The Great Mystery of Everest
This cover story from the July 2020 issue of National Geographic magazine delves into the mystery surrounding Sandy Irvine and his climbing partner, George Mallory, who disappeared on a high ridge of Everest nearly a century ago. It explores the question of whether they were the first to reach the summit, predating Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay by 29 years. The author and his team retraced Irvine’s steps to try to find his body—and the camera that could rewrite the story of the mountain.
As a designer working on the cover story of this special issue, I collaborated closely with the design director, contributing to the conceptualization and execution of the design. In addition to designing pull quotes and other page elements, fine-tuning designs throughout the issue, and creating a comprehensive style guide for other designers involved in the project, I also created many sketches for the story openers. These sketches offer a glimpse into the creative process behind this special issue. This special issue was the winner of the National Magazine Award for Design in 2021.
Photographer: Renan Ozturk | Designer: Hannah Tak | Design Director: Marianne Seregi | Creative Director: Emmet Smith