Close to the Edge (Lancia Stratos mock up spread)

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Close to the Edge

Design by William Kingstone, Design Manager: Junichi Tsuneoka

This was an experiment in creating an illustrative magazine spread. This project had to comprise of both a photograph of the product I was advertising as well as my own illustrated elements.The Lancia Stratos was an exotic Italian sports car introduced to the market in the early 1970s, and became an symbol in automotive culture as being one of the most iconic cars of that era. I wanted to give my illustration that complimented the time this car echoes, so my goal was to give a that nostalgic feeling to this work that reflected the decade.

The illustration in general was fun to sketch and put together because I was aiming to capture a style that is very much reminiscent of the 60s and early 70s. I was very much influenced by the bizarre yet alluring works of Japanese writer and illustrator Hirohiko Araki, and this drawing turned into a blatant tribute to his style. The dress was inspired by a curtain I had seen in a linen shop, and I tried my best at some of the more ornamental details like flowers and leaves both on the dress and background.

The illustration was first sketched in pencil then inked in pen. I then colored the composition on Adobe Photoshop. The photograph was converted to black and white. I then boosted the contrast of the image and put color over the top in Photoshop. This gives the car a poster cutout feel that intertwines it better with the illustration. The typeface is actually based on the original Lancia Stratos emblem type. A full alphabet was later designed by Kevin McCauley, and can be downloaded for free.( http://distractioncontrol.com/tag/stratos/ ) All credit goes to him for creating the awesome typeface!

Rendering of how the compostion would look as an actual magazine spread.

Photos of a Lancia Stratos being used in anger. Originally designed for the sole purpose of winning Lancia the World Rallying Championship, the Ferrari powered 4-wheel drive spitfire of a machine wasn't exactly suited for getting groceries or showing up at formal get-togethers. However, to compete in the rally series, a homologin of a few hundred cars had to be built for the public market. Despite its alluring alien looks, The Stratos was an interesting example of a race car turned sports car rather than vice versa.