Covered: June/July 2009
Tomato explain the process behind their ethereal cover design for our June/July issue
The Boards 'IT List' cover is a stream of consciousness. That was the brief: A collection of cultural signifiers that influence and affect our thoughts and actions. It's what's around us all, overlapping osmosis, familiar confusion. The ever-changing moment. We've made a multi-layered response. Each word stands for itself, but juxtaposed with others, takes on multiple meanings. How you read it, how far you look inside is what we're interested in. Visually. Don't call it a style, call it a process. - Tomato
April 30th: Contact
We've had a call from Boards magazine via our US production company, Believe Media. "Would we be interested in creating the cover for the next issue?"
The theme is, the "It List".
Sounds interesting but since the "Now" very quickly becomes the "Then" I'm going to wait for some feedback from the magazine editor before getting specific.
May 5th: The Brief
A conference call has been hooked up between London, Melbourne, LA, Seattle and Toronto. Incredibly that's every meal time from around the planet within one conversation. (Our Australian contingent gets the nocturnal snack).
It's all clear now. The concept for the cover is explained via a group of conditions, philosophies and actions.
The brief has taken on a list of words and phrases that signify where we are, which part of the ether is materializing around us.
This is good news; I was dreading a list of names of (significant) people that needed to be illustrated. The strong abstract mood of this project is starting to suggest an approach.
Taylor layered type on a light box and photographed it with a digital SLR.
May 11th
We set about finalizing the words list and get on another conference call. The idea is to create a typographic/photographic image that floats between focal points suggesting an ethereal mixture of possibilities.
May 15th
I've sent in the first picture tests showing what we propose to make. The images are double exposure snaps of laser printouts taken using a digital SLR and light box. The colors are mostly achieved through under-exposure.
Good response from the editors. Time to get on with it.
May 19th
Boards have confirmed they can print a gatefold cover with metallic and varnish plates. Very exciting but a little terrifying since the magazine is printed 3,000 miles from my studio and I won't be able to see the wet proofs!!!
May 27th
Apparently, it's all worked out well. How well I don't know... have a couple of weeks to wait for the postman...
Read our 2009 IT List here and the rest of the June/July issue here.
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