SPD 50: December 2014 Archives

From the SPD Archives: Buttons from the 39th SPD Gala, 2004

The 39th SPD Gala, held on May 7, 2004 at the New York Public Library, featured a rock 'n' roll theme. The co-chairs for Pub 30 were Carla Frank, design director of O, The Oprah Magazine, Luke Hayman, recently hired design director of New York, and Mitch Shostak, principal of Shostak Studios. A highlight of the event was the presentation of the Herb Lubalin Lifetime Achievement Award to George Lois, and the presenting speech by Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich.

Pictured above is the program brochure from the 39th SPD Gala, along with buttons that were distributed at the event. The brochure was designed by Kristin Fitzpatrick, Kristen Rayner, Jill Rosenberg, and Chloe Weiss of O, The Oprah Magazine, with a cover photograph by Charles Peterson.

Co-chair Carla Frank has some background on one of the Gala's most distinctive items, a series of magazine art direction-themed buttons that were distributed to event goers. And there's a slideshow with 20 of our favorite buttons from the Gala.
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From the SPD Archives: The 16 and 17th Publication Design Annual, 1983

SPD 50 12.16.14 posted by Robert Newman

From the SPD Archives: Photographs from the Mag2000 Conference, Part 2, 1996

SPD 50 12.11.14 posted by Robert Newman

From the SPD Archives recently highlighted the photographs of Steven Freeman taken at SPD's Mag2000 conference in Monterey, California, in early April 1996.

Organized by co-chairs Tom Bentkowski, design director of Life, and Roger Black of Roger Black, Inc., Mag2000 was an historic gathering of close to 300 art directors, designers, editors, and industry professionals. They gathered to hear an all-star collection of presentations from the likes of James Burke, Henry Wolf, Sam Antupit, Martha Stewart, Brendan Gill, Nigel Holmes, and an array of art directors including Gary Koepke, Fred Woodward, Will Hopkins, Mary K. Baumann, David Carson, and many other media luminaries.

Steven Freeman spent several days photographing participants in an improvised studio. The results include sparkling portraits of the cream of magazine art directors and other media mavens, circa 1996. There were so many great portraits that we've decided to run a second collection, this one featuring images of Lloyd Ziff, Mike Salisbury, John Plunkett, Jill Armus, Mary Kay Baumann, Will Hopkins, and more.

(Picture above: Mike Salisbury, creative director)

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From the SPD Archives: 25th Anniversary Call for Entries, 1989

SPD 50 12.09.14 posted by Robert Newman

The Call for Entries for the SPD 25th anniversary competition was a major piece of work (and art). It was a mini magazine, filled with stories, lists, and charts, that celebrated 25 years of publication art direction. Co-chairs for the competition were Walter Bernard of WBMG and Phyllis Richmond Cox, the art director of Bride's magazine. The call for entries was designed by Bernard and Milton Glaser of WBMG, with assistance from Karen Trittipo, and owed quite a bit of inspiration to the pages of Spy magazine. It was edited by Killian Jordan.

The call was a 16-page masterpiece of content and design, that contained not only the usual entry information, forms, and lists of judges, but also had a brilliant mix of rich detail and stories on art directing magazines, both contemporary and historical, including contributions from Dugald Stermer, Sam Antupit, Rip Georges, Fred Woodward, Steve Heller, Lloyd Ziff, Roger Black, Bob Ciano, and Tom Bentkowski. The stories include a list of art directors who are married to each other, a brief history of Fortune redesigns, a remembrance by Vincent Winter of arm wrestling Jann Wenner to keep a Rolling Stone layout intact, and much more. This is one of the best and most entertaining collections of publication art direction information that SPD has ever compiled. And most impressive is that the complex design and production was all done pre-desktop.

You can click on the pages to blow them up to readable size!

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From the SPD Archives: Rolling Stone Staff at SPD Gala 30, 1995

SPD 50 12.04.14 posted by Robert Newman

1995 was a great year for Rolling Stone and its staff at the 30th SPD Awards Gala. They dominated the awards like few magazines have done before or since, winning 6 gold medals out of 17 awarded, including a gold medal in a new category, Best in Show. And Rolling Stone's medals were won in every major category: design, photography, and illustration.

This was one of many golden eras of design at Rolling Stone, and that was reflected in the talents of their small but very potent staff. Pictured clockwise from top left are: Denise Sfraga, associate photography editor; Fiona McDonagh, photography staff; Geraldine Hessler, assistant art director; Jodi Peckman, photography director; Sid Holt, managing editor; Lee Bearson, assistant art director; Fred Woodward, art director; Janice Woodward (Fred's wife); unidentified staffer; Gail Anderson, deputy art director. [Staff titles taken from a Rolling Stone masthead circa June 1995. If you can ID the staff member in front, please contact SPD!].

The co-chairs of SPD Gala 30 were Scott Yardley, art director of Good Housekeeping, and Maya Kaimal MacMillan, photo director of Good Housekeeping.

(Photograph by Kevin Mazur)

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From the SPD Archives: Publication Design 13, 14 & 15 Annual, 1982

SPD 50 12.02.14 posted by Robert Newman

In 1982, SPD published its second hard cover annual, and its fourth collection of design competition winners overall. The 13, 14 & 15th Publication Design Annual featured over 800 gold, silver, and merit winning images from SPD Publication Design competitions held between 1978-80.

President Tom Lennon said in his introduction, "The overwhelming beauty of the material contained within these pages is only a reflection of the abounding creativity and just a hint of the direction the design industry is headed for in the very near future." He goes on to describe the annual as something for "all those who enjoy viewing uniqueness and genius in its purest form, a book which will astound the eyes for years to come."

The 13, 14 & 15th Publication Design Annual was designed by: The Midnight Oil Design Studio; cover design: Dennis Di Vincenzo; layout and typesetting: The Scarlett Letter; typesetting: The Type Set.

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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
From the SPD Archives: Call for Entries Poster, 1972
From the SPD Archives: The First Issue of Grids, 1982
From the SPD Archives: Publication Design News, 1975
From the SPD Archives: Call for Entries 20, 1984
From the SPD Archives: 1973 Call for Entries, Designed by Massimo Vignelli
From the SPD Archives: Publication Design Annual #2, 1976

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