Nude beaches

For the SF Bay Guardian's 40th annual Nude Beaches issue, I decided to transform an iconic nude image — Michelangelo's David — into a nude beachgoing bro.

I used Photoshop to transform the statue into a sand sculpture, and added modern neon props and colorful light leaks resembling an Instagram filter for a cover that's both a humorous allusion to an iconic work of art, and a parody on hipster culture. 

I had SO MUCH FUN transforming iconic works of art in Photoshop ... despite the fact that putting a beer can in David's hand may be one of the most despicable things I've ever done. 

WARNING: Past Nude Beaches cover photos, displayed at the end of this post, contain full-frontal nudity and are not safe for work.

Below are the cover photos from the past two years, both photographed by Matthew Reamer. (WARNING: NSFW!)

For the 2013 issue, I decided to experiment with nude typography. I gathered a group of friends (and friends of friends) to spell out the word "NUDE" on San Francisco's Baker Beach (the nude-friendly end, obviously), then used Photoshop to superimpose "BEACHES" on the sand below them.

The 2012 issue featured a photo of three people hanging out (literally) (sorry) at Baker Beach. It was the first time in the Guardian's history we were allowed to feature a penis on the cover, and we took full advantage. The cover photo attracted attention from Jezebel, whose online commenters also applauded us for featuring beautiful, real bodies.

Fun fact: The 2012 nude beaches shoot was the first photo shoot I ever coordinated for the SF Bay Guardian.

Photo by Matthew Reamer

Photo by Matthew Reamer

Life and death at SF General

Matthew Fleming makes my job insanely easy.

I literally asked him to do a hospital illustration that conveyed a lot of interconnected activity — ambulances traveling, IVs, beds, nurses, mental health care, bandages — and that would include a big human heart for me to superimpose a headline on.

And then this happened, with no further direction:

Matthew Fleming, you're amazing. Also check out the tech cover he illustrated for me last year.

Vacation rush

I recently returned to work after spending two wonderful weeks in Italy and France. I ate to my heart's content, swam in the Mediterranean, read three books, and drank a lot of wine. But to get to that state of relaxation, I had to frantically work ahead before I left. 

Thankfully someone took over layout and art request duties during my absence, but I didn't want to leave without putting together two covers that would run during my absence.

The first cover (which ran second) was for a story about defining the brogrammer and exploring diversity in tech. Since the article's concept was still developing, I wanted to come up with a cover image that was on-point, but still universal enough to capture the changing direction of the piece. 

Hence: the cloud heads. The cloud-head concept works in three ways: 
1. Most tech workers literally work in the cloud. 
2. Brogrammers have their "heads in the clouds" and are out of touch with most peoples' realities of life in San Francisco.
3. The vast majority of tech workers are white males.

I put the cloud heads in front of a mechanical-looking SF skyline. (Thank you, Photoshop filters.) I think I nailed it.

This next cover, which ran the first week I was gone, was for a replacement story that I ended up putting together at the very last minute. 

We originally planned to run a feature on SF General hospital that week, and I had commissioned a beautiful illustration for the cover far in advance. However, the writer determined that she needed more time for the piece, so it was shelved in favor of a story on Recology's shady practices. (The SF General cover hits stands tomorrow, so stay tuned!)

The Recology story was originally pitched as being purely about compost, and I decided this would be a good opportunity to write on a banana — a growing desire produced by Jason Polan's Instagram feed.

When the piece became more elaborate, I incorporated all waste bins — compost, recycling and garbage — in a background resembling the look of an online game, in order to fit with the story's updated headline.

Good golly, Miss Ronnie

For the SF Bay Guardian's July 2 issue, I used a sassy file photo of Ronnie Spector from the '60s, plus a sassy typography treatment in summery colors for a cover that's both classic and playful ... in addition to showing off Ronnie's (wait for it) sass.

Read Emma Silvers' story on the original bad girl of rock 'n' roll here.

Stamps for Pride

I put together these fantasy stamps of queer icons for the SF Bay Guardian's queer issue.

See the online slideshow version here.

The Identity Project

I love the Identity Project. It's a simple concept: photographs of LGBTQ community members accompanied by a strip of text explaining how they define themselves. But its beautiful, honest black and white portraits pack a powerful punch.

