Grids: November 2009 Archives

Tips & Tricks: Using Photoshop and Lightroom To Lighten Your Workload

If you haven't already, be sure to download the beta test for Adobe's Lightroom, a lithe and easy "digital darkroom" that basically functions as your photo assistant--a perfect addition to your time- and budget-squeezed staff these days, and an easy add-on for your laptop when you need to get some quick work done on the go. For a look at how Lightroom and Photoshop work together to boost your production and better your portfolio, follow us after the jump... … MORE

PUB 45 Call For Entries: Rare Specimens Requested

45 11.23.09 posted by The Editors

Rules and entry forms and inspiration have arrived! Download the Call for Entries here.… MORE

Babylon Falling: A website of progressive graphic inspiration

Inspiration 11.23.09 posted by Robert Newman

Babylon Falling is a great visual blog/website filled with scans of 60s graphic imagery, flavored by an emphasis on magazines and newspapers and the left-wing politics of the era. Site founder Sean Stewart has packed the site with Ramparts magazine covers, Black Panther Party newspaper pages, political posters, underground comics, book covers, photographs, and lots of cool ads from publications of the period. There's a heavy emphasis on Bay Area 60s left-wing politics, not surprising since Stewart lives out there and ran what he called "the 'anti-revolutionary bookstore' revolutionary bookstore" (Stewart also posts LP covers, photos, and ads from his other great love, hip hop music).

The site was originally the website for the Babylon Falling bookstore that operated from 2007-2009. When the store closed earlier this year, Stewart started posting images from his personal collection on the site. Fans of 60s music, culture and progressive politics will love Babylon Falling and the cool, progressive curative sensibility that Stewart brings to it. We love it because it's one of the best and most fun websites around. (The cover of Scanlan's above is from August 1970, illustration by R. Crumb.)

We talked with Sean Stewart and asked him to share some of his personal favorites from Babylon Falling.

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Best Books Ever! (Part 6!)

IN OUR CART 11.23.09 posted by Andrea Dunham

As promised, compelling submissions from artists and design aficionado friends of SPD... who probably spend a good portion of their incomes on books that ought to make our list. Inspiration from some unique sources follow.
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Nypost.com: A User-friendly Redesign

Websites 11.23.09 posted by Paul Schrynemakers

The New York Post's website, nypost.com, re-launched this past September with new features and a new design. Whether you admire the daily's vibe or just find guilty pleasure in PageSix, fans of user-centric web design will admire its user-friendly nature. I chatted recently with Nick Gould, CEO of Catalyst Group, the folks behind the new look and feel.… MORE

One Day Only: House Industries Pop-Up Shop at TDC

Typography 11.19.09 posted by The Editors

If you're in NYC today, you're in luck: as part of their closing-Friday exhibition at the Type Directors Club, House Industries is celebrating today with a pop-up shop (all the rage!) featuring some of their best posters, t-shirts, wood prints, nativity sets -- all sorts of goodies to gift others, or yourself! 11:30 to 6pm at the TDC hq -- all info here.

Minneapolis altweekly paper City Pages goes ROGUE on their latest cover

Covers 11.19.09 posted by Robert Newman

Alternative newsweekly City Pages has broken new ground with their latest cover: there's no logo!! The current issue (pictured left) features a parody of the new Sarah Palin Going Rogue book, with local Minnesota congresswoman (and professional nutjob) Michelle Bachmann on the cover. In order to pull off the complete homage/parody of the book cover, the folks at City Pages decided to forgo their regular formatted cover and lose their logo entirely. We've all thought about doing this at some time or other, but City Pages art director Nick Vicek and editor Kevin Hoffman have actually done it. Everything about this cover is brilliant, from the concept to the way it ties in with the exceptional story inside. SPD talked with Vicek and Hoffman to get the behind-the-scenes info on how this memorable cover came about.… MORE

