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Charles Apple: The Visual Side of Journalism

 

‘Magazine design’ archive

Number of comments in parentheses

Feb. 9: What it’s like to sit in on a news meeting held in Afrikaans

From time to time, folks ask me what it was like working for months at a time in South African newspapers. It was a lot like working in U.S. newspapers, really. Except much of the time, everyone spoke Afrikaans. So attending planning meetings can be like going to a meeting in the U.S. in which they’re discussing, say, programming. Or [...]

Feb. 4: Cartoonists for the New Yorker need a copy editor. And they have one.

Robert Mankoff — cartoon editor of the New Yorker — wrote a fascinating piece this week about the fact-checking that goes on with cartoons in his magazine. For example, this one never ran. Why? Because Interstate highway 95 doesn’t separate New York from Connecticut. This one was sent back to the cartoonist for alterations. Why? Bob writes: Not because dogs [...]

Feb. 2: For your consideration… (3)

How does one illustrate the merger between United and Continental air lines? By showing them join the “Mile-High Club,” of course. I’m not sure I would have had the guts to pitch that concept. Kudos to Bloomberg Businessweek. I think.

Feb. 1: Odd juxtaposition in this week’s New York magazine

Diego Sorbara of the New York Times copy desk spotted this odd pairing from the new issue of New York magazine and posted it via Twitter Monday night. On the right is the start of a Frank Rich profile of Mitt Romney, with a headline that references religion. As you can see. On the left: An advertisement for the Broadway [...]

Jan. 31: A recap of the Poynter chat today with Scott Goldman

The live chat I hosted this afternoon at Poytner.org — with guest Scott Goldman, director of digital and visuals at the Indianapolis Star — went over pretty well. I was worried that we might not get enough great questions. I needn’t have worried. The crowd had fabulous questions. And Scott provided terrific answers. Poynter has asked me to contribute to [...]

Jan. 30: One of the more subtle — and powerful — magazine covers you’ll ever see

At first, the new issue of the Penn Stater — Penn State’s alumni magazine — looks like it has a solid black front cover. But look closer. There is, in fact, very thin diagonal pattern embedded in that black surface. And then, atop those diagonal lines, is the nameplate of the magazine. Which has collapsed and fallen into a heap [...]

Jan. 10: A magic NFL moment, 30 years ago today (1)

It happened 30 years ago today. With the San Francisco 49ers trailing the Dallas Cowboys by six points — and with under a minute left in the game — 49er quarterback Joe Montana called “Red left slot spring right option.” Two receivers would cut to the right side — one near the goal line and one deeper in the end [...]

Dec. 14, 2011: Behind Time magazine’s ‘person of the year’ cover image

Time magazine has named its long-awaited “Person of the Year.” It’s “the protester.” Here is the cover by controversial “street artist” Shepard Fairey: Like much of Fairey’s work, the illustration is based on a photograph. But unlike the famous Barack Obama “Hope” artwork from 2008, this one is legit. The inspiration is a picture by freelance photographer Ted Soqui.   [...]

Dec. 9, 2011: The story behind Walter Iooss Jr.’s ‘miracle picture’

Buried way in the back of the new double-sized issue of Sports Illustrated — the one with Pat Summitt and Mike Krzyzewski on the cover — is a real gem of an article about famed sports photographer Walter Iooss Jr. The story — “The Education  of Walter Iooss Jr.” — is really just a collection of career memories and behind-the-scenes [...]

Dec. 1, 2011: How to promote an iPad app

Magazine design guru Robert Newman — now the creative director of Reader’s Digest — is proud of his magazine’s iPad app, of course. But he’s also proud of the video they put together to stir up buzz about that app. The animation was created by Alan Becker. Find more of his work here. If you find yourself with a sudden [...]

Nov. 25, 2011: For your consideration…

Check out the cover of the current issue of the New Yorker: The brilliant illustration is by Christoph Niemann. You might remember him from this cover from earlier this year. He illustrated an opinion column for the New York Times Magazine from 2008 to earlier this year. Find those archived here. His book, I Lego N.Y., shows classic New York [...]

Nov. 22, 2011: Kaitlin Yarnall on work flow at National Geographic magazine

Kaitlin Yarnall, deputy creative director of National Geographic magazine, recently talked with Sajeev Kumar T.K. about work flow at National Geographic: Q. What’s your method of planning a work? And how it helps you to reach the goal? A. Once a story is approved at NGM there is usually a story team meeting that includes a photo editor, text editor, [...]

Nov. 15, 2011: Michigan State’s Karl Gude looks at GOP campaign logos

AdWeek magazine this week analyzed the logos for the Republican presidential campaigns and asked three noted designers  their opinions of each. One of those designers is none other than Karl Gude, former graphics director for United Press International, the New York Daily News, the National sports daily, Associated Press and Newsweek and currently an instructor at Michigan State University. AdWeek [...]

Nov. 14, 2011: A look at two controversial magazine covers

Let’s take a quick look at two magazine covers that have stirred up a bit of controversy. One ran and one did not. — CHARLIE HEBDO First up: Charlie Hebdo, a satirical left-wing weekly based in Paris, France. You may have heard about this a couple of weeks ago. Charlie Hebdo announced that its Nov. 2 issue would be guest-edited [...]

Nov. 9, 2011: Would YOU draw 1,028 little figures for a magazine cover?

I wouldn’t. I’d probably draw 20 or 30, tops, and then use the clone tool. But illustrator Tim Enthoven would. He drew 1,028 separate figures for the cover of the next issue of the New York Times Magazine. That cover is today’s “Cover of the Day” by the Society of Publication Designers. Find their post here and find the SPD [...]

Nov. 3, 2011: Maggie Voss of Lufkin, Texas, moves to an Austin publishing company

Maggie Voss of the Lufkin, Texas, Daily News switched jobs recently. She tells us: I just finished my first full week at Acres USA, a publishing company based in Austin. We publish books and a monthly magazine catered toward organic farmers and those interested in sustainable eco-agriculture. I kind of dove right in, as my first week was their monthly [...]

Oct. 29, 2011: Saturday’s World Series pages (3)

Man, was I sorry to see this World Series end. This one felt truly magical, despite the fact that I’m not a huge fan of either team. (I’m a Braves fan. As you know, the Braves tanked in the final month of the season, allowing the Cardinals to take away their Wild Card playoff spot.) __________ ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 6, [...]

Oct. 18, 2011: Laugh for the day (1)

The cover of the new issue of the New Yorker depicts the flip side of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The illustration is by Barry Blitt… …whose all-time claim to fame is probably this controversial cover from a couple of years ago: A few more of Blitt’s New Yorker covers:       He also drew the cover to my [...]

Oct. 10, 2011: Cool gatefold tribute to Steve Jobs by Adweek magazine

On my way home from the Society for News Design workshop in St. Louis eight days ago, I ran into my former colleague Nick Mrozowski at a concourse sandwich shop. Nick is a former designer for the Virginian-Pilot, the founding art director of Lisbon, Portugal’s award-winning tabloid i, and now the creative director of Adweek magazine in New York City. [...]

Oct. 10, 2011: No butts about it: Sports Illustrated apologizes for headline (3)

A letter to the editor in the current (Oct. 10) issue of Sports Illustrated: Poor Judgment My oldest son is a huge Jets fan, so when I first saw the image of Mark Sanchez on your Sept. 19 cover, I knew he would be thrilled. However, when I read the cover’s headline my heart sank. I couldn’t have been more [...]

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