the subway system

WHAT I'M WORKING ON: the 02/15 cover


This was the first concept for the subway story. Apparently there are more subways per capita in Mid-Missouri than the national average. And another just opened. Luckily, I didn't spend a whole lot of time on it before the story was re-conceptualized. Now (and hopefully permanently) the focus is on the owner as the ruler of his own empire, the 'king' of subs.'

I wanted to somehow portray this concept, along with the very calculated and complicated set of risks the franchisee dealt (ha, dealt) with each time he opens a new subway. I came up with the idea of a playing cards. Playing off Subway, I gave the king a sub instead of sword, and turned the club suit into a combination of tomato slices. Here is how it looks right now. It will need a little more work before publishing, though.




YOU CAN'T MISS: the AIGA web site

Why it's important to fight with your clients (or editors, as it may be)
from: http://voice.aiga.org/content.cfm?ContentAlias=%5Fgetfullarticle&aid=2508023

As visual journalists, we HAVE to rely on artistic practices. However, the problem comes in that design, unlink most traditional art, is not just self-expression. There is always someone else to get the message to, and many people to go through in order to get there.

" Designers have limited experience facing a worthy opponent. "

As students working with other students, it's can sometimes be difficult to appreciate suggestions and comments. However, ideally, with sophisticated clients the work turns into a collaboration, making it stronger than the concept of just a single person, or designer.


RESPONSE: The Real (Publishing) World

It was incredible to see just how much goes in within the Meredith building. I was pleasantly suprirsed to learn that that photo shoots and recipe testing happened in-house. How much easier would it be to work with a photographer or story concept that was just a stairwell or two away?

Although some aspects of teamwork were heartening, there were others that were not so. It was discouraging to see just how easy it was for a more senior editor to shoot down ideas. I had also expected some sort of fantasy land where there was more research into audience response what exactly makes the cover successful. It seemed like a really complex game of mastermind, changing one thing or another as the sales mysteriously increased or decreased.

I guess that's why we have our own research projects.