I was assigned the article, "The Rise of the Incredible Edible Insect," by Brooke Borel, with the goal of manifesting and designing an opening feature spread. I was limited to using royalty free stock images and/or creating my own vector images. The use of the byline, imagery, and headline were the only required elements on the spread. Good use of exciting and bold typography was highly encouraged for a successful design.

My goal was to create something bold in color and slightly sensual in design. I used the old adage that "sex sells" as my inspiration. Originally, I used many raster images in my early designs, but settled on creating and modifying vector images for a more unique design that captures the sensual feel that I was attempting. Using a bee to capture some tension and attention was an early idea and inspiration for the bold and bright colors used. I wanted to use some sort of "honey" type that really stood out and attracted attention.

The design is incredibly successful in the use of bold contrasting colors and a sensual, yet tense, emotion evoked using the imagery. The custom bold and soft "honey" type attracts attention and breaks up the page with a dramatic scale. Eye flow is essential in this design and the direction of the tongue and the bee bring the reader back to the headline every time.