Issue 12 Cover Design

As part of our efforts to take you behind the scenes here at 3x3 I wanted to share with you how we created this issue's cover. Traditionally we have always asked one of our featured artists to develop our cover image. In the beginning we selected a representative image and then did a type treatment that mirrored the art. Then starting with Issue 4 we asked each artist to incorporate the letters "3x3" into their execution. And with Issue 9 to the present we ask artists to interpret the issue number. This last approach has been very successful, Issue 9 was a finalist in cover design in the Society of Publication Designers (SPD) show and was featured in last year's Print Magazine Regional Annual. It was just announced that Issue 11 has been accepted into the Communication Arts Illustration Annual.

Working with the numbers has been a challenge and with Issue 12 we opened the door to artists other than our featured artists. Everyone was invited to participate, some created original art while others adapted an existing piece or found one of their works that was appropriate or somehow incorporated the number 12.

We then put each illustration in the cover format and took it to the newsstand to judge the effectiveness of each image. We also were interested in just how interesting the cover could be and still make sure our reader knew it was Issue 12.

Above are the finalists. left to right, top to bottom: Eric Giriat, Paris; Orlando Hoetzel, Berlin; Kerstin Stephan, Hamburg: Felix Stumpf, Stuttgart: Krister Flodin, Stockholm and Orlando Hoetzel, Berlin.

Krister's image was selected for the issue. Everyone we showed the cover to was intrigued by the image and quickly discovered the six fingered hands together adding up to 12. While it will take a few more covers for our readers to anticipate finding how we incorporate the issue's number, this was the perfect solution for this issue. Thank you Krister, oh and by the way, the model was Krister's girlfriend, illustrator Malin Lindgren, and no she really only has five fingers.