Art director Nai Lee Lum and the Fortune international edition covers

Appreciation 11.18.09 posted by Robert Newman

Nai Lee Lum has been an art director at Fortune magazine for over 27 years, longer than many SPD members have been alive. She has been an integral part of the art department there, most notably for her work as international art director for the magazine's Europe and Asia editions. The covers of those editions have featured work from an incredibly talented array of illustrators. In addition, Nai has worked in Hong Kong consulting with Fortune China, and has also consulted on the many Fortune editions from Turkey, Korea, and almost a dozen other countries. We've got a great selection here of some of the best of Nai's work at Fortune over the past decade. Nai will be leaving Fortune in December 2009 as part of the latest round of layoffs and packages from the company, and SPD salutes her and her talent. She tells us that she's hoping to continue her relationship with some of the overseas Fortune editions, so we look forward to more covers in the near future. For a full gallery of over 25 international Fortune covers, visit here. You can visit Nai Lee Lum's website here.… MORE

Thank You Sir, May I Have Another...

44 11.17.09 posted by Nathalie Kirsheh

Ok folks... for those of you that didn't make it to last week's Pub 44 Book Launch event at Arlo & Esme (where we've put our new mission "more fun, more often" to the test,) NO WORRIES, because the next party is already in the works. Stay tuned for details about our upcoming holiday event.
You can take a peek at the good times shared by all here, courtesy of photographer Antwan Duncan.

See you at the next one!

A special thanks once again to our sponsoring friends at Bear Flag, Hendrick's, Milagro, Reyka and Sailor Jerry for making the night extra special by providing us with TASTY beverages.

New York: Fantastic Mr. Fox's Gift Guide

New Work 11.17.09 posted by The Editors

This week's issue of New York showcases their annual holiday gift guide, featuring the stars of Wes Anderson's new stop-motion animated film, Fantastic Mr. Fox. Five foxes, a badger, a rabbit, and a possum flew in from England for the shoot in Dumbo, accompanied by a prop stylist who fashioned the gifts out of extra wallpaper from the movie set, a puppeteer, and a hairdresser. Check out a behind-the-scenes video of the shoot after the jump...… MORE

Premiere Issues

Magazines 11.17.09 posted by Robert Newman

Premiere Issues, Archive of Magazine Firsts, is a smart, simple, well-designed website featuring the covers of over 200 debut issues of magazines, ranging from Communication Arts to Ray Gun to Good, with many lesser-known publications as well. The brainchild of designer Danielle Huthart, the site was launched in 2002 and has been consistently updated and upgraded since. In addition to covers, there are credits and mission statements for each magazine. Huthart, who lives and works in Hong Kong at Whitespace studio, describes her motivation in starting the site: "I had already amassed a collection of first issues, and I thought it would be fun to share these with others. I love documenting and clearly I love communication and design. The site is my tribute to all the hard work and energy that goes into the creation of a magazine."

Premiere Issues is not only informative and great fun, it offers a perfect template for a way to expand print publications to the web, building community and collaboration at the same time.

We asked Huthart to share her top 10 premiere issues for SPD.

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Best! Books! Ever! (Part 5!)

IN OUR CART 11.16.09 posted by Gail Anderson

This list makes 25! More great design books from your friends and peers--purchases you need to make to fill up that Herman Miller bookcase. If you have a book you'd like us to include, contact me at ganderson@spotnyc.com...… MORE

The First Issue (Part 1)

Appreciation 11.15.09 posted by Josh Klenert

With each week that goes by, we're hit with the news that another magazine is being shut down. It seemed appropriate to celebrate the first issue as much as the last.

Here is a small collection of pop-culture/entertainment debut issues...

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Mark Seliger: He Always Gets His Picture

Photographers 11.13.09 posted by The Editors

A few weeks back at the Lucie Awards at Alice Tully Hall, the Lucie Foundation celebrated photographer Mark Seliger with their award for Achievement in Portraiture. Presenting the award to Seliger was his longtime collaborator and friend, Fred Woodward. We're honored to share Fred's presentation here:

I should probably start by apologizing for all the great photographs I didn't have the good sense to run, and for all the ones I should have fought harder for....and then there are all the ones I wrecked with type....â€¨

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Met Home's Final Issue

RIP 11.12.09 posted by The Editors

Earlier this week, despite reports that the shelter category is rebounding, Hachette shuttered Metropolitan Home. Here we take a look at some of the work from the now-final December 2009 issue... … MORE

Esquire: The Augmented Reality Issue

Technology 11.11.09 posted by Josh Klenert

First they tried E-ink, next up for Esquire is their "Augmented Reality Issue."

