American Society of Magazine Editors - Stories Behind the 2009 Best in Science, Technology & Nature Magazine Cover Finalists

Stories Behind the 2009 Best in Science, Technology & Nature Magazine Cover Finalists

October 6, 2009

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	*Audubon, August 2008*
	Using high-speed photography and a pure white background, Andrew Zuckerman’s portrait of a blue-and-yellow macaw, flying from behind, fully captures and celebrates the magnificent color and design of this iconic parrot’s plumage.

	*Cincinnati, August 2008*
	The trick the editors had to pull off on the cover of Cincinnati magazine’s August 2008 issue was this: How to communicate that the environmentally-inclined civic service feature inside was not simply a "green issue" but something a little more fun, accessible, and at the same time had some gravitas? Playing off the subhead ("35 ideas for a cleaner, greener city"), the editors came up with the idea of visually mimicking the classic packaging for Tide—a widely recognizable brand made by Procter & Gamble (based in Cincinnati) that also says “clean.” Art director Grace Saunders worked with typographer Michael Doret to create the art for the cover.

	*New York, May 25, 2009*
	The cover for New York magazine’s feature on the benefits of distraction uses typography to whimsically capture the idea of the story in graphic terms. The main type itself—with the coverline taking up the entire length of the cover as the fonts keep switching, conveys the distraction that the story is about, without being difficult to read. But before you can even get beyond the first word, the cover attempts to further distract you with 15 secondary coverlines beginning with the words “Also in this issue.” The cover is a piece of ingenious graphic design and a clear and entertaining poster that perfectly delivers the feature’s message.

	*Science News, January 31, 2009*
	Photographer Cary Wolinsky traces Darwin’s Tree of Life with simple birthday candles to mark the bicentennial of Darwin’s birth.

	*The New York Times Magazine, April 19, 2009*
	This elegant high-concept cover was conceived to illustrate The New York Times Magazine’s special issue on the green mind. The Momix dance troupe acted out and created the form of the brain. It was an ambitious, highly creative and delightful collaboration between the magazine, photographer Stephen Wilkes and 25 of the Momix dancers. Over a period of several days in the studio, the form of the brain, as well as the other inside images we choreographed and shot. The cover image causes most viewers to do a double-take. First they see what they think is a painting of a profile with a brain in it, and then they realize the brushstrokes are formed by human bodies!

	*The New Yorker, May 11, 2009*
	To illustrate The New Yorker’s 2009 Innovators issue, Dan Clowes created a cover, “Leading the Way,” that deals with the rapid pace of technology and the fear of obsolescence. How worrisome for the engineer at his computer, who is designing a car, to see an older man fly by with a jet pack! Created at a time when the American auto industry faced imminent financial collapse, the cover can also be read as a satirical look at what used to be one of our country’s bedrock industries.