YELLOW RAT BASTARD

GETTIN’ THEREThe quest for a work placement was surprisingly

straightforward. Perhaps most astonishing is the

fact that no one ever even saw my portfolio.

I decided early on that I would try my luck at

finding work in the historic Mecca of Hip-Hop

culture that is New York City. Hoping to visit

some old friends Stateside, I decide that the

April break is perfect for that classic combina-

tion of work and play. I sound the proverbial Fa-

cebook horn, to which my friend and writer Jiro

Kohl returns with a list of magazines and record

labels pertinent to my interest. One of them is

YRB, a Brooklyn-based music, fashion and life-

style magazine. Lifestyle is noot really my cup

of Cawfee, but I give them a ring anyway and

after a brief parlay I am put through to Sami, the

editor. Asked to provide a few samples of work,

I reply with a portfolio woefully thin in quality.

Thankfully, as I find out later, this work was never

seen anyhow.

Having made my first call to the magazine during

the latter half of February, I am happy for them to

agree within days. I book a flight through Kuwait

Airways at £229 squid all in, with a wicked curry

to boot. I call a fortnight in advance just to dou-

ble check everything. A-OK. I leave on Saturday

21 March from Heathrow to JFK, hung over, and

stroll up Monday morning at YRB HQ, the ever

eager beaver, and the first person in. “So uh,

it’s Simon right? So do you have any work you

YRB is an acronym for Yellow Rat Bastard, a

Manhattan-based shop that specialises in ur-

ban street fashion and takes its name from a

Frank Miller novel. Although it started more as

an in-store magazine, it has now branched out

into a more independent though loosely affili-

ated publication. Its headquarters is in DUMBO,

Brooklyn, DUMBO being the creative trunca-

tion for Directly Underneath Manhattan Bridge

Overpass. God bless America.

The YRB team comprises a cast of about perma-

nent twelve members. There is one permanent

art director, as well as a the creative director, the

editorial director, associate director, photo di-

rector, freelance staff writer, fashion-advertising

director, account executive, sales and marketing

etceterahh. Basically, a whole lot of director and

a handful of freelance writers and designers.

There is a print run of approximately 400,000,

the bulk of which goes to subscribers and music

outlets. The Magazine is published every two

months and features articles on music, fashion,

gadgets, film, and any other considered-to-be-

WHO!?

could show, so I can see what you can do. Oh, I

didn’t get that email. Oh OK, well let’s just get

you started. You can help Brian out, he’s the art

director.” And so it came to pass that I, Simon

Pitt, was cropping images of Serena Williams at

YRB Magazine in Brooklyn, New York City.

print-worthy pieces. Although their target audi-

ence is not immediately clear, they seem to ca-

ter towards an alternative street culture, that is

aware of the latest in fashion, music and technol-

ogy. There is also an equivalent website at www.

yrbmagazine .com that offers an online alterna-

tive to most of the features that appear in print.

Supposedly, the magazine is noted for its edgy,

inventive and ever-changing layouts, but seeing

as this came straight from the horse’s mouth,

may be hard to corroborate. In my opinion, the

magazine has some articles that are worth read-

ing, and the graphic side is generally done well,

but often it seems that it’s lacking a cutting edge

where some articles are sloppily written, or the

layouts lack a certain sophistication and consist-

ency. From my experience there, the creative

process of the magazine as a whole seems a bit

haphazard, lacking focus and unity. Decisions

were made impulsively and the whole attitude

seemed a bit blasé in terms of creating a profes-

sional and innovative publication. The articles

and features, though on-trend, seemed rather

to be riding the wave rather than be ahead of

the curve. As a result, YRB Magazine is a reason-

ably good read, but far from the quality output

of its NYC-based peers such as Waxpoetics, or

the now defunct Mass Appeal. A good coffee-

table or loo-read, but probably not something I

would spend my nickels and dimes on. (It’s also

only available in the USA).

