2018 Digital Print Cover Contest

Sponsored by Mohawk

This summer, to give designers an opportunity to learn more about digital printing and how the right paper selection can enhance digitally printed projects, GDUSA editors conducted the 2018 Digital Print Cover Contest. The challenge: to design a cover of GDUSA that takes advantage of the strengths of digital printing and papers. From more than 200 entries, two winners and 21 honorable mentions were selected. The sponsor is Mohawk: this fourth-generation, family-owned and operated business is known for its commitment to providing materials that help make every printed project — be it digital, offset, packaging or even letterpress — more beautiful, effective and memorable.

ABOUT THE WINNERS

Don Carter a/k/a Edgar Allan Slothman

In 1830, with watercolors, pastels, pen & ink, and gouache, John James Audubon set out to paint every bird in America. Eighteen years later, his monumental effort resulted in the massive tome, Birds of America consisting of 435 life-size, hand-colored prints. In 2010, an original 4-volume edition of Birds of America fetched $11.5 million at Sotheby’s. In 2012, illustrator Edgar Allan Slothman set out with an Apple computer to reinterpret Audubon’s Birds of America in his own simplified, graphic style. Slothman is the pop art persona of award-winning ad agency creative director Don Carter of Adams & Knight in Avon CT.

“For every print,” explains the artist, “I look for ways to break it down in some way. Often it is with geometric simplification or repeat patterns. For some, I create an entirely new color palette pushing beyond from the original as far as I can go. But in all, I stay very close to Audubon’s original composition. What struck me most about the Gyrfalcon was not only the very graphic boomerang-like outline of its body, but also the pattern of spots and bars spread across the anterior of the wing coverts and continuing over the back and rump. I could have very easily used a geometric pattern to mimic this, but something about the starkness of the spots against the all-white bird reminded me of ink spots … maybe found on the arm of a colonial ‘printer’s devil.’ And that notion took me down the path of early ‘spot illustration’ engravings and ‘printers’ marks” reminiscent of vintage tattoos. Gyrfalcon is printed on Mohawk Superfine Eggshell Digital with i-Tone Ultrawhite 100 cover.

Kim Brown-Irvis

Kim Brown-Irvis is a graphic designer at Hyphen Digital in New York where she takes the lead on creative design and print production projects such as medical ad campaigns, European trade show booth production design, advertorials, brochures, and package video design. Before joining Hyphen, Kim was a graphic designer at Solgar Vitamins and Minerals, a graphic design manager at Lutheran Medical Center, and an art director for corporate projects at the College Board. She has also held art director posts at Creative Impact Communications and at GO&A Marketing Communications. Kim is a highly creative, award-winning art director/designer with a special expertise in conceptual design and communications goals, and she pays attention to detail.

Of the cover shot, she says “these Utah Juniper Pines are one of the native trees growing at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. I was hiking in the park in September 2017 when a summer storm came through and the sunlight touched this tree in a particular way that caught my eye. I wanted to show this tree bark in black and white to highlight the Juniper Pine’s beauty. I love trees, and these trees on the top plateau of Bryce Canyon National Park are magnificent!” Tree Bark is printed on Curious Collection Metallics Digital with i-Tone Ice Gold 111 cover.


A Message From Mohawk


HONORABLE MENTIONS

BOUQUET
Barbara Kosoff
Barbara Kosoff Design + Illustration
Santa Monica CA
DESIGNERS RESPONSIBILITY?
Soudabeh Memarzadeh
NSA+D
San Diego CA
DIGITAL LIGHT MAGIC
Kathleen Guerrini
Drexel Hill PA
DIGITAL THINKING
Brian Sabalinski
Bcreative Design
Clinton Township MI
FAR OUT
Cindy Ha
Chandler AZ
FLY
Amanda Acevedo
Chicago IL
KIBBLE N 8-BITS
Erik Borreson
Erik Borreson Design
Stevens Point WI
LOVE POTION NO. 9
Lauren Hodges
Madison AL
MIDNIGHT STROLL
Barry Barnes
Trained Eye Graphics
Emmett ID
PIERRE THE ARTIST
Timothy S. Kump
Bullet Communications
Joliet IL
PIXEL EAGLE
Edgar Allen Slothman
West Hartford CT
SIGNS ON THE ROAD OF LIFE
Barbara Kosoff
Barbara Kosoff Design + Illustration
Santa Monica CA
SPLASH
Tess Delfina Nicole Velez
New York NY
THE OLD MILL
Denise Brown
ad-cetera graphics
Portsmouth NH
THE RAMEN DIET
Lauren Hodges
Madison AL
TOUCAN
Melanie Robles Berrios
University of Puerto Rico
Carolina PR
USA COLOR CHIPS
Randy Richards
RandyRichardsDesign
Noank CT
VOTE
Meghan Dee
Professor
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg VA
WIND FARM
Peggy Hellem
Four Winds Graphics
Sherrodsville OH
UNTITLED
John Sposato
John Sposato Design & Illustration
179 Hudson Terrace
Piermont NY
UNTITLED
Nathan Stock
[fn NODE]
Los Angeles CA