Digging deep into the archives for this one, all the way back to 1992. It’s amazing that I still have a digital representation of this project. This was what I consider to be my first “big” freelance job. I had hand-made a promo piece (maybe I’ll try to dig that up as well) that was basically a reimagined seed packet containing California Poppy seeds mixed in with tiny electronic bits. I don’t remember how many or where I sent them all but the one response I really wanted was the one I got – Wired Magazine! In fact, we were on a road trip and I checked my messages from Crater Lake. I had a call from the art director, John Plunkett, wanting to talk to me about my promo and could I come to the office in San Francisco. Holy shit! So the next day we drove directly to San Francisco. At the time, each issue would start with a quote pulled from one of the main articles, illustrated over two spreads. I was given nothing but the article, the quote, and the specs and cut loose to do whatever I saw fit. They really trusted the designers, which as young designer was mind-blowing. To be respected and, I think more importantly, trusted, was huge. I like to think I lived up to the task since I was later given another crack in a later issue. Both this and the later work are also featured in the Wired book, Mind Grenades: Manifestos from the Future.
