The Core is a biannual publication that serves as the supplement to The University of Chicago Magazine. It is a 40-page saddle-stitched magazine distributed to approximately 51,000 alumni of the university’s undergraduate college. The publication is named after the college’s core curriculum.
UChicago student culture is one of students that are passionately dedicated to academics, proudly nerdy, socially progressive, and somewhat sarcastic. They both espouse and are critical of these traits; an inherent contradiction of that is emblematic of a population of deep thinkers and lifelong learners.
For the Summer 2020 issue of The Core and in subsequent issues, we knew the tone of the publication had to shift drastically. The usual humorous cover lines were no longer appropriate, so we removed all text from the cover, leaving only the publication’s name and date. For the cover image, we chose an enigmatic, yet hopeful photograph by Adam Nadel, AB’90, a physicist at Fermilab who turns rayographs of high-energy electrons into portraits. The image: a fuzzy black shadow partially covered by a sharp yellow circle, like a reverse eclipse.
From the Judges
As one of our judges said, “This is a really pleasing abstract image, something I’d want hanging out on my coffee table for a while.” We all found it the kind of cover that made us wish we had the issue in front of us to read, and felt it was kind of mysterious, science-y without being heavy-handed in any way. We also really respected the resourcefulness and creativity of the team, and thought the value they extracted from limited options and budgets was impressive and noteworthy.
