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Newsweek Cover - Issues 2013

JANUARY 16, 2013

Last month I got a call from Leah Purcell, art director at Newsweek, to create the international edition's last print cover.  The topic was their annual issue looking at the year ahead and would be at the newsstands for an extended time since Newsweek was moving to digital from then on.   Their annual issue always uses a metallic color for the logo, silver or gold, so I was asked to keep that in mind.
These are some random thoughts I jotted down while trying to figure out a direction.   While sketching I wondered if the image could use some of the gold ink from the logo and asked Leah if the spot color could be used as part of the image.  Usually when a page is being run through a press you can use that color throughout the page so she said yes.  Leah was a colleague at TIME magazine while I worked there so we have an easy shorthand about design solutions, inks, etc.  We spent many nights over the years working out problems late into the night.

With that in mind, I tried a variety of solutions taking advantage of the gold ink and sent the ideas to Leah.   She liked a couple of directions and we agreed that the eye sketch seemed to stand out.

As I looked at the arrows pointing in different directions, the idea popped into my head that the arrows themselves could point to the "issues" covered inside the magazine.   I worked up these rough ideas for type placement, sent them off, and got the o.k. to go ahead with this concept.   Something like this is hard to work out because it involves a lot of back and forth between myself, the AD, and the editors.  Arrow and type placement, how they go in and out of the typography, etc., took a while to tighten up.
This week, the issues arrived in the mail in full metallic gold glory, there's just something to print.   It was great to work with an old friend on this cover and to see the care taken to get the final Newsweek International print issue done right.
© 2024 Edel Rodriguez