Behind the Scenes: Standart Issue 19 Cover

by Karl Greenshields
Hario v60 without a filter and filled with coffee. A photograph for Standart magazine.

Standart issue 19 not only comes with an overhauled interior design language, but also an exterior one. We needed a cover that was striking at first glance and represented some of the deeper themes covered in the issue.

Photo-series of coffee making equipment for the cover of Standart magazine, 2019 Best Coffee Magazine

The cover concept started with trying to represent one of the core themes—divergence. The cover therefore places common coffee items in compositions that diverge from the usual. Coffee in a V60 instead of a cup? No filter paper? Why is the brewer on an angle?

This begins to gradate into another theme—the fine balancing act that is the coffee industry, the vulnerability, the fact that we’re existing on borrowed time, and if we’re not careful, it might all spill over.

Finally, the cover needed to address the balance of the issue, and this might have been the funnest part of the cover project. We did it all manually, with an elaborate set-up of strings and pulleys, putty and even a custom-sculpted nose!
The cover of Standart magazine issue 19 was made without photoshop
Part of the set designed by Ekaterina Starostina (@rfnzrfnz) for Standart magazineCover set designer Ekaterina Starostina (@rfnzrfnz) told us:

“The most difficult part was securing the objects, especially those with liquid inside. First, I figured out the composition, selected the details and locations of items, and then came the hard part: to find the optimal balance between elements and to fix them in position." 

Title for an article in Standart magazine about creating the cover photography

It was nevertheless important to preserve the general principles of the composition: the items shouldn’t look disconnected, as if they were levitating themselves, but should interact with the other items. Through the delicate balance along diagonal planes, the items exhibit movement and energy, and work to reinforce each other.

A divider in a Standart magazine article about the design of its cover

We’re really excited for you to get your hands on the latest Standart, and experience this work of art first-hand. Get yours here. 

Cover set design: Ekaterina Starostina (@rfnzrfnz)
Cover photography: Klim Bogdanov (@klimbogdanov)

Behind the scenes shots of the cover photoshoot for Standart magazine