Stack Awards 2018: Best Use of Illustration
Searching for the most characterful illustrations in independent magazines, this category of the Stack Awards looks at illustrated content in its entirety. To help us find the winner, we have enlisted the help of Jon Cockley, founder of illustration agency Handsome Frank, and Simon Armstrong, book buyer for Tate Modern, Tate Britain and Tate Liverpool.
Scroll down below to see the 15 titles shortlisted in this category.
A Profound Waste of Time | London
Accessing feelings and thoughts about video games, APWOT is one of this year’s most exciting new launches. It uses illustration to show the vibrancy of the video games it covers, immersing readers in fantastical worlds rather than just showing screenshots or press pictures.
Anonymous Sex Journal | San Francisco
Anonymous Sex Journal publishes personal sex stories submitted by readers in secret. This includes rude, personal and often hilarious illustrations sketching out the various titillating encounters.
Anxy | Berkeley
Anxy is a mental health magazine with honest, open discussions on our inner worlds. Using shape-driven, vividly coloured illustrations, their contributors paint images of what emotions feel like on paper.
Beneficial Shock! | Wiltshire
Illustrated explorations of cinema live on the pages of Beneficial Shock!, the bold, humour-packed title by two teachers at Bristol School of Art and Design.
Counterpoint | Edinburgh
Risograph-printed on rough, toothy paper, Counterpoint sees illustration as equally important as written content. Their clever use of overlaying and self-imposed colour restrictions encourages all sorts of imagination and creativity.
Ephemeral | Norwich
Ephemeral is an illustration and graphic arts magazine, created and directed by contributors that use the definition of ephemerality to explore interesting subjects.
Eyeyah | Singapore
With the aim of teaching children about graphic design and creativity, Eyeyah is a magazine with eye-catching illustration and printed puzzles. Their issues explore topics like social media and junk food.
Gentle Rain | Hamburg
Gentle Rain is a magazine about Hamburg. It looks at co-existence in urban spaces, talking to people in the city and around it to show how they live and work.
New Philosopher | Hobart
An Australian antidote to the over-saturation of ‘content’, New Philosopher is a quarterly magazine that brings together heavyweight thinkers to discuss the big issues of the day.
The Nib | New York
A brand new print magazine published by First Look Media, The Nib mixes investigative journalism, graphic memoir and comic strips to present an illustrated view of the world.
Oogst | Antwerp
Encouraging each artist to treat the magazine as if it’s their own work, Oogst gives illustrators a ‘blank canvas’ for each issue. For this final issue, they worked with South African illustrator Olivié Keck to show off her colourful strokes and dark undertones.
Sassify Zine | London
Sassify seeks out exclusive perspectives on fresh ideas, providing a platform for voices largely ignored by the mainstream.
She is Fierce | Edinburgh
Challenging mainstream media’s portrayal of young women, She Is Fierce forgoes cover models to let one ‘resident artist’ take the reins.
Umber | Oakland
Umber has an emphasis on a visual narrative from the perspective of people of colour. Issue two features vector-based graphics, infographics, portrait illustrations and digital collages.
Weapons of Reason | London
Tackling the biggest challenges faced by our world today, Weapons of Reason informs through digestible reading that will leave you inspired to take positive action. The magazine uses illustration to artfully break down complicated graphs and statistics.