Watch Esquire EIC David Granger show how a large bar code can activate digital content.

Video after the jump...

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Tips & Tricks: The Bridge to Sooner

Adobe 11.10.09 posted by The Editors

True story: not too many weeks back, we found ourselves standing on the street after an event, mouths unfortunately agape, as a fellow member rhapsodized about the beauty of the Adobe Bridge. (This wasn't a very cocktails-induced kind of spontaneous testimony, either. Truly just some evangelizing of the converted.) The next morning, we finally got around to really digging-in to what Bridge has to offer, and believe us: if you need any ONE reason to upgrade your CS, do it for this. Take a peek at the way this will save your time and your sanity ( not to mention, some increasingly essential hard drive space) after the jump... … MORE

RIP: Metropolitan Home

RIP 11.09.09 posted by The Editors

Folio: and the Times' Media Decoder blog reported this afternoon that Hachette is shuttering shelter title Metropolitan Home (and presumably the @MetHome twitter account), to focus resources on company mag Elle DÃ©cor. Staffers at MH have confirmed the sad news; December's issue is the last.

Best! Books! Ever! (Part 4!)

IN OUR CART 11.09.09 posted by Andrea Dunham

C'mon Creative Geniuses: Ostensibly we didn't rise to greatness on the sheer force of our good looks! Admit you've sourced all kinds of books for visual advice to help you dazzle, inspire, and bend-to-your-will your lunk-head editors. Did I say that out loud? Yes I did! Here are 5 more from all corners of the imagination.

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Fact magazine, designed by Herb Lubalin

Old School 11.06.09 posted by Robert Newman

For all those excited by the opening of the Lubalin Now show at the Cooper Union Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography, we've got a collection of covers from Fact magazine, which Lubalin art directed from 1965-1967. You can see 14 of the 22 covers that Lubalin designed here. Fact was a journal of politics and journalism, printed all in black and white. Each issue featured the work of a single illustrator, and the covers bore the signature Lubalin illustrative typographic style, oftentimes with little or no imagery. While Lubalin's work on Eros and Avant Garde is much better-known, his work on the Fact covers is much stronger typographically and bears his signature style. Fans of Lubalin and his style of typographic design will love the directness and simplicity of the Fact covers.

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Blue Q, Baby

Life Outside of Work 11.06.09 posted by Gail Anderson

I heart Blue Q. And I heart the guy who runs it; Mitch Nash. Think you're not familiar with Blue Q? If you've seen Cat Butt magnets, Dirty Girl soap or Boss Lady compacts, then you know the wise guy stuff that the Pittsfield, MA company creates.

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Earnshaw's: Splendor in the Grass

New Work 11.06.09 posted by The Editors

The creative team from Earnshaw's sends along a Friday fashion fantasy from their latest issue... … MORE

"Shapes are my friends."

Illustrators 11.05.09 posted by Scott Dadich

Last April at Semi-Permanent Sydney, I had the thrill of meeting and befriending one of my heroes, the terrific screenprinter Kate Gibb. I've been in love with her work since I laid eyes on her first record cover for Mono, back in 1997. Since that time, she's become the go-to artist for the Chemical Brothers, having created a career's worth of brilliant work for both full-length studio album covers and singles. Beyond that, she's created wide-ranging image campaigns for Dries Van Noten as well as Penguin books. … MORE

An Interview with GOOD Guy Brian Rea

Asked+Answered 11.05.09 posted by Tom O'Quinn

I met illustrator/designer Brian Rea a couple of years ago when he did some cool illustrations for a special travel section in Bon AppÃ©tit. Recently, Brian was the guest art director for the award-winning GOOD magazine, "an entertaining magazine about things that matter." Being a loyal subscriber to GOOD since its inception and a big fan of Brian's work, I took the opportunity to have a conversation with him about his past, present and future. Here he tells us all about the creative process behind the last two issues of GOOD, risking his life at the office, and why he thinks L.A. doesn't suck.
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Latina: Â¡Viva Mexico!

