Growing up outside of Washington, D.C., Art Director Sara D’Eugenio developed an appreciation for brutalist architecture. The minimalist aesthetic influenced her photography as she sought to capture the way the sunlight interacts with the structures, creating sharp shadows. Her favorite example of brutalism is Chinese American architect I.M. Pei’s Dallas City Hall, completed in the late ’70s. “Its 34-degree inverted pyramid design is a bit disorienting when you stand underneath and look up,” she says, “since instead of the building’s perspective getting smaller, it gets wider.”
D’Eugenio’s love of symmetry in architecture informs her graphic design, too. She and the Texas Highways design team nod to the art form throughout the issue. For “By Design,” a survey of five prominent architectural styles found in Texas, D’Eugenio emulates the grid structure used in blueprints. “The opening spread, with the falling, chaotic headline type, is an antithesis of that,” she explains. This kind of thoughtful, intentional design is typical for our art team, who recently took top honors for overall design at award ceremonies for both the national City and Regional Magazine Association and International Regional Magazine Association. Also, for the second time in the last decade, our entire staff was honored with IRMA’s Magazine of the Year award, a well-deserved recognition of the passion and care they put into last year’s 50th anniversary issues.
I’ve mentioned it in this space before, but it bears repeating that our ability to create magazines is only afforded by a loyal readership. And thanks to all of you, we have one of the most engaged readerships of any magazine across the country. As we close out our 51st year, I want to thank each of you for reading and especially those of you who have taken the time to email, write a letter, or post on social media. Your feedback, whether a note of appreciation or a correction, is something we never take for granted. When we sent out a reader survey earlier this year—one that elicited hundreds of responses in the first 24 hours—architecture received the most votes for potential theme issues. We hope this issue lives up to your expectations and inspires many more trips across Texas. If you have a favorite building that didn’t make this issue, please share your pick with us at [email protected].
