This week we were tasked with designing the cover, splash page and inside calendar of the Spring Preview feature for Vox. Having been a part of Vox in some capacity for a while now, I have seen my share of Spring, Summer and Fall Preview issues, so I was fairly familiar with the style we typically use. When we were given the command to avoid any and all seasonal imagery, it certainly created a bit more of a challenge in addition to greater opportunity. After all, there's only so much that can be done with rain and blossoming foliage.
That said, and after much deliberation, I settled on robots. The idea spawned in part from our Editor Kelsey's (probably somewhat flippant) suggestion that the preview be planet-themed. Spinning off from that idea, and being inspired by what might be my favorite movie poster ever, I landed upon robots. As Theresa Berens alluded to in an earlier comment, my passion is movies and, perhaps to a greater extent, movie posters. The poster I used for inspiration was that of Forbidden Planet, the big-budget sci-fi adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. It is pictured below.
What resulted was this cover, splash page and opening spread:
The cover took most of my time, and all the rest of the elements derive from the initial design. When I finished, I was fairly satisfied with the outcome (and very relieved to be finished). I have no formal graphic design training, so I generally don't like making illustrations because I'm rarely satisfied with what I've created. They are an incredible time-sink, and I have difficulty determining a good stopping point; I have to walk the fine line between overly simplistic images and overly detailed. Essentially, I have difficulty establishing an intentional style. With this, however, I felt that I had a strong visual style because I wasn't pulling from the ether but from a mid-20th century low-culture representation of the future and outer space. As I worked my way through the design, I started to veer away from Forbidden Planet and landed more in the territory of The Jetsons, but overall it has the cohesive, retro-futuristic feel I was going for.
One complaint several people had during the critique was that my original splash page was difficult to understand because the robot's head was on its side. Being chest-deep in the design of the robots, this is something that never occurred to me because it was obviously the robot. Looking at it from a distance, however, I understand the concern. Additionally there was at least one complaint that the inside spread did not fit with the rest of the design, which I disagree with. Traditionally, the sidebars and pull-out blurbs in preview features have been the same shape as opposed to the burst and the Jetsonian television set. The televisions, despite not being present on the cover or splash page, echo the retro-futuristic aesthetic that I mentioned earlier as well as the the screens on each robot's chest.
Of course, I'm glad that my design idea was chosen to be a part of the feature, and I feel that the final product is a big improvement over the original set of three. My cover concept was transformed into the splash page and married with Haleigh Castino's gears concept for the inside of the preview. Here is the final splash page:
Aaron, your Spring Preview designs are awesome. Congrats on winning the splash page design, that's great. I really like the robot idea. I think the original splash page is well designed, but I do like the final decision in taking the cover design and making it into the splash page. It turned out great.
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, I must express my appreciation for your term "retro-futuristic aesthetic." Second, are you aware of the children's robot toy called Alpie? I'm talking about the original one from the 80s, NOT the new fancy version with neon lights and whatnot. Your little robot men reminded me of my favorite childhood toy. Check it out: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6PD6SorX5HQ/TRoGN3Dc-oI/AAAAAAAAAMI/HrGGstqZO2w/s1600/Alphie.gif.
ReplyDeleteSorry for my nerdgasm.
Anyway, congrats again for being one of the select few chosen for the spring preview. Your robots came out really well despite your disclaimer about not really knowing how to use Illustrator. I'm glad you steered far clear of "springy" type themes, as did I. I also appreciate your retro approach, including your TV.
And cheers to 80s music.
To Danielle and anyone else, I just want to clarify my statement above. I am capable in using the Illustrator software; it is the task of illustrating that I find challenging. That is to say, I find creating a cohesive, illustrative style rather than simple detail-tracing to be difficult at times.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I LOVE how this turned out and am so excited part of your design is in the Spring Preview. You did a really smart thing in taking an existing piece of art/design and using it as inspiration for your work. Key word INSPIRATION, in that it references certain elements on the poster but doesn't copy them. Also, you worked with a concept that you are passionate about, which makes this an even better portfolio piece because you can talk about that during an interview.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the sideways robot is a huge issue; adding the spikes might help with reading it as the head. You're trying to show the imagery in a different way rather than repeating the same figure from the cover, which I think is great. If it takes a second for the reader to realize it's the robot, so what. They are going to spend forever reading through all these events in the first place, they can think about the design a little too.
I do think the televisions are relevant, however there might be a way to subtly tie them in; like give them the 3-D effect the robots have or make the screen the same shape as the one on the robot's stomach.
Overall, great concept and execution!
You came up with an excellent Vox-y theme and ran with it, and you know a lot more about creating illustrations than you give yourself credit for. Also, I'm incredibly impressed that you found a way to use a content-driven glow (I stubbornly thought this could never happen).
ReplyDeleteI really think your strongest and most cohesive work comes out of inspiration from vintage posters (like your election splash page last fall). Remembering the the ways you get inspired could be a really good thing if you're ever feeling stuck with a design project.
I loved your splash page for the spring preview. Your robots and Haleigh's gears worked so perfectly together. The color palette (you basically came up with on your own) accented the colors of spring, but in a surprising way. Nothing about your design seemed trite, but rather you conquered the original concept in a highly detailed way.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same as you about illustrations. I loved the typography bugs I came up with, but I spent so much time making them that the rest of my design was lost. Your detail on the robots was amazing! When I got a closer look I couldn't believe all the little details you put in to making them so realistic. I know you were probably cursing the task in the process, but they turned out awesome. Good working with you, Aaron.