Grids: February 2013 Archives

A Cool (and Melting) GreenSource Cover

For the cover of the January/February 2013 issue of GreenSource, creative director Francesca Messina and art director Heather Haggarty utilized the talents of Ice Sculpture Designs to carve a cityscape out of a 200 pound block of ice, using a chainsaw. Photographer Samuel Bristow captured the appropriately melting sculpture for the climate change cover image. As an added bonus, there's a behind-the-scenes video of the cover shoot (and melting ice) by videographer Daniel Schwacter.

On the turn page, see two equally memorable inside features from the current issue of GreenSource, featuring the visual talents of Yuko Shimizu and James Worrell.

(Above): GreenSource, January/February 2013. Photograph: Samuel Bristow
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Student Design Competition Entries Due Monday!

Student Design Competition 02.28.13 posted by Student Editors

Our annual Student Design Competition deadline is coming fast: this Monday, March 4. Just finding out about it or still haven't started? Never fear! There's still time! In fact, several past winners were produced at the last-minute (not that we're recommending it of course). So clear out this weekend's calendar and get to work! Be sure to leave time for delivering your entry to our office ... it has to be in our hands by 5pm Monday.

To get you motivated, check out our super-freaking-awesome panel of judges here.

And check out some last-minute tips here.

And get ALL the details, the entry form, answers to common questions and more helpful tips on the main competition page here.

Good luck! We can't wait to see your work!

Cover of the Day: Wednesday Edition

Cover of the Day 02.27.13 posted by The Editors

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

Monocle, March 2013

Creative Director: Richard Spencer Powell

Photographer: David Sykes

My SPD: Andrea Dunham, Design Director, People Magazine

My SPD 02.27.13 posted by The Editors

Learn more about MySPD and how to join HERE

See them all in the

MY SPD Gallery

YSB Magazine: Classic 1990s Covers

Old School 02.25.13 posted by Robert Newman

The early 1990s was a vibrant time for magazine publishing. It seemed like great new magazines were being launched every day: Entertainment Weekly, Martha Stewart Living, InStyle, the Conde Nast version of Details, Vibe, and many more. One of my favorites from that period was YSB ("Young Sisters and Brothers"), first published by BET in September 1991. An editor's note referred to YSB as "the first national lifestyle magazine geared to the interests and concerns of African American teenagers and young adults." The magazine featured brilliant cover photography of hip hop artists and actors, and a bold graphic look by its creative directors, first Fo Wilson, and later Lance Pettiford. Other art directors at YSB included Elizabeth Rodriguez, Gregory Atkins, Steve Jones, Mia Dahlmer, and Anissa Smith, and the photo editor was Steven Chin. Like many magazines from that era, YSB is woefully under-archived (someone badly needs to do some serious collecting and scanning of Details, Wig Wag, The Source, New York Woman, Arena, Premiere...). Thanks to Lance Pettiford, who is currently doing elegant work as design director at JCK magazine, we've got a dozen very cool and memorable covers of YSB right here at SPD!

(Above): YSB, January 1993. Creative directors: Fo Wilson and Elizabeth Rodriguez, photographer: Jason Keeling.
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My SPD: Fred Woodward, Design Director, GQ

My SPD 02.24.13 posted by The Editors

Learn more about MySPD and how to join HERE

See them all in the

MY SPD Gallery

MY SPD - the Gallery

My SPD 02.24.13 posted by The Editors

Learn more about MySPD and how to join HERE

Cover of the Day: Friday Edition

Cover of the Day 02.22.13 posted by The Editors

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

The Nation, December 10, 2012
Designed by: Doug Chayka

Cover of the Day: Thursday Edition

02.21.13 posted by The Editors

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

Suffolk Alumni Magazine, Winter 2013
Creative Director: Robert F. Parsons
Studio: Robert Parsons Design
Illustration: Philip Burke

Cover of the Day: Wednesday Edition

Cover of the Day 02.20.13 posted by The Editors

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

The Alpine Review, Fall 2012
Creative Director: Elise Eskanazai
Photographer: Nick DeWolf

Cover of the Day: Monday Edition

Cover of the Day 02.18.13 posted by The Editors

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

Esquire, March 2013
Design Director: David Curcurito
Photo Director: Michael Norseng
Art Director: Stravinski Pierre
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Cover of the Day: Friday Edition

Cover of the Day 02.15.13 posted by Patrick Mitchell

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

Adweek, February 4, 2013

Creative Director: Nick Mrozowski

Something New on Madison Avenue

Redesigns 02.15.13 posted by The Editors

The venerable bible of Madison Avenue recently undertook its most radical redesign in years, helmed by Brooklyn design collective Athletics under the direction of the magazine's CD, Jesper Goransson. The biggest challenge the team faced was "going from [basically] a newspaper-based trade design to a newsweekly magazine-like approach to the content."

Read Goransson's comments and see more of the design after the jump...

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Cover of the Day: Thursday Edition

Cover of the Day 02.14.13 posted by The Editors

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

Glamour, March 2013
Design Director: Geraldine Hessler
Photo Director: Suzanne Donaldson
Photographer: Ellen von Unwerth
Fashion Editor: Anne Christensen

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Happy Valentine's Day from The New Yorker

Love 02.14.13 posted by Robert Newman

A beautifully-designed Valentine's Day cover used to be an annual event for many magazines. Today, with the exception of an occasional women's service mag, Valentine's Day has almost disappeared from the newsstands. Thank goodness for The New Yorker, which has done brilliantly illustrated Valentine's Day covers for over 70 years. This year, because of their publishing schedule, The New Yorker skipped Valentine's Day and did their annual Eustace Tilley readers' submssion cover. We missed their Valentine's cover, so we collected 19 of their greatest here to warm your hearts and the hearts of your loved ones.

