Spring 2023
Jump cuts: Fraser Muggeridge studio / Droga5
The Truth is Essential (2020)
Typography: Fraser Muggeridge and Michael Kelly, Fraser Muggeridge studio. Creative directors: Laurie Howell and Toby Treyer-Evans, Droga5. Editor: Tom Lindsay, Trim Editing. Director: Kim Gehrig. Music: ‘Requests’ from In The Moment (2015) by Makaya McCraven.The full title for this subscription campaign commercial for The New York Times is ‘The Truth is Essential: Life Needs Truth’. Over a track by jazz drummer Makaya McCraven, this skilfully edited 2'20" video juxtaposes typeset questions and statements (‘Is It OK To Go For A Walk?’, ‘Engage’, ‘Midnight Pasta’), with a rapid-fire sequence of frames that display various subject matter in overlapping stills, videos and text. It ends with a call to action: ‘Subscribe Now’. The commercial has had more than 10 million views on YouTube, where it is captioned: ‘We are in a moment of uncertainty and upheaval. Our journalism helps us understand what’s happening and how to get through it.’
John L. Walters, editor of Eye, London
First published in Eye no. 104 vol. 26, 2023
Eye is the world’s most beautiful and collectable graphic design journal, published for professional designers, students and anyone interested in critical, informed writing about graphic design and visual culture. It is available from all good design bookshops and online at the Eye shop, where you can buy subscriptions and single issues.