ProjectM Cover 01
Generative cover concept for ProjectM

Client:
Projekttriangle Design Studio

2008

In cooperation with the design studio, Projekttriangle (CD Martin Grothmaak) , we developed a generative cover concept for the new business magazine, ProjectM, published by Allianz Global Investors. The concept, which came to encompass more than just the original editions, used each issue’s main topic as the source for abstract data visualization. The magazine, which reports on current economic trends, posed the question of whether, in such uncertain economic times as these, it is advisable to play it safe or if it is still worth taking risks. The first issue’s title clearly reflected the publisher’s position: “Be Brave!”

For the design of this cover a special application was developed to transform complex raw data and figures into aesthetic clusters by means of specific rules and parameters. The software has been fed with data from the “International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook”, covering the world’s gross national product, starting in 1980 and looking into the future until 2013, which was supplemented with facts on each country’s longitude, latitude, population, size and incomes. The image emerging out of the design tool’s data revisualization consists of over 12 million different fine lines.

The intention of the work was not just the legible visualization of the data per se; the cover design was far more an expression of a mood that illustrated the enormously explosive and captivating effect of the subject matter. The project’s contents, therefore, focused less on the accurate interpretation of the data than on its almost tactile compilation and listing.

Due to the generative approach used in the design process it was easily possible to change the visual appearance of the cover to generate different design alternatives while keeping the underlying structure untouched.