Creativity magazine, a monthly publication from Crain Communications, brings together information and visuals of the most relevant work in advertising and design from around the world. With their May 2008 issue the publication underwent a physical transformation, taking it from an oversized 11 × 14.5 inches to a smaller, but still commanding, 10 × 12 inches and shedding its saddle-stitching in favor of perfect binding. UnderConsideration was in charge of segueing the magazine into the new format, maintaining the basic grid structure — that Armin had previously implemented with Michael Bierut at Pentagram when they redesigned the magazine in 2006 — while modifying the typographic and visual language to reflect a more sophisticated look.

Old (bottom) and new (top) issues of Creativity.

The redesign maintains the eclectic typographic combination of Matthew Carter’s Bell Centennial, Robert Slimbach’s Minion, and a customized version of John Scheppler’s Orator, but has shifted the balance to feature bigger and bolder headlines in Minion and using the other two typefaces for details and emphasis. We also introduced a new format to present the detailed credits that each project requires, while allowing the visuals to appear bigger, and even meaner.

The inaugurual May 2008 issue was developed in-house by Editor Teressa Iezzi and Art Director Jeanine Dunn, based on our prototype. Photographic details below and flat spreads underneath.

VisionSpring, formerly known as Scojo Foundation, is a “nonprofit social enterprise that reduces poverty and generates economic opportunities through the sale of affordable glasses in impoverished regions throughout Asia, Latin America and Africa.“ UnderConsideration had the exciting opportunity to help the organization redesign their identity.

We are currently working on the identity system and other collateral materials.

It was unavoidable to attempt to find a visual representation of “opposite” with the logo for Opposites Attract ’08. After a few failed designs, we turned to Aleya Hoerlein, our winter, off-site intern who came up with the concept of using the O and A as circle and triangle, representing basic opposite geometric shapes — some might argue it’s the square that is the opposite of a circle. From that spark, we developed a modestly flexible identity — alternate configurations and an OA08 “badge” — with the typography reinforcing the “opposite” effect.

To enliven the logo we worked with Michael Yi to develop a set of animations that we could use as visual fodder for the events to play as guests arrive and the event starts.

Opposites Attract ’08 is a four-part series of events, hosted at the Art Directors Club of New York, that UnderConsideration has ideated, curated and programmed. Opposites Attract brings together designers with differing paths, distinct backgrounds, assorted abilities, and unique approaches that, ultimately, strive for the same goal: simply, to produce great work.

Opposites Attract ’08 is designed and programmed for MovableType.

New York University of Law — one of the top five law schools in the country (U.S.News & World Report) — has been working on a significant update to their main web site for the past year that will focus on the academic and administrative aspects of their institution. We developed and designed a “mini site” that highlights the life outside of the classroom and serves as a lighthearted view of the school.

Additional support provided by House of Pretty, who programmed the CSS and initial HTML templates that provided a base to produce the complete site.

Annual appeal for Scojo Foundation, an organization devoted to provide affordable eyeglasses to tailors, electricians, and goldsmiths around the world who live in poverty and depend on their jobs for livelihood. The appeal highlights the improvements and impact of Scojo Foundation over the past year and is distributed to potential donors, as well as functioning as a marketing brochure.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is an organization devoted to fighting childhood obesity by endorsing a healthy lifestyle and nutritious diet. They work with corporate, retail and education sectors to better different aspects that influence children; this brochure invites educational institutions to learn more about what they can do in their school districts.

One of the most popular features of Speak Up is Word It, where each month we define a word (say, “Garbage”) and readers submit a 5 x 5 in. square with their visual interpretation. All submissions—unless deemed deeply offensive—have been posted on monthly galleries, updated weekly amassing to thousands of archived squares of creativity.

In 2006, with F+W Publications, the contributions from the first 30 months were edited, with the best selections published in The Word It Book: Speak Up presents a gallery of interpreted words . The collection is presented by word, and some of the Word Its feature brief interviews with their designers, while others go more in-depth to get to the bottom of their ideas.

The logo for Quipsologies, our linkfest of creative bits, uses a custom drawn Q that’s as circle-y as a circle can get, accompanied by the geometrically pleasant Gotham. For more on Quipsologies read this entry.

Quipsologies, launched in January of 2007, is bent on keeping the design community aware of as many things as possible through an ever-growing cluster of creativity found on- and off-line. Quipsologies acknowledges that there is strength in numbers and in individual interests… everyone is invited and encouraged to add theirs — Quipsologies was born as a response to the increasing source of creativity found online and the desire to bring the most relevant to our readers.

Quipsologies is designed and programmed for MovableType.

Each year, Speak Up celebrates its anniversary by putting together Stop Being Sheep. A self-financed, twenty-plus-page, two-color, lovable booklet standing in at 4.5 x 6.5 in.. These publications gather each year’s most thought-provoking, amusing and enthralling commentaries that have been left on Speak Up, and are freely distributed among friends and peers and sold for a modicum price online to recuperate printing
and shipping costs.

Brand New, launched in 2005, is devoted solely to the monitoring, discussion and critique of brand and corporate identity work in all its manifestations and across all categories — Brand New grew out of the popularity of reviewing rebranding efforts on Speak Up and it now covers an even broader range of work as a dedicated site.

Brand New is designed and programmed for MovableType.

The logo for Brand New, our blog on corporate and brand identity, is bold and red. Few things are better than bold and red. It is set in Vllg's Apex Serif Extra Bold Small Caps (all in lowercase for extra boldness).

The Design Encyclopedia, launched in September of 2003, is a user-built source of reference material with the sole intention of defining, describing, chronicling and documenting the world through design in all its implications and manifestations, from cars, to burgers, to movies, even to logos — it was built on the need for cataloguing the impact of design in our lives.

By funneling available information on the web, on newspapers, in books, anywhere, through contributions from its users and editors, The Design Encyclopedia’s growth and depth proves potentially rich and unlimited.

Wiki implementation and programming by House of Pretty.

The logo for The Design Encyclopedia, our wiki devoted to all things design, draws its inspiration from the minimalist ideals of the Bauhaus, paired with one of the oldest sans serifs in town, Akzidenz Grotesk (1898!), with a little touch of CMYK for good measure. For more on The Design Encyclopedia read this entry.