American Photography displays the year’s best photography, as selected by a jury of photo editors, art directors and designers.

The cover traditionally uses an image from the year’s crop of winning entries. In this case I chose Craig Cutler’s condiments for their bold, graphic look (and because I’ve always liked those little ketchup packages with the rubbery flexography). I silk-screened all the typography and design elements onto a clear vinyl slipcover, leaving the photograph itself untouched.

The only constraints were the traditional 9 1/2 by 12 1/2 hardcover format and that the images had to be shown uncropped at a minimum height of 5 inches. Beyond that I was given carte blanche. So my main challenge was controlling my desire to show off.