October 2014 Archives

Cover of the Day: Harper's Bazaar November 2014

Cover of the Day: Harper's Bazaar November 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.

Harper's Bazaar November 2014
Creative Director: Stephen Gan
Design Director: Elizabeth Hummer
Photography and Bookings Director: Liane Radel
Photographer: Alex Lubomirski

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 Runner, 1979

From the SPD Archives: The Runner, 1979

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Above: The Runner, Special Issue: New York City Marathon, January 1979
Art Directors: Steve Phillips / Patrick Flynn; Publisher: George Hirsch

Just in time for this weekend's New York City Marathon! The Runner was launched in 1978 as an insert in the biweekly newsmagazine New Times. Art directed by Steve Phillips, it was the brainchild of New Times publisher George Hirsch, who was also the original publisher of New York. The Runner soon became a stand-alone magazine. In 1987 it was acquired by Rodale and merged with Runner's World. Hirsch later became the worldwide publisher of Runner's World and the first publishing director of Men's Health.

Obsessed with running, Hirsch helped start the five-borough NYC Marathon in 1976, founded the New Year's Eve Midnight Run in Central Park in 1979, and became the chairman of the New York Road Runners in 2005. At 80, Hirsch remains an avid runner and was recently profiled in an article in Runner's World.

After the jump, we've got a selection of interior pages and comments from art director Steve Phillips about the creation of The Runner logo and this special issue.
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From the SPD Archives: Bob Guccione at the SPD Gala, 1979

From the SPD Archives: Bob Guccione at the SPD Gala, 1979

SPD50g.jpgThe keynote speaker at the SPD 14th Annual Design Awards Presentation was Bob Guccione, the creator and owner of Penthouse, Omni, Viva, and other publicatoins. The event was held on June 15, 1979, in the Tower Suite of the Time Life Building (tickets were $30!). Guccione was enthusiastically received as he regaled the audience with the story of his publishing history, including starting Penthouse in London in 1965.

"You can't put a lid on creativity," said Guccione. "If you're a designer, creating is not something you want to do--it's something you must do." According to one attendee's memory of the event, Guccione later went on to say "In order to fuck a buzzard, you have to play a buzzard's game."

See the list of the evening's award winners on the following page.



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From the SPD Archives: Publication Design News, 1975

From the SPD Archives: Publication Design News, 1975

SPD50g.jpgThe SPD newsletter in 1975 was titled Publication Design News, an eight-page, offset-printed, letter-sized edition. It featured a finely-tweaked logo in a very 1970s typeface, and ads on almost every page for artist reps, printers, typesetters, publications, and more. Publication Design News was created under the direction of SPD President Robert N. Essman, and art directed by Herbert M. Rosenthal, who was the Director of Graphics for Institutional Investor Systems, Inc. There's no month date on the newsletter, but based on the calendar items inside it was probably published in February or March.

This issue contains a healthy calendar of events, news about the annual SPD conference and design competition, commentary on the magazine industry, and much more. It's a fun read, and on the turn page we've got page scans of the entire issue.

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A night of great videos with the people who make them!

A night of great videos with the people who make them!

LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION! 
A panel discussion with today's top photo directors and web producers about the ever-increasing role of video in magazine brands.
Go behind the scenes of award-winning clips!
Plus the bloopers and the blunders!
 
Panelists include:

Mike Norseng, Photo Director of Esquire 

Gilly Barnes Video producer from Vanity Fair 

Grant Jones, Executive Producer Original Programming - Digital Networks from Conde Nast Entertainment  who created the Emmy award winning series Screw You Cancer for Glamour

Moderated by Kira Pollack  from Time

Wednesday October 29th
SVA Theatre 333 W 23rd St (Eighth Ave)

buy tickets after the jump
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Game Changers: An evening with David Moretti.


You know his work, you want to BE him, let's admit it! Join us on November 19th for a night with David Moretti, Creative Director of WIRED Italia, designer of this year's SPD Annual, and the CD whose work has upped the ante for great editorial and infographics design. David will explain how he and his team "use WIRED Italia to drive new and disruptive ideas and concepts, to show a vision through the living example of innovators, scientists, researchers..."
 
