49. GETTY IMAGES
“Handle with care: There are images in these portfolios that might give you strange visions. At least, we hope so.” So states SVP group creative director Lewis Blackwell in the foreword to Getty Images’ New Photographers 2006. Eerily beautiful, quietly unsettling, they are images that whisper intimations of secret curiosities and exotica. Art director Mark Fraser handled his end with British reserve and cool understatement, creating fresh, crisp layouts that skillfully and respectfully represent boundary-pushing work by a global group of emerging, innovative photographers: “It’s more about the imagery and less about trying to flex graphic design muscles,” allows Fraser. “A case of keep it clean and simple.”

Hectic days under deadline with design director Chris Ashworth, associate curator Faye Dowling, and copywriter Andrea Langsdorf resulted in a stunning collection that is Getty Images’ response to a need and more. Published in conjunction with the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2005, it promises to change the way we view advertising and editorial imagery. “Trying to raise people’s expectations is a must,” says Fraser. “You give 110 percent and hopefully it pays off.”
Dee Schmidgall