Commissioned by The American Prospect to create the cover and interior illustrations for their issue ‘The Business of Sports’ Cristian designed fourteen images with a cohesive and dynamic design language.
Exploring within the issue how money, corruption, ownership, labour and inequality shape modern-day sports culture, Cristian was tasked with creating a visual theme and strong focus within the illustrations.
‘It was also one of my first major editorial projects going to print, so the pressure felt real. There were a lot of late nights, a lot of quick problem-solving, and a lot of figuring things out as I went.’
Cristian took a creatively flexible approach to the brief, applying his signature collage style to a number of the illustrations, while creating full conceptual compositions for others. Understanding that each illustration needed to tell its own story allowed Cristian to connect each design through his use of colour and tone while developing a common visual thread between them all.
With an urgent, scratchy energy and humanity at its core, Cristian’s designs bring to life the realities of modern day sports culture in his signature style. At the heart of his creative practice is an instinct for when a composition is complete, with every collage-style element deliberately placed to enhance the visual storytelling.