New Work 11.04.09 posted by The Editors

Florian Bachleda, Creative Director at Latina, shares a look behind their latest issue:

As of late, Mexico's reputation has suffered greatly in the mainstream news media. With the constant reports of drug wars, violence and H1N1, you'd think it was the worst place on Earth. Here at Latina, we decided it was time to use our platform to combat that negativity, so we decided to devote an entire issue to the culture, beauty and people of Mexico, showcasing its many positive contributions (which you'll never hear from Lou Dobbs).

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Lubalin Now

Life Outside of Work 11.04.09 posted by The Editors

Herb Lubalin is best known for his wildly illustrative typography and his groundbreaking work for the magazines Avant Garde, Eros, and Fact. Of course, at SPD, we have a special place in our heart for him as the namesake for our lifetime achievement honor, the Herb Lubalin Award, given just 12 times in our 45-year history. On Thursday, November 5th, The Cooper Union is opening their new gallery with "Lubalin Now," an installation of recent posters, publications, and motion graphics by internationally recognized graphic designers that spotlight an emerging trend toward expressive lettering and typography. Original sketches, magazines, logotypes, and posters selected from the Lubalin Center Archive will illuminate Lubalin's influence on contemporary graphic design. Some samples, and info on the Opening Reception after the jump... … MORE

It's About Time...

Life Outside of Work 11.03.09 posted by Nathalie Kirsheh

I need a good drink and along with it, a good reason to come into work late. Do you? Yes...you do.
Solution: We've got a time, a place and (a few) great reasons: Tuesday, November 10 at 7PM please join SPD at Arlo & Esme to kick-start the season by celebrating the launch of the 44th annual, which will be available to purchase (or better yet pick one up for free if you're renewing or joining as a new member!)
Pass the word along to your fellow photographers, illustrators, stylists and even, ahem, editors.
RSVP to get on the guestlist after the jump (free!) and see you there... You'll find me on the dance floor.

***Special Thanks to our new Members' Outreach committee volunteer, Todd Weinberger for hooking us up with our awesome sponsors: Bear Flag, Hendrick's, Milagro, Reyka and Sailor Jerry!

11.10.09 - 7PM - Arlo & Esme - 42 E 1st Street (between 1st/2nd ave)
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Tips & Tricks: Illustrator Timesavers

Adobe 11.03.09 posted by The Editors

Our partners at Adobe have a wealth of videos, shortcuts and insider info available at Adobe TV. As part of our mission to help every member be more creative, more efficient and just generally better at everything you're doing, we're working to bring the highlights to you in GRIDS as often as we can. This week: time is money, so saving time means saving money. Here's an Illustrator tip that helps do just that... … MORE

The last days of Gourmet magazine

Appreciation 11.03.09 posted by Robert Newman

Kevin DeMaria was an art director at Gourmet magazine for eight years. On October 5, 2009, he photographed the offices as they closed down and moved out. The Last Days of Gourmet is a powerful, intimate look at the final moments of a legendary publication. You can find more information on DeMaria and see examples of his Gourmet work here. We've got three photo samples after the jump. Visit The Last Days of Gourmet for the full documentation.… MORE

Time magazine's 2009 Top 10 Magazine Cover list

Covers 11.02.09 posted by Arthur Hochstein

Each year I write a piece for Time magazine (and Time.com) for its annual "Top 10 of Everything" feature. My contribution is a list of the 10 best magazine covers of the year. Last year's top cover was from the New Yorker (pictured to the left). To see the complete 2008 list, visit the site here.

Along with each choice, I write a little back story about the creation of the cover that I hope sheds some light on how the smart folks in our business achieve such high-quality results. (This year the "Top 10 of Everything" will run on Time.com only).

In the past I've done my own research for this story, but I've always felt that I may have been leaving something deserving out of the mix. So this year I'd like to recruit you magazine junkies and lovers to help me out by offering your own suggestions.

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November 2009 Archives

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