A Playground For Sunday Afternoon
Sunday Afternoon, a women and BIPOC-owned creative company with a focus on brand design and artist management, releases CANAL Issue 2, a 108-page, dual-language print and digital broadsheet. The magazine incorporates photography, design, typography, film and creative technology to pay homage to the quintessential NYC main street in lower Manhattan that is described as “a teeming, non-stop locale of clashing cultures.” Copies of CANAL Issues 1 and 2 are available from Sunday Afternoon; the second edition has just been released.
A DOZEN AR FILTERS
The second edition, says the company, takes the already successful Augmented Reality (AR) integration of Issue 1 to the next level with more stories and ideas, art and content about the neighborhood. Issue 2 features more than a dozen AR filters, including vibrant typographic treatments on the front and back covers, video vignettes, an interactive board game, and a 3D scan of the iconic and recently retired “Mei Cart” run by Mei Leung.
CANAL Issue 2 also launches with a large-scale AR filter that will live on the famous red, dragon-adorned NYC information kiosk at the intersection of Canal and Walker in Chinatown. The AR filter will emulate the CANAL Issue 2 cover, but on a massive 8-foot by 8-foot banner visible to all passersby. CANAL was created as a playground of sorts for the team of studio partners Ahmed Klink, Juan Carlos Pagan, Audrie Poole, and Rich Tu, with no rules, just design. Images, many by Klink, an accomplished photographer and film director, are complemented with dramatic and whimsical flourishes of type treatments by the Sunday Afternoon design team.
CHASING LIGHT SHORT FILM
Another feature of CANAL Issue 2 is the embedded short film Chasing Light, a documentary and photo-series directed by Sunday Afternoon roster director Geoff Levy. The project, produced and creatively concepted alongside Grand Crew, brings a live action cinema-like experience within the pages of the magazine. Readers scan the spreads with their phone to unlock live action footage from the documentary film, and follow along the narrative journey as they turn the pages of the magazine.
The short documentary features Chinatown Partnership director Wellington Chen and five Chinatown businesses, who reflect on the neighborhood’s evolving identity, the imperative to document its change, and the importance of bolstering future generations while honoring its heritage. “Chasing Light” premiered on Nowness on October 2, 2023.
THE BOUNDARY OF MIXED MEDIA
Comments Audrie Pool: “This issue is a true convergence of print, design, technology, and film, and showcases the creative talent of the entire studio and artists roster. It’s a playground to capture the vibe of Canal St, using AR and film to build an experiential project that pushes the boundaries of mixed media in a highly engaging way.” Adds Richard Tu: ““This issue is a true convergence of print, design, technology, and film, and showcases the creative talent of the entire studio and artists roster. It’s a playground to capture the vibe of Canal St, using AR and film to build an experiential project that pushes the boundaries of mixed media in a highly engaging way.” And concludes Juan Carlos Pagan: “CANAL magazine is a labor of love, and that love has spread to so many more wonderful humans who wanted to be a part of this issue. Canal St. is a distinctive experience, and the magazine reflects the energy, history, and people of the neighborhood.”
In addition to the Sunday Afternoon studio partners noted above, CANAL Issue 2 credits include: Production Manager Elizabeth Brightly; Senior Designer Xiaoyu Xue; Designers Kee Wei Chin, Simon Fréour, Ruiqi Zhou, Zane (Yuan Zhang), Aarman Roy; Interns Ariana Gupta, Rand Rivera; and Contributors Peter Phobia, Judy Kim, Josh Dickinson, Eva Zar, Beatriz Lozano, and Karan Sathis Kumar. Production is by Newspaper Club.
