Jesse Marinoff Reyes ( Jesse Marinoff Reyes Design, Maplewood, N.J.)
… I present my top choices of NO DEPRESSION COVERS OF ALL TIME. But who am I to judge? Perhaps because I’d been looking over Grant Alden’s shoulder for the entirety of No Depression’s 75-issue run (plus three “bookazines”) and providing commentary and advice along the way; designed the book covers for two compilations of the magazine’s best writing; and crafted a fistful of editorial illustrations for the magazine over the years—I think I might have some idea of what went into the creation of this remarkable, short-lived (but a good 13+ year run), and much-missed magazine.
No Depression was iconoclastic. Although a newsstand magazine, Alden did not confine himself to the standard prerequisites of that category. He was interested in exploring the possibilities of that limitation, treating No Depression more like a large format publication—and more often than not, experimenting with how design could challenge preconceptions of what a newsstand magazine should look like.
The covers I thought stood out the most were fully design-driven, or art or photograph-dominant designs married to unique type-treatments. Some were outstanding by virtue of their simplicity, others for simply being counter-intuitive. You can’t do that! Yes, yes you can!
JMR Design
No Depression No. 7, Jan-Feb, 1997 issue
Design: Grant Alden
Photograph: Paul Natkin/Photo Reserve
Art Director: Grant Alden
Alternative country industrial constructivism? Though still in its ‘zine phase, Alden broke out with issue seven and began to stretch and show his mettle as a cover designer.
JMR Design
No Depression No. 30, Nov-Dec, 2000 issue
Design: Grant Alden
Photograph: Jim Shea (hand-tinted by Kevin D. O’Brien)
Art Director: Grant Alden
No Depression began to grow out of it’s ‘zine origins a few issues prior to this, but this cover heralded a greater sophistication—and an elegant standard for cover portraits to come.
JMR Design
No Depression No. 22, Nov-Dec, 2000 issue
Design: Grant Alden
Illustration: Glenn Hilario
Art Director: Grant Alden
Alden commissioned quite a few illustrations for No Depression covers—unusual for magazines these days—and each one an out-of-the-ordinary selection. Gram Parsons was one of four covers done by Dominican-born, New York illustrator and caricaturist, Glenn Hilario.
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