new work: “cultures of militarization” cover design
York University’s TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies is just that: a scholarly journal in cultural and Canadian studies, providing a venue for current research in cultural studies for scholars who share a concern with cultures, nationalities, technologies, environments, identities and the politics of space and time. Issue #23-24, Cultures of Militarization, is the latest in over 10 years of publication. eleven-seventeen has been providing cover design for TOPIA for many years, though this special double-issue presented a number of new opportunities worth mentioning.
Until this issue, TOPIA’s covers have maintained a consistent layout; the issue themes have been expressed by a full-bleed image, and the only text has been the ‘TOPIA’ name and issue information on the front, and the table of contents on the back cover. However, Cultures of Militarization is a special double-issue, so they decided to publish it in a format that reflects that difference: as a book, with a title on the front cover, and a summary on the back cover. Some things stayed the same, and necessarily so; the characteristic black spine, the full-bleed front/back cover image treatment, use of Gill Sans, and so on. The final product is a book that stands on its own as a unique publication, yet comfortably fits within the established TOPIA design convention.
We’re pretty happy with it.
We had envisioned the cover design as monochromatic and high contrast to characterize the impersonal, objectifying nature of militarism, yet still have enough depth to provide interest. The original image was supplied as greyscale, so to accomplish our goal we used a three colour printing process. The image was processed as a duotone in Photoshop using a black and a light blue Pantone ink. This image was then placed in the Illustrator layout, where a Pantone red was introduced to provide the required shock. The final product, we believe, speaks for itself.
Read about the book itself here and here, and its editors Jody Berland and Blake Fitzpatrick. Cultures of Militarization is available at Amazon.ca.
Lastly, something topical:
Cultures of Resistance: A Look at Global Militarization from Cultures of Resistance on Vimeo.
//
Credits
Concept + Graphic Design: Krista Hansen