I initially discovered the project on Instagram while Insta-stalking artist Lisa Congdon, who was photographed for the project. (She's the extraordinarily happy, tattooed wife in the layout below, bottom right.) I immediately fell in love with the project, and it's been a happy addition to my photo feed ever since.

When publisher Marke B. put out a call for suggestions for the SF Bay Guardian's Hot Pink List — our annual list of queers we adore — queer femme Sarah Deragon, the photographer behind the Identity Project, was at the top of my list.

But as fate would have it, Sarah missed her plane flight home, missing her Hot Pink List portrait session on the Friday before we went to press. We found a wonderful replacement, but we were all disappointed about not being able to promote the Identity Project in this year's Queer Issue. So when we were hit with a bunch of last-minute ads on Monday and decided to increase the issue's page count, I knew exactly how I wanted to fill that space: with the Identity Project.

With Sarah's permission, we repurposed her already-done Hot Pink List interview, and I collaged her Identity Project portraits (and their labels) together in a layout I had been looking for an excuse to try. And I love how it turned out!

All photos by Sarah Deragon for the Identity Project

See the online version here.

2014 AAN Awards

Today I found out I'm a finalist in the Association of Alternative Newsmedia's 2014 awards for cover design!!! Check me out. 

Below are the three SF Bay Guardian covers I submitted for the entry.

In all of these designs, I relied heavily on physically making (with paper, an X-Acto knife, paint, gemstones) or staging (board-game pieces, my own fist), then photographing the elements and adding some digital touches in Photoshop. 

I haven't seen the other finalists' work (the website has not yet been updated with design submissions), but I'm hoping this hands-on approach gives me an edge.

Send winning vibes my way! (But honestly, I'm super stoked on being a finalist. Still pinching myself!)

Airbnb cover for the SF Bay Guardian, Aug. 7, 2013

Foreclosures cover for the SF Bay Guardian, Sept. 4, 2013

Queer gaming cover for the SF Bay Guardian, Oct. 23, 2013

Elemental Romance

It was hard to go wrong with this photo of Justin Vivian Bond.

The geometric typography treatment, inspired by V's earring, adds a bit of elegant fun. But V's eyes, lips, and outfit are the real stars.

Read the interview here.

Furqan's First Flat Top

Robert Trujillo, the mega-talented local artist I worked with for the SF Bay Guardian's 2013 Best of the Bay issue, is making a children's book! 

Please check out his Kickstarter page, and contribute if you can. 

Cover illustration for the SF Bay Guardian's 2013 Best of the Bay edition by Robert Trujillo

City Living illustration for the SF Bay Guardian's 2013 Best of the Bay edition by Robert Trujillo

Food + Drink illustration for the SF Bay Guardian's 2013 Best of the Bay edition by Robert Trujillo

Arts + Entertainment illustration for the SF Bay Guardian's 2013 Best of the Bay edition by Robert Trujillo

Shopping illustration for the SF Bay Guardian's 2013 Best of the Bay edition by Robert Trujillo

Election teaser

Here's a quick image I made for the SF Bay Guardian's social media channels, which teased its live election coverage June 3. The biggest issue this election was the waterfront, so I wanted that to be prominent. I recycled the water image from our endorsements cover, colored a city outline red and added white text for a patriotic feel.

The garage door

The Garage Door Sessions is a project by photographer Matthew Reamer, who will occasionally roll up the garage door of his Mission district studio and take beautiful portraits of passersby. (You can find it on tumblr here.)

I was lucky enough to have my portrait taken in front of the garage door when I visited the studio late last year for the SF Bay Guardian's Year in Music cover shoot. I recently discovered the photo on his website ... and put it on my website.

Photo by Matthew Reamer

Clocktails

Bookmark this. Because at some point, you're going to need a drink.

For a larger version, click here.

The treat sheet

I love this cover. It popped out of the stands. It's fun, summery, sweet, and really makes you want an ice cream cone. AND it was easy to make. 

Step 1: Find adorable photo of little girl eating an ice cream cone on your photo subscription service; realize that you have to find a way to use this image.

Step 2: Purchase a delectable ice cream cone from a local company that you want to feature in an upcoming food issue. (In this case, it's two scoops of lemon cookie and strawberry ice creams on a waffle cone from Three Twins — still highly recommended.)

