The New Yorker Cover
I was tasked to illustrate The New Yorker with the theme: “Time is not stagnant.” In addition to this theme, the cover also needed to include a moving, animated element.
Design Concept
This theme was very thought-provoking to me. It could literally be anything to illustrate that time was an ever-moving element; that it’s never linear and always evolving.
My initial thought was that my cover also needed to be thought-provoking. And considering we currently live in unprecedented times politically, I wanted to venture into that arena. This project was presented around the time when the President rolled back laws on segregation in several states, so my immediate thought for this cover was segregated water fountains, because it’s such a subtle concept with heavy history.
I based my cover in modern times, portrayed by the woman holding her iPhone, carrying a Telfar bag, and wearing Nikes, about to walk into a bodega. The water fountain shows that the paint has chipped and has been worn down by weather over time, revealing the “Whites Only” that had been poorly painted over. The moving animated element is the sign above, with the cover-up sign broken and swinging, also revealing the “Whites Only” sign underneath.
Final Designs
Design Process
Design Inspo
