Nozone IX: Empire
Knickerbocker Design, New York, New York, 2003
Description
At a time of global crisis, Empire rallies a coalition of artists, designers, writers and photographers to protest the mysterious, all-powerful phenomenon that dominates our civilization.
A letter was sent to potential contributors, both in the United States and in Europe, urging them to comment on the current political situation. Empire was used as a theme to unify and organize the different submissions in a coherent critique of the Bush administration. Submissions were printed exactly as they were received, unaltered and unedited.
Empire is a visual manifesto inspired by zines, radical tracts, and comics. Printed on gritty newsprint stock in military green and black, Empire is a hybrid project, sitting on the Current Affairs and Graphic Design shelves of bookstores.
Empire has garnered a lot of attention, not only within the design community but also among a broader segment of the population, disillusioned with the lack of political outcry in mainstream media. Empire has been reviewed and excerpted in many forums, including the Boston Globe, Time Out, Vanity Fair, Wired, New York Post, Eye, Publisher’s Weekly, LA Weekly and National Public Radio.
Juror Notes
“A traditional matching of graphics and politics in a journal format.” Jack Woody
Credits
- Design firm
- Knickerbocker Design
- Art director
- Nicholas Blechman
- Designers
- Nicholas Blechman, André Lee, Naomi Mizusaki
- Jacket designer
- Knickerbocker Design
- Illustrators
- Monika Aichele, Charles S. Anderson, Steven Appleby, Amy Balkin, Michael Bierut, R. O. Blechman, Peter Buchanan-Smith, Art Chantry, Seymour Chwast, Gary Clement, Robbie Conal, Jennifer Daniel, Jeffrey Fisher, John Fulbrook III, Amy Gray, Robert Grossman, George Hardie, Brad Holland, Knickerbocker Design, Prem Krishnamurthy, Peter Kuper, Lobrow, Luba Lukova, M.K. Mabry, Christoph Niemann, Josh On, David Reinfurt, Paul Sahre, Stefan Sagmeister, David Sandlin, Stephen Savage, Whitney Sherman, Edward Sorel, Scott Stowell, Ward Sutton, Johnny Sweetwater, Henning Wagenbreth, Lutz Widmaier, Wink
- Photographer
- Jason Fulford
- Production director
- Nicholas Blechman
- Authors
- Elizabeth Amon, Jesse Gordon, Lewis Lapham
- Editor
- Nicholas Blechman
- Publisher
- Princeton Architectural Press
- Trim size
- 7 x 10”
- Pages
- 168
- Quantity printed
- 10,000
- Compositor
- Phoenix Color Corp.
- Typefaces
- Courier, Rockwell, Univers
- Printer
- Phoenix Color Corp.
- Jacket printer
- Phoenix Color Corp.
- Papers
- 80 gr. Japanese woodfree, 70 gr. EnsoLux cream
- Binder
- Phoenix Color Corp.
- Binding method
- Smyth sewn
- Book type
- Image driven