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Design Category
Editorial design, 2003
Design firm
Terms and Conditions (Brooklyn, New York)
Collection
(2004) AIGA 365: 25
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Our journal brushes the dust off the history books. This was my intent as graphic designer.
The editors’ intent was a little broader. Valerie Paley, along with Kenneth T. Jackson, initiated the relaunch of the New-York Historical Society Quarterly, a historical journal that was first published in 1917 and ended in 1980. The current periodical took on a new name, the New-York Journal of American History, which reflected a intent to “discover, procure, and preserve whatever may relate to the history of the United States in general, and of New York City and State in particular.”
The New-York Historical Society is a hidden gem: it has the most amazing collection of art and artifact that is not overly exposed. This journal contains intelligent literary content, as expected, but it also strives to be visually engaging—an easy thing to do with imagery from the society’s impressive collection. Therefore, the book design is divided in three parts. The first is strictly content-driven, the second, strictly image-driven, and the third, an inclusion of current events at the society. The cover, reflecting the math behind a quarterly, is a die-cut numeral 1, 2, 3 or 4, coordinating with the season.
My favorite feedback about the journal was given by Edward Mendelson, a professor of English at Columbia, who said the design of the New-York Journal of American History is “up-to-the-minute and historically evocative at the same time.” A hard achievement to make, a nice comment to receive.
These are beautiful. There’s something “Tiffany-ish” that is influencing everything, perhaps because it is stable and dependable.