Editorial Design Single Spread

Client: AirTran Airways
Creative Firm: Ink Publishing - Brooklyn, NY, USA
Creative Team: Shane Luitjens - Art Director; Tim Vienckowski - Graphic Designer; Elsie Aldahondo - Graphic Designer

The American office-not to mention the American Office-is familiar to millions, and Brooklyn's INK Publishing wanted to channel the mindset that makes the NBC program resonate with so many when creating a photograph to accompany an article on The Office star Jenna Fischer for AirTran's in-flight magazine, Go. INK's designers scoured stock photography collections for classic office images, and knew that they'd struck gold when they found the water cooler shot: "Add the classic time clock and the 8-bit elements, and we all get the in-joke of how such a rigid system can't restrain individual personalities."

By adding to the mix antiquated (but still familiar) Windows interfaces, INK found a fun way to present a story, as well as pay homage to its interactive predecessors. INK still had its own set of office hijinks to deal with in designing the piece, explains one designer. "When working with stock photography, there are limitations as to how to bring it to someplace different than its original usage, while also keeping to the brand's signature elements. I like to use Go's celebrity feature to add a little humor and place it between articles on restaurants and travel trends. The challenge is bringing it all to cohesion."