Case Study
Louisville Magazine Cover, ‘No Justice, No Peace’
As this issue was coming together, we were sitting right in the middle of the pandemic and the Breonna Taylor protesting had really escalated. Louisville Magazine presents storytelling that goes beyond the standard news angles of the other local media outlets. We needed to approach and explore this pivotal moment and conversation in the city’s history in a deeper way.
Role: Art Director + Designer
Corder was inspired by Lola Jenkins, a master quilter, who uses portraits to depict the lives of the Black community. Sewing is an intimate and spiritual act for Corder, a way for her to connect to the rich heritage of making in the Black community. Historically, quilts have played significant roles socially and economically for Black women. Quilting bees afforded a way for Black women and girls to gather and share stories, lessons and warnings about life.
Photo credit: Lola Jenkins
The second concept was a simple black and white image that will be sewn freestyle with the edges around the interior of the silhouette unraveling/ripping. Her mouth purposely left out as her voice (like the voice of many others) had been taken from her.
Photo credit: Aldrena Corder
Merging the first and the second concepts to create the final image, Corder was able to stitch Ms. Taylor’s portrait beautifully. Writing by hand, “Say Her Name” repeatedly was a way for to Corder speak for Ms. Taylor and the other Black women and girls whose voices have been silenced and overshadowed and, ultimately, forgotten.
Photo credit: Aldrena Corder
This cover was featured on CoverJunkie and received international praise. The team at Louisville Magazine also won General Excellence at the 2020 CRMA Awards.
Tasked with the art directing the cover, I brought in Aldrena Corder to create the cover image. Aldrena’s work has always been tactile in nature and she explores the act of making through her collective identities as a mother, Black woman, daughter and sister.
Photo credit: Aldrena Corder
For the early concepts, Coder first explored a "create imagery out of type" concept. Using words like Black Lives Matter, Say her Name, Defund the Police, Louisville, Erasure, Invisible, Take the Risk to get Justice, Stop Killing Us, Corder would build the image in Breonna's likeness. Hand-drawn as the handwriting makes it a more personal connection. Corder closed her eyes since Ms. Taylor was at rest.
Photo credit: Aldrena Corder
Ripping parts of the image and leaving layers exposed are a nod to the impermanence and delicateness of life. The work for justice is not easy; it’s messy and raw. This is a community coming apart. Louisville is Breonna Taylor, and the city itself is struggling to come to terms with racial injustice, along with the entire country.
Photo credit: Aldrena Corder
Sarah elevates Louisville Magazine’s pages, every single page, into a work of art. And every design choice she makes — every font and color and photo and illustration and layout — has a reason behind it; each of her designs itself tells a story. And I’m still not quite sure how she creates such beautiful work so fast. The first time we met, she mentioned her experience working at an alt-weekly and being comfortable with that pace. But she’s good at yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, hourly, down-to-the-second-ly. Recently, one of our issues swelled to 320 pages, the largest in our 72-year history, and she designed the entire book in, like, days. I. Don’t. Know. How. I swear that one time she had like 15 new covers mocked up the day before we went to press. And did so happily, with a collaborative energy that will have us making things for a long time to come.
Josh Moss
Editor-in-chief of Louisville Magazine
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