Wayward Arts Magazine (waywardarts.ca) recently asked TAXI to design the first issue of their second
volume. We worked together with them to come up with the theme for all 12 issues. That theme was
obsession. Our concept for our issue was to illustrate Edgar Allan Poe's short story "THE BLACK CAT".
This dark story tells the tale of a man who, with the aid of alcohol, becomes utterly obsessed with his cat.
One of the most interesting aspects of the process is that we invited ALL the designers at TAXI to participate
in the magazine’s design. We printed the story out and cut it up into 12 sections and placed them into a hat.
Very democratic and very exciting. We were however very worried that with so many designers involved the
design might be a disaster. So, we decided to put in a few parameters to “heard the cats” so to speak. Black
was mandated as the primary color of the magazine. If the designer wanted to use a color it had to be used
as an accent. The last “rule” was that each spread had to contain at least one image of a cat.
At the back of the magazine we created a roll fold so the viewer could easily read the full story whilst enjoying
each spread. With some help from our friends from Grayson Mathews Music + Sound, we also created a website
that houses a haunting audio recoding of the story. This rendition can be heard at www.theblackcataudio.com
volume. We worked together with them to come up with the theme for all 12 issues. That theme was
obsession. Our concept for our issue was to illustrate Edgar Allan Poe's short story "THE BLACK CAT".
This dark story tells the tale of a man who, with the aid of alcohol, becomes utterly obsessed with his cat.
One of the most interesting aspects of the process is that we invited ALL the designers at TAXI to participate
in the magazine’s design. We printed the story out and cut it up into 12 sections and placed them into a hat.
Very democratic and very exciting. We were however very worried that with so many designers involved the
design might be a disaster. So, we decided to put in a few parameters to “heard the cats” so to speak. Black
was mandated as the primary color of the magazine. If the designer wanted to use a color it had to be used
as an accent. The last “rule” was that each spread had to contain at least one image of a cat.
At the back of the magazine we created a roll fold so the viewer could easily read the full story whilst enjoying
each spread. With some help from our friends from Grayson Mathews Music + Sound, we also created a website
that houses a haunting audio recoding of the story. This rendition can be heard at www.theblackcataudio.com
Illustrating a paragraph from 'The Black Cat' by Edgar Allen Poe
This hideous murder accomplished, I set myself forthwith, and with entire deliberation,
to the task of concealing the body. I knew that I could not remove it from the house, either
by day or by night, without the risk of being observed by the neighbors. Many projects entered
my mind. At one period I thought of cutting the corpse into minute fragments, and destroying
them by fire. At another, I resolved to dig a grave for it in the floor of the cellar. Again, I deliberated
about casting it in the well in the yard -- about packing it in a box, as if merchandize, with the usual
arrangements, and so getting porter to take it from the house. Finally I hit upon what I considered
a far better expedient than either of these. I determined to wall it up in the cellar -- as the monks
of the middle ages are recorded to have walled up their victims.
to the task of concealing the body. I knew that I could not remove it from the house, either
by day or by night, without the risk of being observed by the neighbors. Many projects entered
my mind. At one period I thought of cutting the corpse into minute fragments, and destroying
them by fire. At another, I resolved to dig a grave for it in the floor of the cellar. Again, I deliberated
about casting it in the well in the yard -- about packing it in a box, as if merchandize, with the usual
arrangements, and so getting porter to take it from the house. Finally I hit upon what I considered
a far better expedient than either of these. I determined to wall it up in the cellar -- as the monks
of the middle ages are recorded to have walled up their victims.
To see the whole illustrated book Click here