...and, yeah, he will show great work. So get your tickets now for what promises to be a sold out event!
 
Wednesday November 19th
The Helen Mills Theatre
137 West 26th Street
Doors open at 6:30 pm for seating.  Presentation begins at 7:00pm

get your tickets after the jump....
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Cover of the Day: New York Design Hunting Winter 2015

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

New York Magazine: Design Hunting Winter 2015
Design Director: Thomas Alberty
Art Director: Randy Minor
Photo Editor: Marvin Orellana
Photographer: Bobby Doherty

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: Vegetable Costumes at SPD Gala 28, 1993

From the SPD Archives: Vegetable Costumes at SPD Gala 28, 1993

SPD50f.jpgThere were many memorable moments at the SPD Gala 28, held in May 1993. One of the most vivid visual highlights of the evening was the collection of costumed vegetables that were on display. The costumes were designed and modeled by senior fashion design students from Parsons School of Design, and included fanciful takes on broccoli, an onion, garlic, a giant pumpkin, and more.

Gala 28 was hosted by Rhonda Rubenstein, art director of Esquire, and B.W. Honeycutt, art director of Details. It was held at the Celeste Bartos Forum of the New York Public Library. On the turn page there's a gallery of more vegetable constumes.

Photographs by John Ashworth

(Above): Pumpkin designed by Western Bonime and Lourdes Garcia
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From the SPD Archives: The First Issue of Grids, 1982

From the SPD Archives: The First Issue of Grids, 1982

SPD50b.jpgThe SPD members newsletter went through a series of iterations in the 1960s and 70s, first as a two-sided, letter-sized offset publication, and in later, leaner times, as a mimeographed series of pages. Finally, in December 1982, the first edition of Grids was published and sent to SPD members. Under the direction of SPD President Myles Ludwig and Executive Director Judy Christensen, Grids was an 11 x 17-inch two-sided, single color offset newsletter, all typeset in American Typewriter. Additional pages were added to subsequent editions.

Content for Grids included Member News, information on an upcoming SPD holiday party, and job listings. There was also a President Reports from Ludwig, who commented that "New design technology is as revolutionary to today's art director as moveable type was to Gutenberg centuries ago." Some things never change!

On the turn page we've got scans of the complete issue of Grids, and you can click on the images to blow them up and read the stories! There's also a remembrance from SPD President Myles Ludwig, who also gives a brief rundown of his very illustrious career both before and after SPD.

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Cover of the Day: Psychology Today, Nov-Dec 2014

Cover of the Day: Psychology Today, Nov-Dec 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.

Psychology Today  November - December 2014
Creative Director: Ed Levine
Photo Director: Claudia Stefezius
Photographer: Peter Hapak

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
SPDWest:

SPDWest: "Very Sung" Heroes Recap

We celebrated our 10th (and final) of the Unsung Heroes Event Series with a very dynamic tribute in Los Angeles, on October 9th at Studio1342.  David Armario, Rip Georges, Sam Jones, and Wet Magazine were the "very sung" heroes from editorial art and design that received the spotlight.

Check out our heroes and guests after the jump...
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Cover of the Day: Popular Science, November 2014

Cover of the Day: Popular Science, November 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.

Popular Science  November 2014
Design Director: Todd Detwiler
Photo Editor: Thom Payne 
Photographer: Harold Daniels

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
Life And Style magazine's London issue debuts

Life And Style magazine's London issue debuts

SPD Board member Francesca Messina met with Roberto Hernandez in Mexico City to discuss his new role as Art Director of Life And Style magazine, a monthly men's fashion magazine published by Grupo Expansion.

See what Roberto and his team have been up to...
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A Look Back at our Entertainment Weekly Panel

A Look Back at our Entertainment Weekly Panel

SPD kicked off its 50th Anniversary Speaker Series on September 23rd to a packed house and a panel discussion featuring the innovators from one of the industry's most-beloved publications, Entertainment Weekly.  

