Signature March/April 2015 - 4

underthecovers

DATA-DRIVEN
DEFENSE
Signature reveals the danger of digital vulnerabilities
through an age-old love story with a technical twist.
BY DANIELLE MOORE

"I LOVE THE
RETROROMANCE
THEME OF THIS
COVER APPLIED
TO A VERY
CONTEMPORARY
TOPIC."
-CARLA KALOGERIDIS,
PUBLISHER AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR,
ASSOCIATION MEDIA & PUBLISHING

MARCH/APRIL 2016

signature

It's difficult protecting identities nowadays when we serve up our personal information on a cyber silver platter - social
security numbers, bank accounts, private
data, you name it. In this issue's cover
story, which unveils how associations fall
victim to cyber attacks due to woefully
lacking privacy plans, we learn how to
take preemptive measures to halt these
hacks in their tracks.
While these attacks become stronger
with technical nuances, the best defense
to take against the plight of online
data breaches is education. Together,
the editorial team at Signature and the
Bates Creative design team mulled over
these final three concepts that convey
this daunting message in an ironic and
contemporary manner.
CONCEPT 1: INTEGRATED HEADLINES
Inspired by the sense of obscurity for
the feature article, this designer toyed
with the idea of hidden, integrated type
treatments. Picture it: A layered image
within the negative space of the cover.
Symbolically, the deconstructed collage
highlights the potential threats lurking
behind the often-weak security measures
developed to protect data.
CONCEPT 2: YOU'RE JUST MY DIGITAL TYPE
For this concept, the designer envisioned a
custom type treatment of letterforms made
to look like dispersing data. The stylized
text demonstrates the result of weaknesses

in cyber security - a structural breakdown
leaving valuable data vulnerable to loss or
being compromised. While the Signature
editorial team and Bates Creative design
team were drawn to this concept, they
wanted a more conceptual approach to the
data-heavy topic.
CONCEPT 3: BOY MEETS GIRL
The final concept took the most conceptual approach for the cover design, using
for inspiration the feature's opening lines
setting up the catfish romance. The Bates
team immediately gravitated toward this
design for its subliminal nod to cyberspace
and intriguing imagery. The literal interpretation of space imagery was selected to
mask the woman's identity while serving a
dual meaning - the dark, vacuous literation of outer space and the great unknown
of cyberspace.
"When I read Thomas Marcetti's
lead for this article, my first inclination was to edit it a bit because, quite
honestly, I wasn't sure it worked," says
Carla Kalogeridis, publisher and editorial director of Association Media &
Publishing. "I was surprised when one
of the design team's concepts later came
back using the lead for inspiration."
Because the feature story references
the woman as the "catfish," the designer
obscured her identity with layered images
to mirror an association publishing team
being caught off guard by a data breach.
The principle of "catfishing" has existed

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signature March/April 2015