Thanks to Linda Rubes for her help in compiling this collection.

(Above): February 18, 1974, illustration by Robert Weber.

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A New Brand of Magazine

New+Notable 02.13.13 posted by Patrick Mitchell

We just came across this pub while trolling Claudio Franco's great cover blog Nascapas. After further research, we found that B (for Brand Balance--we think) is the brainchild of Sean Joh, the chief director of Joh, a creative agency based in Seoul, South Korea.

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Cover of the Day: Wednesday Edition

Cover of the Day 02.13.13 posted by The Editors

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

Atlanta Magazine, November 2012

Design Director: Eric Capossela

Cross-stitcher: Aubrey Longley-Cook

The Crisis: A Record of the Darker Races

02.12.13 posted by Robert Newman

The past month I've been researching vintage African American magazines for a series of posts on my Facebook and Tumblr pages as part of Black History Month. One recent collection was a set of covers from The Crisis, the official publication of the NAACP, founded in 1910 by W.E.B. DuBois. The Crisis was a remarkable magazine that featured significant writing from many of the important Harlem Renaissance writers, including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Jean Toomer. It also included powerful graphic covers by artists Aaron Douglas, Frank Walts, and others.

100 years after it started, The Crisis (subtitled "A Record of the Darker Races") is still around and still producing stunning visual covers. Under the direction of art director Wayne Fitzpatrick, the now-quarterly magazine has featured cover illustrations by Edel Rodriguez, Mirko Illic, and more, while continuing the tradition of presenting provocative, pointed, and inspiring political messages.

You can see 100 years of complete scans of The Crisis at Google Books. We've collected some of art director Fitzpatrick's favorites from recent years on the next page.

(Above): The Crisis, Winter 2012. Illustration: Edel Rodriguez

Cover of the Day: Monday Edition

Cover of the Day 02.12.13 posted by The Editors

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

The New Republic, February 25, 2013

Creative Director: Dirk Barnett

Dashwood Books: A Curated Bookstore

02.11.13 posted by Robert Newman

Story and interview by Greg Pond (A version of this originally appeared in Room 100 magazine)

Dashwood Books is the city's only "curated" visual bookstore. Within this teensy, crammed shop, located on Bond Street, owner David Strettell is unassumingly promoting the work of some of the most radical photographers and visual artists of our time. Carine Roitfeld, the avant-garde former editrix of French Vogue, is a regular, combing the shelves for her next projects, as are many of the city's A-list gallerists and fashion designers, all seeking to snatch up the next big names in art photography.

Strettell knows his imagery, not to mention his fashion (his wife is Anne Christensen, Glamour magazine's executive fashion director). He spent a dozen years working for Magnum Photos, where as cultural director he produced books and exhibits and worked with photographers from around the world. Strettell is building something here: an oeuvre, a post-modern Warhol Factory for visual artists, with the feeling of a hands-on art gallery. Flipping through the thousands of books...oh, the sights you will see. We caught up with Strettell recently and chatted with him about books, photography, and more.

(Photograph of David Strettel by Jesper Haynes)

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Behind the Scenes: ESPN The Magazine Recreates Iconic Music Covers

Magazines 02.11.13 posted by The Editors

ESPN The Magazine has hit it out of the park again with their Music Issue which is on stands now. SPD spoke with Senior Director of Photography Karen Frank about putting together this issue. Take a look at the photos and get a behind the scenes peek of the athletes and their music inspiration.

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Cover of the Day: Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2013

Cover of the Day 02.09.13 posted by The Editors

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

Sports Illustrated, February 2013

Creative Director: Christopher Hercik
Photographer: Derek Kettela

Maybe, Just Maybe, the
Best Magazine Logo Ever.

Breaking News 02.08.13 posted by Fred Woodward

2004-2013

May it rest in peace.

Bespoke Magazine No. 17: Uppercase

48 02.08.13 posted by The Editors

For the 48th SPD Pub competition and gala, Co-chairs Courtney Murphy and Marshall McKinney sought to acknowledge the "bespokeness" that adds interest to our increasingly homogenous world, celebrating publishers both large and small that are creating customized publications with an emphasis on individuality.

Sure, judging for this year's competition may be in the books but that doesn't mean we're going to stop bringing you more examples of what makes Bespoke publications so great.

The next bespoke pub you may may not be aware of: Uppercase. BIG thanks to SPD student outreach co-chair (and Money magazine Deputy Art Director) Leah Bailey for the profile after the jump

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Cover of the Day: Thursday Edition

02.07.13 posted by The Editors

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

Real Simple, March 2013

Creative Director: Janet Froelich
Photo Director: Casey Tierney
Photographer: Gentl & Hyers
Prop Stylist: Jeffrey W. Miller

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Texas Monthly: TJ Tucker's tour of the redesign. Part 2

Redesigns 02.01.13 posted by Neil Jamieson

Last fall everyone's favorite regional mag Texas Monthly underwent a total redesign under the creative direction of TJ Tucker and his team. Seven issues in TJ Tucker gives us some highlights. In part one we got a look at some of the FOB and typographic details. In this second part we get some insight into their feature well and learn what's next for Tucker and his team… MORE

February 2013 Archives

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