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Here’s Your Chance to Win AIGA Eye on Design Issue #06!
Neenah has once again teamed up with AIGA to bring you the coveted AIGA Eye on Design magazine. Introducing Issue #6: Utopias. (Read about Issue #05 here.)
Utopias explores the elusive concept of idealism in its many forms, looking back at the origins of Modernism and the concept of a universal solution.
(Read below for your chance to win a copy!)
We asked the Eye on Design team to share an inside look at how this issue looks to the future to envision how education, labor, the environment, and art might benefit from big, optimistic, and critical ideas. In between, we tell stories about the present and the designers who are actively working toward creating a better world.
Did Bauhaus and Constructivism influence the design for this issue?
They did, and the fact that both movements recently celebrated their 100th anniversaries made us think that this was the right time to do an issue about utopia.
When you think about utopia in relation to design, you immediately think of Bauhaus and Constructivism. With that in mind, we decided to look back before we looked forward, and ask the question: Do those singular, idealistic visions of modern design still have a place in our world?
In answering that question, we ended up sourcing pieces from designers and writers all over the world, from South Africa to India, London, and Brazil. We were looking for a plurality of perspectives, and we came away with the stance that “utopia” isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, that it can be many different things for different people. That’s why our issue is themed “utopias,” plural, you can see this idea reflected in the design as well. We worked with Na Kim on the design of Utopias, a fantastic designer whose work draws from the bold modern designs of the early 20th century, while also remaining fluid and dynamic—perfectly suited to our notion of plurality.
Tell us about the papers you chose to enhance the design.
We used Neenah’s CLASSIC® Stipple, Epic Black/Solar White Duplex for the cover and Solar White, Smooth for the text, both of which we’re extremely excited about. The cover stock we chose for the richness of the black and the texture of the stipple—it’s such a striking paper and it really adds to Na’s quiet yet compelling cover design. We also love the duality; the fact that the reverse side is white allowed us to print on the inside cover. For the text stock we wanted a bright white that had some weight to it, and one that we knew would print nicely. We really couldn’t go wrong Neenah’s papers in those regards.
What was your biggest learning from creating this issue?
I think the biggest thing we learned is how beneficial it was for us to expand our scope in terms of geography, contributors, and topics. We have a global readership, and we always try to cover design from around the world, but this issue marked a concentrated effort to find writers, illustrators, and designers from many different countries and backgrounds to contribute. We wanted to make sure we were representing many different perspectives on the topic of utopia, to emphasize that it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Our issue ended up being stronger for it, and it wasn’t difficult to do.
What is your utopia?
This issue has reinforced the idea that utopia is different for everyone! But it was pretty ideal to be working on this issue with Na Kim, one of the best designers out there, and all of our wonderful contributors, putting together an issue that we’re really proud of. When making a magazine, it doesn’t get much better than that.
Win your own copy of the AIGA Eye on Design Utopia Issue 06 and share one with a friend by visiting us on Instagram @NeenahPaper on November 25-26th.
Photo credit: Tala Safie / gif: Design Army