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NU Asian

Magazine cover artwork

Completed: Spring 2018

Role: Cover designer

For: NU Asian Issue no. 28
 

Project Context

Unequal representation among different ethnic backgrounds of Asian Americans, often exclusively highlighting East Asian countries, is an increasing concern in the Asian American community. NU Asian was not an exception to this issue. It was important that the content as well as the cover of the publication showcased a fair representation of diverse Asian ethnic backgrounds.

 

Process

The tricky thing about a "holistic" representation of countries in Asia is the fact that there are little to no common elements that unite them outside of the solidarity their immigrants feel once outside the continent. This led me to shift my focus to the geography of the continent itself, which made me think of species native to various parts of the continent. 

Tigers are found across Central Asia, East Asia, as well as South and Southeastern Asian countries. Although not perfect, I thought tiger could serve as an adequate mascot/symbol representing the continent.

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Distribution of tigers over time. Source: Wikipedia

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As the issue also focused on many forms and various histories of music, I also wanted to feature that diversity on the cover, leading me to include various music listening devices used over the course of time.

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First iteration of the front cover – needed more simplification

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Later iteration of the front cover – detracts from magazine name

Another way I thought of incorporating the content of the magazine on the cover was by adding "thumbnail" icons for each of the articles featured inside to the back cover.

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Final Product

The front cover went through several rounds of iterations before getting to the simple and eye-catching final version. With the "legend" of icons added on the back, the back cover ended up serving as the table of contents!

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Final iteration of the front cover

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Final iteration of the back cover

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