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The talented team behind The New York Times Magazine has been hard at work for four months overhauling and redesigning the publication, and if you’re like me you love any chance to peel back the curtain on a project like that. Thankfully, there’s a great in-depth look at the relaunch, including information about new columns, typefaces, page designs in print and online, and a whole lot more.

We have used the hammer and the tongs but perhaps not the blowtorch; we sought to manufacture a magazine that would be unusual, surprising and original but not wholly unfamiliar. It would be a clear descendant of its line. This magazine is 119 years old; nearly four million people read it in print every weekend. It did not need to be dismantled, sawed into pieces or drilled full of holes. Instead, we have set out to honor the shape of the magazine as it has been, while creating something that will, we hope, strike you as a version you have never read before.

Click here to learn more about the relaunch.

A podcast of quick casual thoughts on finding your thing in the design and illustration world by illustrator and designer Andy J. Miller.

Focusing on what you have no power to change is a recipe for depression!

In this episode we talk about 8 things you can do that will push your art career forward, that no one can stop you from doing!

Listen to more episodes:

IllustrationAge.com/creativepeptalk

Andy J. Miller’s Website

iTunes

For more of Nicolas and his great work go HERE>>

For more great work by Byron go HERE>>

In the This Should Have Been a Thing All Along category, two ex-Apple engineers have joined forces to develop Astropad, an app that allows you to connect your iPad to drawing and painting programs like Photoshop.

It launches today, and it seems to have the potential to shake up a graphics tablet industry that is dominated by the expensive alternative Wacom. Although a company called Yiynova makes a high-quality and reliable 19 inch tablet monitor to rival Wacom’s Cintiq, the ability to use your iPad as a professional tablet seems like a no-brainer and I for one am glad that somebody is finally making that happen.

Head on over to Astropad to find out more details and even take it for a test drive, assuming you have Mac OS X 10.9+ and an iPad running on iOS 8.

[Very Blessed New Mom Wishes She Had Been Warned More About Blessings – Article]

You may have noticed something happening over at Gawker media.

Things have been way visually cooler over there for the past year, thanks to the efforts of Illustrator Tara Jacoby and Art Director/Illustrator Jim Cooke. Last April (2014), Cooke – on behalf of Gawker Media – put out a call for a “staff illustrator”.

We’re looking for a graphic design and illustration junkie with an editorial focus. You can read a post, conceptualize an interesting visual solution, and execute an image that will make that post better…within an hour or two. You are clever and have a keen sense of humor, and your portfolio reflects this.

Tara Jacoby turned out to be the perfect choice for the job. Her work brings just the right balance of humor, wit, and humanity to Gawker’s incredibly wide range of topics and compelling headlines. Here at Illustration Age we always strive to celebrate the people, publications and organizations that embrace the use of illustration, and next week we’ll be sharing our conversation with AD Jim Cooke about Gawker’s motivations for doing just that.

But first, we think it makes sense to start with the images themselves, so we’ve collaborated with Tara to highlight some of our favorite illustrations of hers and also take the opportunity to pick her brain about her experience working with Gawker over the past year. Enjoy!

[How to Get Your Sex Tape Off the Internet – Article]

ILLUSTRATION AGE: What inspired you to answer Gawker’s call for an in-house illustrator?

TARA JACOBY: I had been working as the graphic designer at the Society of Illustrators and freelancing. I’d looked to change gears and focus on illustration and considered going freelance full-time. To be honest, I had no idea Gawker was hiring. A friend had sent me the link twice before I even read it. When I actually did read it, it felt like the stars had aligned. I had to have it. This job was tailor-made for me. So, I applied immediately.

Sometimes the job feels too good to be true. I cannot believe that I’m excited to go to work everyday. You know when people say “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”… well, they were right!

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Fun (after the) fact: Jim had me come into the office for a trial day after my interview. I completely blew it. He sat me at the “smelly Deadspin table” and I sat there silently freaking out and frantically sketching ideas, reading and re-reading the assignments as my career hung in the balance. I basically had an eight hour anxiety attack. I still can’t believe that he hired me after that.

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IA: What’s it like to work under rapid-fire deadlines on such a regular basis?

TJ: Well, had you asked me that in June, my head might have exploded from all of the pressure. At first, I was completely stressed out. I tend to overthink… let me see… well, everything. The first couple of weeks I was waking up at 4:30 every morning just to mentally prepare myself for the day ahead. I basically drove myself insane. I think I hid my neurosis pretty well? I’m not sure. All I knew was, Jim hadn’t canned me yet, so everything was copacetic.

Now, I actually think it’s refreshing to work under rapid-fire. You don’t have time to overthink anything. And being a perfectionist, I feel like this really helped me loosen up both technically and creatively.

Overall, I love it. Typically, each one of us does 3-5 illustrations in a day, depending on how busy we are. That doesn’t include the other more design-oriented images we make. The three of us are constantly working. By the end of the week we can’t even remember all of the things we’ve done. Over a course of 7 months, I’ve done roughly 500 or so illustrations. I’ve never been so productive in my entire life.

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IA: How much creative freedom do you feel like you have on these illustrations?

TJ: The organization as a whole is encouraged to be bold and honest. Nick Denton once said, “We are beholden to no one.”  That holds true for the art department as well. We can draw whatever we want with no apologies. That’s the beauty of working for a truly independent media company. They are always challenging you to push the limits and speak your mind. I’ll admit, sometimes we do get a little carried away, but that’s not a terrible thing.

If I think that something might be going too far (or not far enough), I’ll ask Jim and he’ll point me back in the right direction. When Disney Dudes’ Dicks came out I was very concerned about offending the Disney loving masses, but Jim gave me some sage advice: “If you’re not offending someone, you’re not doing it right.”

[How to Keep Photos of Your Naked Body Off the Internet – Article]

[Disney Dudes’ Dicks: What Your Favorite Princes Look Like Naked – Article]

IA: To end on a light note, many of your illustrations deal with sexual themes. What does your mother think about that?

TJ: My mom rules. My whole family does. I could draw pretty much anything and they’d support me. They always have. After the first couple of weeks, they all just accepted that if they ask about my job, they better be ready for some NSFW art. I’m lucky to have a family with a few loose screws and a great sense of humor.

…

Thanks to Tara Jacoby and Gawker Media for their contributions to this article. Stay tuned for our conversation with Gawker Art Director Jim Cooke!

More places to find Tara Jacoby:

Eric Petersen’s work is great. I think we can all agree on this. However, when you take his images and recontextualize them as all-over printed t-shirts, they very quickly jump from great to insane. I wish that I could pull one of these off, however I tend to wear kaftans to cover up my insanely great love handles. If you tend towards t-shirt wearing, you should go for it. As an aside, neither I nor IA have any connection to this product. Just sayin’.

A podcast of quick casual thoughts on finding your thing in the design and illustration world by illustrator and designer Andy J. Miller.

Episode 024 – DO LESS MORE BETTER. I get it, this be bad grammars! I just felt like this title held this theme best.

Here are 20 points to help you “do less more better” and work smarter, not harder.

Ironically my longest episode yet is about doing less!

Listen to more episodes:

IllustrationAge.com/creativepeptalk

Andy J. Miller’s Website

iTunes

[SPONSORED]

“Format expands its online portfolio offering with the release of Kredo, a free iPad portfolio app that enables creatives including photographers, designers, illustrators and artists to present their work professionally, both in person and online. Improving upon the traditional printed portfolio, users of Kredo can share their retina-quality, high resolution portfolios online by email, social media, or within the in-app Discover Network.”