There is a case to be made that good illustration is good business magazine content. And strategy+business is the case study.
Take, for example, the illustration, by Richard Mia, for “The Social Life of Brands” in the Autumn 2012 issue. It contains a multilayered commentary that suggests through symbolism that brands are not simply packages and labels but integrated communications between public and industry. The art — a depiction of a blossoming flower whose buildings blocks are the text bubbles that populate a smart phone screen — helps announce the story without explicitly spelling out its thesis. There are no icons of McDonald’s golden arches or pictures of brains.
Image: Steven Heller is co-chair of the MFA Design/Designer as Author + Entrepreneur program at the School of Visual Arts NYC and author or editor of more than 170 books on design and culture, including 100 Ideas that Changed Graphic Design (Laurence King, 2012).
