The New Yorker
Cover Series
Instructor: Caleb Heisey
Illustration
Research
Consistency
This series of covers for the New Yorker each focused on three individual cultures and their cuisine. With that information, I designed three separate covers for The New Yorker Magazine for each city. I chose to research Oaxaca, Florence, and Hong Kong, and for each cover, I incorporated the city's native flower to represent growth and the beauty within the food, as well as the unique beauty of each culture.
Despite the challenge of producing three unique covers in a short time, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the cultures of these cities and incorporating them into my covers. This project gave me a taste of the real-world design process, allowing me to hone my skills and persevere to create a final product I felt confident about.
The first place I did research on was Florence, Italy. Their national flower is Lily iris florentia, or an iris. It has been their symbol of the city for over 1,000 years and has also represented their cultural and sport associations for decades. Giaggiolo is the word for Iris in Florence and beyond, but talking with a real Florentine you will always hear the word “Giglio”. Also known as the lily in the Florentine historical banner, the purple Lily symbol of Fiorentina football club, and Florence is called “la città gigliata”, or “the Lily town” in Italy. Known as Iris or Lily, but it is always the same flower: Iris, that grows wild along the Arno river valley and the hills around Florence, as throughout the Chianti area. To represent these beautiful flowers I wanted to incorporate the essential ingredients to a typical Italian dish. Those ingredients being: Olive oil, Tomatoes, Cheese, Basil, Wine, and Pasta.
The second city I chose to do research on was Hong Kong, China. Their national flower is Bauhinia blakeana, part of the orchid family. It’s the hybrid leguminous tree of the genus Bauhinia. It has large thick leaves and striking purplish red flowers. The fragrant, orchid-like flowers are usually 10 to 15 centimeters across, and bloom from early November to the end of March. The Bauhinia double-lobed leaf is similar in shape to a heart or a butterfly, or a camel's footprint - hence the common name camel's foot. To represent these beautiful flowers and their background I wanted to incorporate the essential ingredients to a typical Chinese dish. Those ingredients being: Rice, Garlic, Noodles, Cabbage, Soy Sauce, Pork, and Seafood.
The final area I chose to do research on was Oaxaca, Mexico. Their national flower is the Dahlia. It was named by Abbe Cavanille in honor of Andreas Dahl, Swedish scientist and environmentalist. The flower’s history is intrinsically tied to Mexico, and the dahlia is a striking emblem of its homeland’s desert beauty. While it contains a detailed backstory to this area, it also links back to Spain, France, Germany and Sweden, too. They thrive in sunny locations and are widely renowned for their striking appearance and their many vivid hues, any color aside from blue. To represent the flowers and the city’s background I wanted to incorporate the essential ingredients to a typical Mexican dish. Those ingredients being: Corn, Huitlacoche, Chile, Mamey, Quesillo, Guaje.