The night featured every design director from Entertainment Weekly's 25 years including:
(above from left)

Michael Grossman
Robert Newman
John Korpics
Geraldine Hessler
Brian Anstey
Kory Kennedy
Tim Leong
The night also included a special tribute to Amid Capeci. 

Video of the event will be available for viewing later this week, but in the meantime, take a look back at photos form the event after the jump. 

Get your tickets to our Video in Publishing Event Today!


View of the work of Gilly Barnes Video producer from Vanity Fair  and more at this  panel discussion with today's top photo directors and web producers about the ever-increasing role of video in magazine brands.
Go behind the scenes of award-winning clips!  Plus the bloopers and the blunders!
 
Additional panelists include:
Mike Norseng, Photo Director of Esquire
The team from Glamour who created the Emmy award winning series Screw You Cancer
Moderated by Kira Pollack  from Time

Wednesday October 29th
7:00pm (doors open at 6:30pm)
SVA Theatre 333 W 23rd St (Eighth Ave)

Get your tickets HERE
Cover of the Day: The New York Times Magazine, October 19, 2014

Cover of the Day: The New York Times Magazine, October 19, 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 York Times Magazine  October 19, 2014
Design  Director: Gail Bichler
Director of Photography: Kathy Ryan
Photography: Martin Schoeller

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

Cover Of the Day: WIRED, October 2014

Cover Of the Day: WIRED, October 2014

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

WIRED October, 2014
Creative  Director: Billy Sorrentino
Illustrator: Oliver Munday
Director of Photography: Patrick Witty
Sr. Producer: Sowjanya Kudva
Editor in Chief: Scott Dadich


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From the SPD Archives: Call for Entries Poster, 1972

From the SPD Archives: Call for Entries Poster, 1972

SPD50f.jpgFor the 1972 Publication Design 7 competition, SPD created this mailer poster as the call for entries. There's no design or illustration credit on the poster, but the artwork is likely the product of Dick Hess, the noted illustrator and art director of Vista Magazine, who is listed as one of the judges (there's a Hess signature at the lower right of the image).

Other judges for Pub 7 included Cipe Pineles, Mike Gross of National Lampoon, Milton Glaser, design director of New York, Will Hopkins, art director of Saturday Review, and former Evergreen Review art director Ken Deardorf. The call explains that "The system of judging has been established to insure impartiality for all entrants and avoid embarrassment to the judges."

The call for entries poster was mailed to members in late 1971. Competition winners were announced at the annual awards dinner on March 23, 1972 at the Tavern on the Green in Central Park.

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Related Stories:
From the SPD Archives: The 15th Call for Entries, 1979
From the SPD Archives: Publication Design 12, 1978
From the SPD Archives: Publication Design 39 Cover, 2004
From the SPD Archives: Society of Publication Designers News, 1966

Cover of the Day: Fortune India: October 2014

Cover of the Day: Fortune India: 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.

Fortune India  October, 2014
Creative  Director: Nilanjan Das
Cover: Nilanjan Das 
Photography: Bandeep Singh 

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

Tickets on sale now for our Video in Publishing event!


View of the work of Mike Norseng, Photo Director of Esquire and more at this  panel discussion with today's top photo directors and web producers about the ever-increasing role of video in magazine brands.
Go behind the scenes of award-winning clips!  Plus the bloopers and the blunders!
 
Additional panelists include:
Gilly Barnes Video producer from Vanity Fair 
The team from Glamour who created the Emmy award winning series Screw You Cancer
Moderated by Kira Pollack  from Time

Wednesday October 29th
7:00pm (doors open at 6:30pm)
SVA Theatre 333 W 23rd St (Eighth Ave)

Get your tickets HERE
From the SPD Archives: The Judges for Publication Design 30, 1995

From the SPD Archives: The Judges for Publication Design 30, 1995

SPD50b.jpgThe judging for the 30th SPD publication design awards was held in late January, 1995, at Parson's School of Design in New York City. The competition chairs were Diana LaGuardia, design director of Conde Nast Traveler and Audrey Razgaitis, art director of Conde Nast Traveler. The two chairs gathered a stellar group of 36 judges, including magazine art directors and photo directors, plus some prestigious studio designers and even an editor. These photographs of all the judges by Steven Freeman were published in the SPD Gala 30 program, on May 5, 1995.

