An alternative New York news institution

The Village Voice is a cultural institution of New York with a long list of luminaries lining the credits of its featured art directors and illustrators. We were thrilled to receive our first assignment from them in 2016 and created an illustration for a piece on the iconic Jane Jacobs. Several months and stories later, we found ourselves sitting in the Voice’s office receiving the brief on a breaking investigative cover story that was too sensitive to discuss over the phone or email.

Client

The Village Voice

Project

Editorial illustrations

Real feel

The story involved multiple cases of NYPD officers planting evidence in the form of illegal drugs and firearms in the process of arresting individuals. Our concept involved police tape and a gun; it needed to feel real. A few hours later, we found ourselves deep in Brooklyn, renting a Beretta from a movie prop house. A lot can happen in a day.

That piece received some nice accolades and we learned a lot in the process. Not the least of which was that our creative director, Anne, had never previously mentioned her John Wick-like aptitude in handling firearms. We continued to work on more stories over the next year until, sadly, the Village Voice ended its 62 year print run in 2017.