Angelus Magazine
November 2020
I have always enjoyed my relationship with Angelus, a prestigious Catholic magazine published out of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles with a readership of 175,000 people each week. Their creative direction under senior editor Pablo Kay has consistently invited very creative covers, thereby solidifying a relationship between myself and the sign team that has yielded several rewarding collaborations to date.
2020, though it impacted negatively many budgets, was thankfully no different in terms of our capacity for collaboration. I designed two covers in a row: the first was for their November election special, and the second was for an issue debating respectful social media usage.
For the first cover, I pulled from America's vibrant history of political cartoons, with the work of Thomas Nast serving as particular inspiration. In the image, Jesus invitingly holds open the door of the “narrow gate” (Matthew 7:13) as an overwhelmed Uncle Sam looks on, recognizing that he will be unable to carry his “baggage” with him if he is to enter.
For the second cover - an issue featuring weightier content on how readers can avoid promoting cruelty on social media - I chose a contrastingly cheery style which drew inspiration from the kind of concept art which is often referred to as being "Pixar style". This, I felt, would provide a refreshing and inviting look at the themes of the issue without getting too negative.