On the turn page Audrey Razgaitis looks back at the judging, and there are five more group judging photos.

(Back row, L-R): Shawn Young, art director, Allure; Gina Davis, art director, Working Woman; Maryjane Fahey, Roger Black Inc. (Front row, L-R): Mary K. Baumann, Hopkins/Baumann; Phyllis Richmond Cox, art director, Bride's and Your New Home; Greg Pond, photo director, Details.

Photographs by Steven Freeman


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Cover of the Day: Variety: October 2014

Cover of the Day: Variety: October 2014

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

Variety  October, 2014
Creative  Director: Chris Mihal
Director of Photography: Bailey Franklin 
Photography: Williams + Hirakawa 

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

The rest of the covers in the series after the jump...

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Herb Lubalin's Saturday Evening Post

Herb Lubalin's Saturday Evening Post

POST_ICON_BENSON.jpgBy Robin Benson / Editor, Past Print
You all know Herb Lubalin's magazine work: Eros, Fact, Avant Garde, u&lc. But how many remember his art direction for The Saturday Evening Post? In 1961 Curtis Publishing asked him to redo the logo and the inside pages. I loved his logo solution, as the magazine was really known as the Post, and what a brilliant idea to get rid of the other three words inside the O.
      The new look Post arrived with the September 16, 1961 issue with a clever Norman Rockwell cover painting of a designer working on the new logo (loosely based on a February 13, 1960 cover showing Rockwell, sitting at an easel and looking in a mirror while he painted  his portrait). The inside editorial pages were typical Lubalin-style illustrative typography -- have a look at the "Once Upon a Treasure Hunt" or "The Roping of Lefty"-- wonderful visual solutions. Lubalin didn't design all the Post pages; freelancer Arnold Varga did "The Diving Tree" and I believe Neil Fujita did some editorial pages.
     
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The Reader Comes First

The Reader Comes First

POST_ICON_BENSON.jpgBy Robin Benson / Editor, Past Print
The spreads below are from publications that I think were designed with the reader in mind. I've seen too many pages where it's clear that the words and images have been handled in a bland and uninspiring way which doesn't pull the reader into the story. Open any magazine and it's the images the reader looks at first, photos, art or graphics, then the headline and intro. If these elements work the reader starts on the text.
      Look at these spreads and see how the ingredients work; in the case of Writer's Digest there isn't even color. They all show clean, unfussy typography, partly because (apart from the Radio Times) they were all produced pre-PC, where design changes were more complex than just keystroking and looking at the changes on a monitor.

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Cover of the Day: ESPN Magazine: October 2014

Cover of the Day: ESPN Magazine: 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.

ESPN Magazine October, 2014
Creative Director: Chin Wang
Photo Director: Karen Frank
Photographer: Nick Laham
Photo Illustration: Josue Evilla

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: Leo Lionni at SPD Gala 28, 1993

From the SPD Archives: Leo Lionni at SPD Gala 28, 1993

SPD50.jpgThe undisputed star of the 28th SPD Gala, held on May 7, 1993 in the Celeste Bartos Forum of the New York Public Libary, was art director/artist/book author Leo Lionni, who received the Society's Herb Lubalin Award for continuing design excellence. Lionni made his mark in the 1950s as the groundbreaking art director of Fortune magazine, design director of Olivetti, editor of Print, and later as a noted children's book author and illustrator. The award was presented to Lionni by former Esquire and Show art director Henry Wolf, who received the award himself in 1988.

The Herb Lubalin Award was given annually by SPD from 1983-1993, and several times after, to "acknowledge continuing excellence in publication design." It was last given to longtime Playboy art director Art Paul in 2006.

Pictured above at the Gala is then-SPD President Walter Bernard of WBMG, Leo Lionni, and Henry Wolf. Photograph by John Ashworth.

