TV Guide's Weekly Photographic Treats

Earlier this year I worked with James Reyman, Kate Thompson, and Katherine Dillon on a redesign of TV Guide magazine. We worked with editor-in-chief Debra Birnbaum to revamp the structure and architecture of the magazine, introducing new typefaces, color palattes, and a new approach to structuring stories.

What we didn't change was their remarkable approach to cover and feature photography. TV Guide creative director Rose Fiorentino and design director Gloria Pantell have created an amazing collection of feature spreads and covers. The strategy for the magazine is simple: pack as much material into the pages as possible in terms of listings, news, and updates, and then devote one spread to an original photograph of a TV show cast. The result is a weekly treat for TV Guide readers, who love to see their favorite stars (in character) in intimate settings. With a small staff, limited resources, and a weekly production schedule, the TV Guide folks are creating exciting, engaging, original, and artful photographs and page designs. Of course we like to think that the redesign gave Fiorentino, Pantell, and Birnbaum just the right tools to frame their brilliant work, but actually a number of the pages featured below were done before the redesign.

(Above): Lost, photo illustration by Joe Zeff Design. Cover design by Gloria Pantell.

24, photograph by Brian Bowen Smith. Design by Gloria Pantell.

The Big Bang Theory, photograph by Jason O'Dell. Design by Ronald Sequeira.

House, photograph by Gavin Bond. Design by Gloria Pantell.

Hawaii 5-0, photograph by Patrick Hoelck. Design by Ronald Sequeira.

Law and Order SVU, photograph by Antoine Verglas. Design by Gloria Pantell.

NCIS, photograph by Brian Bowen Smith. Design by Gloria Pentell.

True Blood, photograph by Patrick Hoelck. Design by Jay Guillermo.

(Left): The Big Bang Theory, photograph by Jason O'Dell. Design by Gloria Pantell. (Right): Modern Family, photographs by Joseph Cultice. Design by Gloria Pantell.


Related stories:
The Glee Cover of TV Guide
Classic TV Guide Covers