Step 3: Hold cone, and have a partner photograph it.

Step 4: Eat ice cream. (My favorite part.)

Step 5: Use Photoshop to substitute the original boring ice cream cone with a photo of your delicious, locally made, publication-reviewed ice cream.

Step 6: Add a pink background, a snazzy headline font (yes, that's sail), and a subhead in a colorful geometric shape.

Boom!

CA$H backwards

This story concept — 10 things SF should fund, and 10 it shouldn't — lent itself well to an infographic.

I used red and black arrows to symbolize programs that were in the red (a.k.a. underfunded, neglected needs) and programs that were too far in the black (a.k.a. misplaced budget priorities).

Images were adjusted to be either black-and-white or red-and-white to help separate the different sides, strengthening the overall concept.

For a larger version of the graphic, click here and flip to pages 10-11.

I took the red and black arrows from the above graphic and used them to create a pattern that interacts with the headline on the cover, below. My editor originally had an idea to use scales on the cover, so I wanted to incorporate that somehow in my arrows design. I ended up replacing the "s" in "cash" with a dollar sign, and using that to tip a smaller set of scales. Compromise!

Future of tech in transit

Ever since the SF Bay Guardian's graphic feature on Aaron Swartz, I've been wanting to do an illustrative series about San Francisco life. Our streets issue presented the perfect medium.

I had to wrestle with the writer a bit to keep these concepts relevant to San Francisco life, instead of this feature purely being an excuse to put "Star Wars" and "Back to the Future" references in the paper. The final result, I hope, paints a humorous picture of a dystopian San Francisco that is somewhat foreseeable ... with "Star Wars" and "Back to the Future" references. Bonus! 

Illustrated by the wonderful Matthew Smith.

Streets of San Francisco

Illustrator Patrick Sean Gibson took over the SF Bay Guardian cover this week, with fabulous results. I've never had an illustrator ask to hand-letter not only the main headline and subhead, but the masthead, issue info, and teaser heds as well. He wanted to make the whole cover consistent with the illustration, and I'm super into the effect.

For the 2014 edition of the annual Streets Issue, we wanted to convey the busy, lively, colorful feeling of traveling around SF streets without creating a too-busy Where's Waldo scene. Using a 1969 Time magazine cover by Milton Glaser as inspiration, we picked out a few common street scenes and iconic architecture, and Patrick swirled them together with '70s colors and a '70s typography treatment.

Maybe it's just because it hit stands today, I can't stop looking at it, and I've been getting tons of compliments ... but I'll go ahead and say this is one of my favorite Bay Guardian covers I've worked on.

Guardian illustration by Patrick Sean Gibson

Now that you've stared at it sufficiently (but feel free to go back and look again), check out the Streets Issue online.

Two views of the waterfront

I created a dual cover for last week's endorsements issue, teasing both the SF Bay Guardian's endorsements for the June 2014 election, and a news story on the fight over Prop. B and the future of San Francisco's waterfront.

Photoshop, you're my favorite.

Sail strikes again!

Oh Sail, how I love you. Here's the SF Bay Guardian's April 23 cover.

Save the planet: Take 2

Here's an alternative typography treatment I put together for the SF Bay Guardian's April 16 cover. This version features a pattern of common energy-draining devices, which emphasize technology's harmful effect on Earth's resources.

We ended up going a different route to avoid looking too similar to the previous week's Careers + Ed cover, which also featured large black type against a white background. But I'm hoping to use this same idea — a pattern emerging from a white background to form letters — again soon.

Stay tuned. And, er, unplug. Save the planet, remember?

Save the planet: Work less

"This goal of slowing down and spending less time at work — as radical as it may sound — was at the center of mainstream American political discourse for much of our history, considered by thinkers of all ideological stripes to be the natural endpoint of technological development. It was mostly forgotten here in the 1940s, strangely so, even as worker productivity increased dramatically. But it's worth remembering now that we understand the environmental consequences of our growth-based economic system. Our current approach isn't good for the health of the planet and its creatures, and it's not good for the happiness and productivity of overworked Americans, so perhaps it's time to revisit this once-popular idea."

Read more here. Or even better, unplug, and go outside. For the planet, and for yourself.