More Vang
Done in: Fall 2018 / Customer: Association for Print Technologies / Task: Cover Design
What the client needed
Designing a new magazine from the ground up is both intimidating and exhilarating. Creating the initial issue of LeadingPRINT, the flagship publication for the Association for Print Technologies was a privilege I took on in the fall of 2018. The story of Jon Budington’s gutsy rebrand of an already highly successful hybrid around the name More Vang was fascinating. Jon’s passion for the experience of sailing was integral to the rename/rebrand and thus was the inescapable choice of the cover story.
In his words “More Vang refers to gaining control of a seemingly out-of-control situation. How we’ve evolved as a company has to do with taking risks, gaining control, and finding a better perspective. I’ve come to realize that most of our clients are dealing with many of the same problems we are — the challenges posed by an evolving business climate. The metaphorical value of the name is that everything is subject to change. If you’re not prepared for that, you’re just counting on luck, and that’s not a winning strategy.”
My part of the project
As the team worked with the concept we felt we had to take as gutsy an approach as Jon had and use the most “heroic” photo for the cover even though it was very low resolution. The allure of a photo of Jon himself, at the tiller, under sail (with the vang successfully employed) was irresistible as a cover concept. Great concept and great execution rarely comes together via individuals. I worked with prepress and the guys in the press room to make sure that our choices in resolution and pebble coating effects would translate to the tactile as well as the visual on the cover.
