CHI68: artist DIARY

Our last diary entry is by John Biggs. John is a UK based artist with an incredible portfolio of fine art works, comic books, and editorial illustrations. Check out his works at johnbiggs.art

I’m no stranger to a political brief, editorial commissions make up a large part of my working week. I spend my career developing small images that sum up big ideas, but when Yoni approached me with the offer to design Chicago ‘68, the scope and scale of the game made me wonder just how possible it would be to communicate the intricacies of that infamous DNC.

Firstly, I’m an illustrator, not a graphic designer. My practice has both feet planted squarely in the art world, with only a tentative toe in the water of layout, text and graphics. If I was to make Chi ‘68 work, I’d have to play to my strengths. Luckily, the hand-made, cut & paste, screen printed-zine aesthetic of the 1960’s anti-establishment, contrasted with the analogue, label-maker chic bureaucratic filing of The Machine, made a visual language I could exploit and suited my personal aesthetic to a tee.

I started out with rough sketches and moods for everything, even the board and components started life as quick drawings/compiled collages. I wanted the base of the visuals to feel as natural and free as possible, gradually honing in on the more polished design work necessary for practical play.

The aim for Chicago ‘68 is to make the imagery feel physical - of the time, but not pastiche - whilst maintaining a unique visual identity. Through many meetings, Yoni, Ronen and Joe have patiently and diligently guided me through the process of board-game design, focussing on the importance of playability and user-interface. Additionally, Yoni’s deep knowledge of the events surrounding the 1968 DNC have helped steer my artwork and design choices to feel legitimate and authentic.

The characters and circumstances of Chicago ‘68 have also been a joy to work with. Whether drawing versions of larger-than-life Mayor Daley or looking through archival cartoon artwork of hippies and Yippies, I haven’t been left wanting for inspiration. This vast cast of characters, I feel, is most evident in the cover Illustration. I wanted Chicago ‘68 to feel more like a movie than a generic board game, inspired by movie theatre posters of the time, I hope the cover reflects the same feeling of drama and excitement that playing the game delivers.

The success of the Kickstarter campaign has been amazing to see. Games like this are more important now than ever (the irony of the timing of this release isn’t beyond me!). I’m really excited to get Chicago ‘68 into the world. I’ll have my head down drawing, tweaking and making everything as perfect as I can until the release.

Love and Solidarity,

JB