On the turn page we've got another photo, comments from Walter Bernard on the evening, and copies of the front and back of the 28th Gala program.
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twen: Big, Bold and Very Black (and White)

twen: Big, Bold and Very Black (and White)

POST_ICON_BENSON.jpgBy Robin Benson / Editor, Past Print
twen was a unique German magazine aimed at young adults. Started in 1959 as a bi-monthly, its success turned it into a monthly by September 1961. It was unique because of its Art Director/Editor Willy Fleckhaus, who created a magazine like no other.  I first came across it with issue nine while I was studying design and typography and collected nearly all the issues until the end in 1971. twen demanded attention with its large size and spreads almost 21- inches wide by 13-deep (about the same size as past American consumer titles Life or Look).
      In the early years twen was basically a mono title with some spot color, though the cover always had a color photo of a pretty female on a black surround. Color was slowly introduced, especially as a fold-out spread in each issue with a dramatic color photo on both sides. I used to put them up on my bedroom wall until I made a frame to drop in each month's pull-out.
      Fleckhaus used a six-column page grid ,although I never saw a complete page of text in this format. Long articles were usually four-column. The 12 columns across a spread meant he could tightly crop, enlarge and bleed a photo except for the last narrow column which would have some text and a headline, a letter or number. Black might have been Fleckhaus's favorite color, because spread after spread had large amounts of dark areas either of photos or black panels with a photo dropped into them. The middle editorial pages always had a sort of bleached-out feel with dark photos and empty white page space, but always working beautifully as they pulled you into the page's content.
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From the SPD Archives: SPD News, 1966

From the SPD Archives: SPD News, 1966

SPD50a.jpgBefore the advent of the internet and social media, and before the launch of Grids, SPD updates were communicated to members via the monthly Society of Publication Designers News. It was a simple, single-page newsletter, offset printed on two sides on a rotating supply of paper stocks and colors (presumably supplied by free from the Society's paper supplier connections). These early issues featured the promotion of upcoming luncheon events, news of SPD meetings and elections, and results of the annual design competitions. Displayed prominently in the top left corner of each edition was an ornate and complex SPD logo.

The highlight of this October 1966 issue is the upcoming speaker event featuring Herb Lubalin, titled "What's wrong with publishing today?" Also featured is the November 30, 1966 presentation on Aspen, "The Magazine in a Box," which promised to  included publisher/editor Phyllis Johnson, plus "several guest designers of Aspen, including Andy Warhol...will be present to discuss from the floor, your design questions."

On the turn page we have complete scans of the October 1966 issue of Society of Publication Designers News, which features a full list of the winners of the 1966 Magazine Design Contest.
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The Best Designed Magazine I Ever Saw

The Best Designed Magazine I Ever Saw

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By Robin Benson / Editor, Past Print
What's the best designed magazine you ever saw? Oh, that's easy you might say. OK, a few clarifications. I don't mean a title that has several knock-out spreads in the middle but one that works for the reader (that's who you do it for after all) from the cover to the last page. One that has a contents page that spells out the goodies on offer, and maybe a reader could find something immediately and turn to that page
    A magazine that has thought about the editorial design on those half pages front and back that have ads next to them, chosen a typeface with a readable point size for the text, and a display face that puts across the message easily, and combined with photos and graphics pulls the reader into a spread. A magazine where the design creates a natural flow to the editorial and all those typographic reader aids--bylines, intros, pull quotes, sidebars, captions, page numbers--have been well chosen and work. A design that isn't noticeable by the reader because all the elements blend together issue after issue so that the words and images are the only things that stand out.
    I expect your list is a bit shorter now but there are magazines, past and present, that are beautifully designed. The best one I ever saw was Quality, published by Time Inc. in 1987. The Editor was Landon Jones; the Assistant Managing Editor and art director of magazine development at Time Inc. was Mary K. Baumann; Nora Sheehan was the Art Director, and Michele McNally (now photography director at The New York Times) was the Picture Editor. Sheehan recently told me that the magazine was produced by an in-house magazine group at Time Inc. and the first issue, of about 100,000 copies, was mailed to a select upmarket readership. Everyone at Time Inc. liked it but the subscription returns probably weren't enough to justify its continuance.
    Below is the first (and only) issue, dated Winter 1987. I thought it worked from the cover onwards.
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Otto Storch: The Man Who Made Pictures Out of Type