I entered life at YRB woefully inadequate at vir-

tually all of the Adobe package, hoping for the

best. I had no specific briefs set, but was usually

asked to take a look at a certain section, and see

what I could muster up. Over the course of two

weeks there I redesigned; OnLocation, a snap-

shot of events occurring around the globe; Gear-

ing Up, a fashion spread showcasing emerging

fashion designers; as well as the Music Reviews.

I also worked on the layout for a six-page feature

on the skateboard film called Street Dreams.

Generally, I received positive feedback for the

work I produced. They liked the simplicity I

brought to somewhat cluttered designs, and

were happy that I managed to boil OnLocation

down from a double spread to a single. (More

ad space). I was jokingly ridiculed for my gravita-

tion towards a pastel pallet, but they liked the

rougher look used for Gearing Up. After a rather

menial first week there I was given the more ex-

citing responsibility of doing the Street Dreams

feature. I put a lot of effort into this, and came

up with a few different options. The feedback I

received from this was positive and the aesthetic

seemed to fit the theme of the film. However,

with the time up I had to leave the work unfin-

ished, I was told I would receive credit for the

piece and had hoped to finish it the following

week. I didn’t hear from them, and simply hoped

that some justice would be done to the spreads

that had been left.

WORKING WHAT!?

Simon was extremely personable and took time out to answer any questions we had on the nuances between living and working in NYC versus in London and Amsterdam. Overall, we were very pleased with his work and we’re happy we got the chance to learn from his interesting life experiences.

Sincerely,Geo Hagan

Editorial Director

When I finally received the magazine months

later, I was a bit disappointed. I was happy that

all my work had been published, a small dream

of having work in print., I was disheartened by

the fact that the Street Dreams feature had been

torn apart, with a watered down aesthetic, the

incorporation of my chosen typeface and look,

but absolutely no credit. Frantically flipping to

the front of the magazine, I found that my name

was no where to be found amongst the maga-

zine’s contributors, with no mention even under

‘Contributing Visuals.’ Although I must admit

the disappointment of not being credited, it

seems that getting fleeced for your visuals is a

must in the design industry. Consequently, I will

probably need to remain unaccredited a fair few

times more before I can truly take up the mantle

of ‘Graphic Designer.’

Coming into this job with a child’s understand-

ing of Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, I had

probably doubled my knowledge by the end of

the first day. As I was mainly told to redesign old

sections, I was able to use the raw materials that

they already had. Although this limited my crea-

tivity to an extent, it was good to work within

professional design parameters. In addition to

the graphic work, it was fascinating to be given a

glimpse into all aspects of the publication proc-

ess at YRB. The photo shoots of famed celebs

LESSON LEARNT

Busta Rhymes and Tyson Ritter gave me an in-

sight into the fashion and photography side to

the magazine.

Seeing the manner in which a magazine that

runs close to half a million copies is created was

informative, enjoyable, and even amusing. De-

spite its jumbled and seemingly disorganised

methods, a publication of reasonable quality is

produced every other month, turning a profit, as

well as keeping over a dozen people in work. In

addition to the magazine itself, working in New

York was an awe-inspiring experience. Coffee

and a Danish in hand, I travelled to work with my

fellow New Yorkers, had bagels for lunch, and

snapped NY scrawls and graff, whilst enjoying

the general vibe of the city.

Prior to working for YRB I thought design for

magazine would be right up my alley. I now know

that it would be better to find a magazine that is

up my alley first. I enjoyed the work that I did,

and if all else fails, would certainly not hesitate

to take it up as a career. However, sometimes I

thought that the creative process was a bit lack-

ing. Although this did not personally affect me,

the editing team often overruled the art direc-

tor’s ideas. It makes sense to have a Director

guiding the project to completion, however the

limited creative freedom is not appetising. So

for now, I suppose it’s on to the next one.

THINK TWICE

YELLOW RAT BASTARD