mitch Shostak Remembered

BY ARTHUR HOCHSTEIN / Illustration by Sean McCabe

On June 25, 2014, the design community and a large circle of friends lost one of its favorite sons, Mitch Shostak. SPD posted something immediately, when the sad news was fresh, before there was time to reflect. This post contains remembrances from those who knew and loved him.

On September 16 from 6-8pm there will be a gathering of friends and colleagues at the School of Visual Arts Chelsea Gallery, 601 W. 26th Street, 15th Floor, in Manhattan, to celebrate Mitch's life. 

Mitch really knew how to live--his life was filled with friends, fishing trips (catch-and-release, of course), bike rides, jazz, travel, and single-malt Scotch tastings with a garrulous group. He was always at the center, the centripetal force that gathered people together. And at the center of his center was the love of his life, his wife Carolyn.

Younger SPD members may not know Mitch. Many years ago, after working at several top-tier publications, he opted to form his own studio, Shostak Studios, which designed a lot of publications that didn't have the visibility or star power of the Vanity Fairs, New York magazines, and Wireds of our world.


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Farewell Macworld, Food Arts & Vibe (again)

Farewell Macworld, Food Arts & Vibe (again)

It's always sad to hear news of more magazines folding and today we say goodbye to 3. Links below for more details:

+ Despite Apple's continued growth, Macworld is being folded and transitioned to a digital-only product. 

+ After 25 years serving the fine-dining restaurant world, Food Arts magazine is shutting down.

+ And despite it's revival about a year ago, SpinMedia is again folding the print version of Vibe.
The Secrets Behind PORT's Success

The Secrets Behind PORT's Success

Gym Class editor-in-mischief Steven Gregor's back on SPD. This time chatting with Port magazine's creative director Kuchar Swara. Can't get enough of the mag love!

Hey Kuchar, thanks for chatting with us. Wow... the 15th issue of Port is rockin' an epic cover by photographer Pieter Hugo. Congrats. He's a favourite of yours. Talk us through the decision to have Pieter shoot the cover, and for the shoot to be in his signature 'pigmented' style.
Always a pleasure, sir. We have a new photo editor working with us at Port, Rebecca McClelland. She initially pitched the idea. I'd always considered Pieter a great art photographer, so working with him on an editorial feature was a real honor.

I wanted Pieter's aesthetic to be as prominent as the cover star. The cover is not only a well art directed cover and interesting subject, but also an art object in its own right.

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Cover of the Day: Vanity Fair

Cover of the Day: Vanity Fair


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Welcome to SPD's Cover of the Day, a portfolio of brilliant magazine and newspaper covers from around the world.

Vanity Fair  October 2014
Design Director: Chris Dixon
Director of Photography: Susan White
Photographer: Sam Jones

See behind the scenes from the shoot...

SPDWest@STUDIO1342: Unsung Heroes 10 on Oct. 9th

SPDWest@STUDIO1342: Unsung Heroes 10 on Oct. 9th

The LAST Unsung Heroes, you can't miss it!

We are going out with a bang! In fact, the lineup is so stellar we're keeping it a secret until the night of the show. You will meet our legendary "very sung" heroes from editorial art and design.

Plus Craft Cocktails!  Get tickets after the jump...

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For the Love of...Entertainment Weekly

For the Love of...Entertainment Weekly

SPD's 50th Anniversary Speaker Series kicks off with a panel discussion with the innovators from one of the industry's most-beloved publications, Entertainment Weekly

An exploration behind the scenes of magazine making from its premiere issue to now. Featuring every design director from Entertainment Weekly's 25 years!

Panelist include:
Michael Grossman
Robert Newman
John Korpics
Geraldine Hessler
Brian Anstey
Kory Kennedy
Tim Leong
With a Special Tribute to Amid Capeci

Buy tickets after the jump...
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So, what makes a great Monocle cover?

So, what makes a great Monocle cover?

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News broke earlier this week that Monocle founder Tyler Brule had sold a minority share of the company, valuing the brand at a whopping $115 million. Amaze!

We look back at Monocle's first seven years in the new issue of Gym Class. In the feature, creative director Richard Spencer Powell discusses the workload, his favorite magazines, working with editor Andrew Tuck, and he reveals his favorite Monocle covers (so far).


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Another ace cover from Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia

Another ace cover from Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia

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Here's a pretty amazing fact: American photographer Steven Meisel has photographed every Vogue Italia front cover since 1988. Yup, EVERY cover. Since 1988. Pretty amaze, right? Some of you reading will not have been born in 1988. Know mag history, peeps. And respect where respect is due... that's all we're saying.

Oh, and make sure you track down the September issue of Vogue Italia. They aced their cover this year! It's a mega-gatefold extravaganza featuring 50 models! #50thAnniversaryIssue

Click below to see enlarged version of the cover
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The Fantastic Men Behind Fantastic Man

The Fantastic Men Behind Fantastic Man

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Ok, act cool. Don't embarrass yourself. Play it cool. Oh... doh. Too late, we're serious fanboys for Fantastic Man and the two fantastic men (sorry, couldn't help ourselves) who make it, co-founders Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom. The new issue of Fantastic Man (the magazine's 20th issue!) has just dropped in London (and will do so very soon everywhere else), so what better time to catch up with Gert and ask a few questions about what makes a great Fantastic Man cover. Oh, and would they ever put a women on the cover? The answer is below.
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A chat with The Gentlewoman's EIC Penny Martin

A chat with The Gentlewoman's EIC Penny Martin

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Indie women's magazine The Gentlewoman is a fave here at Gym Class HQ. What's not to love? We had the good fortune to chat with editor-in-chief Penny Martin for our sixth issue (way back when). We thought it about time we touched base with Penny just as the tenth issue of The Gentlewoman drops (with Swedish musician Robyn on the cover, FYI). Over to you, Penny.
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Little White Lies.  A magazine for movie lovers who love magazines

Little White Lies. A magazine for movie lovers who love magazines

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Who doesn't enjoy a great film? We love 'em. And we're not talking dodgy, low-quality streaming. Rather, we're all about heading to our local cinema, grapping a tub of Ben & Jerry's, a Coke the size of a European car, and sitting back for some cinematic magic.