Otto Storch: The Man Who Made Pictures Out of Type

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By Robin Benson / Editor, Past Print
Why was a male design student buying every issue of a leading woman's magazine in the late Fifties? To see what Otto Storch, Art Director of McCall's, was up to each month. He directed design at the magazine for 14 years starting in 1955, and was one of a group of designers loosely called the The New York School who created a visual buzz in print design during the 50s and 60s.
      Storch, to me though, was someone special. I always had an interest in typography and magazines and his work combined both beautifully (helped, incidentally, by a totally supportive Herbert Mayes, the Editor of McCall's). Combining images and type on the page seemed to me the best way of communicating the essence of the message to the reader, rather than have them as separate elements on a spread, which was so typical of consumer magazines back then.
      The integrated typography in McCall's pages seemed so effortless and the central well of editorial pages could feature spreads of fashion, food, celebrity, fiction and topical lifestyle themes with some just using type as the dominant graphic. Worth mentioning, I think, that some of the spreads had an almost negligible budget which released money for ambitious fashion or food features over several pages.
    
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This Week's SPD Guest Editor: Robin Benson

POST_ICON_BENSON.jpg[A note from the SPD Grids Editors: This is the second in our ongoing series of Guest Editors. Robin Benson is a longtime UK magazine art director who edits and produces the Past Print blog, which features rich collections of magazine covers and pages from the 1950s-80s. Robin will be sharing treasures from his collection along with smart commentary during the coming week. We're very happy and grateful to have his generous contributions to the SPD site.]

By Robin Benson / Editor, Past Print
The SPD have graciously let me guest edit the site for the next five days. My training as a longtime magazine designer was basically learned on the job. I'm from the lead type era when a type-scale and line-counter were extensions of every designer's hands. I got my first publication job way back in 1961 for a company producing house journals. My first Art Editor job was in 1969 on the Illustrated London News and I stayed as an AD (with a few ups and downs) on several titles until I took early retirement in the mid-90s. 
      I've always had a passion for publications and in particular typography. While studying at the London College of Printing I bought, with a friend, an old Albion proofing press (Google it) with print area of about 15 by 12 inches. Second-hand wood-type alphabets were dirt cheap and we stocked up on a lot them and bought some lead type (including Monotype Grotesk 215 and 216 and a font of 24point Standard Medium). We never used all this to make any money; we just liked messing around with a composing stick and type with the downside that it had to be put back in type case.
      The publication bug really got me as I started to collect magazines (plus any other print that looked pretty cool). Fortunately I saved plenty of this and in 2011 started my Past Print blog, where twen, Quality, McCall's and many other magazines are available for you to look at. I'm going to share these with you for the next five days, plus my thoughts on magazine design and art direction.


 

Cover of the Day: Volkskrant Magazine: October 2014

Cover of the Day: Volkskrant Magazine: October 2014

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

Volkskrant Magazine October, 2014
Art Director: Jaap Biemans
Design: Aleid Bos
Photo Editor: Heike Gulker 
Artwork: Hattie Stewart

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
Cover of the Day: Modern Farmer Fall 2014

Cover of the Day: Modern Farmer Fall 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.

Modern Farmer Fall 2014
Art Director: Sarah Gephart
Director of Photography: Luise Stauss and Ayanna Quint 
Photographer: Richard Bailey
Model: Buttons

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: John Kascht at The Washington Times, 1988-91

From the SPD Archives: John Kascht at The Washington Times, 1988-91


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John Kascht, who was featured on the SPD site earlier this week pictured at the 1990 SPD26 gala, took home the gold that evening in the Design/Cover category. His work at the Washington Times newspaper in the late 1980-early 90s exhibited both his considerable talents as a illustrator as well as a masterful page designer and art director. Like David Cowles, Andrew Skwish, and other art directors who started at newspapers, John worked in a very old school style at the Times, both illustrating and art directing his pages (and he won many awards for both)!

