The Long Had Idea

For a while, I've had this idea to create a magazine (super original, IK) that focused on some niches within the car enthusiast community, and wanted to both cover some really under appreciated talent in the scene as well as discuss some topics that aren't really covered by the main stream car-related media too often.

This summer I'll have time to really dive head first into this project. But for now, while I have free time, I find myself gathering ideas for what things can look like, how interviews might be structured, or how a (B/V)log could be implemented.

So, I've decided to start with a few cover art concepts in the meantime. This little project, beside being a fun distraction from school work, is a good opportunity for me to hone in on what the attitude of my magazine is going to feel like.

Capturing Nostalgia Without Pandering to Car Nerds

The first idea I had for an article to put in my magazine was a brief history of car culture as a whole.

As excepting of a community car enthusiasts usually are, their tends to be a lot of "back in my day" talk among long time members. While I'm just as nostalgic for the days of yore, I wanted my magazine to focus on the sweet instead of the bitter.

So, for this initial design, I wanted to capture that nostalgia without being too...corny about it.

First, I created this turf design in Illustrator, using a bunch of circles with a green gradient on them, then using the Roughen tool, I was able to create a really cool artificial grass texture. Behind it, I placed a slightly off-white background with a very subtle grain texture.

I then found some good pictures of Hot Wheels and set them up as if 10 year old me were staging the monthly car meet that took place on the carpet of my old bedroom.

To maintain some semblance of professionalism, I chose a nice rounded, thick font - aaaand it's Futura. This might be subject to change, but for now it, pared with an always amicable TW Cent MT and with some aggressive tracking, conveys that established look without feeling too old school.

Old Icons for New Tech

One of my favorite design gimmicks is the use of old-school technology for representing cutting edge technology. Take for example the use of the typewriter icon to convey writing a message, or an old analog TV as an icon for a video-player.

My second volume concept would be focusing on the interesting and possibly adverse effects social media has had on car culture in recent years. I'm a big fan of ASCII art, and so I generated an ASCII Nissan Skyline. I like the sort of double entendre this creates, with the subject being an old icon of an old culture, both with deep roots, while the medium used to render it is also digitizing it. At the same time, ASCII art also evokes memories of a much simpler, more connected era of the internet in car culture.

To create some harmony in the design, I added a triangle that masks some code, further driving home the old internet vibe.

"D-Style" Influences

Of the many subcategories of cultures within the world of car enthusiasts, drifting is by far my favorite.

I'll be paying tribute to the history, future, and everything in between in multiple issues of Grassroots.

When designing the cover, I wanted to capture the beauty in motion aspect of the subculture. So, I decided to start with an action shot as a base. Since this image was already pretty visually busy, I didn't add any more design elements to it.

However, I wanted to carry at least one common D-car design cue over to this cover. A lot of drift cars participate in the long running tradition of using strobe lights. These flashing lights with custom sequences turn the D-cars, often ripping around at night, into a smokey light show. In order to capture this, I decided to freeze the highlighted text, inverting the colors around it, to create a sort of strobe light-effect.

There you have it! My initial designs for the first three editions of Grassroots magazine. This is a project I'm really passionate about, and I can't wait to pour more time and effort into creating a whole experience out of this premise. Hopefully, after reading this, you have a good idea of what the vibe is.