Glitching the System

Problem

The challenge was to create a cover that felt unmistakably connected to i-D without simply reproducing its established visual language. The magazine’s iconic wink motif, minimalist compositions, and connection to youth and creative culture provided a strong foundation, but I wanted to find a way to make these elements communicate something new.

I was particularly interested in the tension between the familiarity of early digital aesthetics and the increasingly sophisticated technology shaping creative culture today. The challenge became finding a visual concept that could bridge these two worlds while remaining bold, minimal, and recognizably i-D.

Process

I began by deconstructing the visual elements that make i-D immediately recognizable, focusing on its wink motif, restrained typography, minimal layouts, and strong use of portraiture. Rather than treating these elements as fixed rules, I looked for ways to manipulate them in a way that supported the concept.

The wink became the central point of the redesign. I pixelated the model’s eye and extended those fragmented pixels to construct the i-D logo, transforming one of the magazine’s most recognizable visual signatures into a representation of digital fragmentation. This allowed the logo and imagery to become part of the same visual idea rather than functioning as separate elements.

I drew the colour palette and typography from early digital interfaces and retro computer screens, using gradient blues and clean sans-serif type to create a sense of technological nostalgia. The restrained composition and limited text placement maintained the bold, minimal structure associated with i-D, allowing the manipulated portrait and concept to remain the focal point.

Result

The final cover reinterprets i-D’s visual language through the lens of a culture increasingly shaped by technology and AI. By transforming the magazine’s iconic wink into a fragmented digital element, the design preserves the recognition of the original identity while giving it a new conceptual purpose.

The project demonstrates how an established editorial system can be deconstructed, challenged, and reinterpreted without losing its identity, using familiar design principles as a foundation for something new.