These pages were groundbreaking in their time, both for the boldness of the design and the sheer scale of the illustration size (The Washington Times design director was Joseph Scopin). Very few publications of any kind, and certainly few newspapers, were running pages and artwork at this kind of scale. You can see Kascht experimenting with his illustration style, and his design and typography has an impressive fluidity and diversity, especially considering the very limited, pre-desktop production environment in which they were created. Kascht's art direction and illustration at the Washington Times were highly influential on the explosion of publication design and imagery that took place starting in the early 1990s.

Since leaving the Washington Times in the early 90s, John's illustrations and caricatures have appeared in the pages and on the covers of countless magazines and newspapers. A selection of his work has been collected by the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. And you can see a lot more of his work on the Above & Beyond: John Kascht iPad app, created by Joe Zeff and available (free!) from the iTunes Store.

We've gathered a gallery of John's work at the Washington Times, from 1988-91, along with some of his behind-the-scenes comments.

(Above): The Washington TimesFebruary 26, 1990
Art director, designer, illustrator: John Kascht; design director: Joseph Scopin


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Two British Heavy Hitters Combine Talents for the New Christie's Magazine

Two British Heavy Hitters Combine Talents for the New Christie's Magazine

By Steven Gregor, Founder, Gym Class Magazine

When news broke David McKendrick (creative director, British Esquire) and Lee Belcher (art director, Wallpaper) had both handed in their notice with the intention of starting their own design consultancy... Gym Class HQ was abuzz with excitement. This was big news! What had they planned? What work would they be doing?
Seriously, these guys are big hitters. Together, David and Lee have over 25 years experience. During this time they've collaborated with many of the world's leading photographers, designers, artists, architects, filmmakers and printers.
Less than six months have passed and the duo - going by the name B.A.M, short for Belcher And McKendrick - have already presented two products... the Autumn/Winter edition of British Esquire's Big Black Book and, most recently, their first issue of a re-vamped six-times-a-year magazine for Christie's auction house.
The Christie's magazine landed on the door step of Gym Class HQ last weekend. So we thought it about time for a catch-up with B.A.M. creative director David McKendrick.

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Hey David, congrats on the Christie's magazine. Lush design, certainly. But, seriously, the production value is off the chain. How long were you working on the issue (was it a redesign, too?)... and talk me through the process of making such a wonderfully tactile and collectable publication.
Thank you. To be honest it's not that complicated a production. We tried to be clever with materials and processes and avoid tricksy paper changes. A combination of clever solutions has resulted in what appears to be quite a lavish product. So believe it or not, with an informed approach, it was relatively inexpensive. 
We worked on the issue for six full-on weeks, which included commissioning all the photography and content. And, yes, it was a complete redesign.


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From the SPD Archives: Gala 26 Gold Medal Winners, 1991

From the SPD Archives: Gala 26 Gold Medal Winners, 1991

SPD50.jpgThis outstanding bunch of art directors was photographed at the SPD Gala 26, in 1991 at the New York Public Library. Pictured are the Gold Medal Awards winners who were in attendance at the Gala. They are (top row, left to right): David Carson (Beach Culture), DJ Stout (Texas Monthly), Janet Froelich (The New York Times Magazine), Kent Hunter (Frankfurt, Kips, Balkind); (bottom row, left to right): Gary Koepke (Global Magazine and Koepke Design), Fred Woodward (Rolling Stone), Tom Bentkowski (Life), John Kascht (The Washington Times).

On the turn page, DJ Stout, John Kascht, and Tom Bentkowski share some thoughts on this very memorable gathering and evening.
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Cover of the Day: mental_floss magazine: September, 2014

Cover of the Day: mental_floss magazine: September, 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.

mental_floss magazine September, 2014
Creative Director: Winslow Taft
Associate Art Director: Lucy Quintanilla
Illustrator: Linzie Hunter
Animator: Anthony Verducci


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

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