And how do we choose which flicks to see? Simple, we read British indie film magazine Little White Lies.

We spoke with Little White Lies creative director Timba Smits about what makes a great Little White Lies cover. Read on, magazine lovers.
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Are you familiar with ZEIT Magazin?  You should be.

Are you familiar with ZEIT Magazin? You should be.

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Are you familiar with ZEIT Magazin? It's the weekly magazine of German newspaper Die Zeit (translates to The Times in English) and is a regular fixture over on Coverjunkie (each issue features two covers).
They also publish a twice-yearly English language best-of edition, available widely in London and New York.
Berlin-based journalist Kati Krause spoke with ZEIT Magazin's editor Christoph Amend and art director Katja Kollmann for the new issue of Gym Class. Here's an extract from their conversation.
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Indie favorite Cereal magazine hits the newsstands

Indie favorite Cereal magazine hits the newsstands

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The South West of England is fast establishing itself as a hotbed of top-form indie publishing, including the titles Hole & Corner (lifestyle), Another Escape (travel), Bone Shaker (cycling) and Cereal (lifestyle).
A new issue of Cereal is about to drop (working another trademark less-is-more cover). Our advice: snap it up! Hello, collectable.

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More info:
A conversation with ace French illustrator Jean Julien

A conversation with ace French illustrator Jean Julien

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We're big fans of illustration. And London-based, French illustrator Jean Jullien is one of faves. We asked him a couple of questions about illustrating for magazines. It's all ace, read on.

Your editorial work doesn't just illustrate a story, it also helps tell the story. Talk us through the creative process from brief to newsstand.
It's as logical as answering a school exercise: you're being given a problem and you have to solve it visually in the best way possible. My approach is quite pragmatic, not very romantic. I think that's why my work is often quite minimal. I try to keep it as simple as possible in order to have as much impact as possible. 

Visually, it needs to be very striking and capture one's attention, then it can elaborate and tell a story. This hierarchy in image reading is the base of my editorial work. Given the visual swarm, I try to make my work easily identifiable. 
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We're loving British kid's magazine Anorak

We're loving British kid's magazine Anorak

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We're big kids at heart. So it's no surprise we love British kid's magazine Anorak. The latest issue landed recently... and it's a double win for us: the cover's illustrated by Philadelphia-based Andy Rementer (legend!) and the issue has a cities theme (hello, we love hustle and bustle!). Think of this issue of Anorak as Monocle for the under 12s. 
It's a double thumbs up from us. Ch, ch, check it right out. Oh, BTW, the illustration inside the issue is by Lauren Humphrey.

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An Interview With The New Yorker Creative Director Wyatt Mitchell

An Interview With The New Yorker Creative Director Wyatt Mitchell

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Regular contributor (and all-round magazine legend!) Bob Newman spoke with The New Yorker creative director Wyatt Mitchell for the new issue of Gym Class. Here's an extract from their conversation.

Bob: You've worked with some amazing creative directors: Florian Bachleda at Vibe and Scott Dadich at WIRED, to name just two. What lessons did you learn from them, and how were you able to apply that to your work?

Wyatt: Very simple. They are the two hardest-working people I've ever worked with. I learned a lot from them. Most importantly, I learned that exceptional work comes not only from talent, but also from working harder than everyone else. While it's a different type of design at The New Yorker, I'd like to think that I'm continuing that ethic and passing it on.
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Kicking off the week with a little spice!

Kicking off the week with a little spice!

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Let's kick off our week of magazine aceness with a little spice. We love the three most recent covers of high-end, classy nudie magazine Odiseo. It's designed by the award-winning Barcelona-based Folch Studio, and the three most recent covers have been confronting (issue two), laugh-out-loud funny (issue three), and lovingly romantic (issue four).

We touched based with Folch Studio's founder Albert Folch to get the lowdown.
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Welcome our guest editor for the week: Gym Class Magazine's Steven Gregor

Welcome our guest editor for the week: Gym Class Magazine's Steven Gregor

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Hi, I'm Steven Gregor and I publish Gym Class. It's a quality fanzine about magazines and the peeps who make them. I also curate the Gym Class Instagram feed. It's a showcase of some of my favorite magazines and a celebration of top-form indie and mainstream editorial design.

Guess what! The fine folk at SPD have handed me the keys to spg.org. Amaze! (Note to self: don't break anything.)

All week I'll be presenting some of my favorite magazine covers right here on the SPD blog. Stay tuned... there will be plenty of ace magazines to gawk at; some sweet Q&As with magazine folk; and even a couple of first-look exclusives. Fancy!

Oh, and did I mention the new issue of Gym Class has just today become available to pre-order? No? Well, it has! (Coincidence?) That's the newsstand cover above, illustrated by the all-amaze artist Noma Bar. Reserve your copy over at the Gym Class website.

(There's also an alternate limited edition cover by illustrator Alexander Wells. I'll show you that one a little later today.)

Also this week, the SPD will be publishing a few exclusive mag-tastic extracts from the new issue of Gym Class. It's all pretty exciting. It's gonna be fun. #MagLoversAhoy

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