New Work: ‘Rosebud’

Following James Biber’s “Weeds”-inspired dining room, currently on view in New York, we continue our foray into “green” design with what may be the first “Hydroponic Growers Lifestyle” magazine ever published. Julie Savasky and DJ Stout in the Austin office have designed Rosebud, a new magazine from Advanced Nutrients that debuts with its October issue. Based in Vancouver, Advanced Nutrients manufactures and distributes over fifty super-fertilizers and growth enhancement products with evocative names like Big Bud, B-52, Wet Betty, Voodoo Juice, Tarantula, and Bud Candy for hydroponic gardeners and enthusiasts the world over.

“When the Advanced Nutrients folks first came to us they proposed the name ‘Bigger Buds’ for the new magazine”, says Stout. “We suggested the less obvious and more magazine-like moniker ‘Rosebud.’”

The design of the magazine is purposely clean and upscale to appeal to luxury advertisers who want to reach a largely untapped audience of hydroponic growers with a lot of expendable income. The covers will be printed every month with a glossy metallic ink and a subtle varnished leaf pattern to give the magazine a distinctive look and feel. The design and layout of the interior pages features a generous amount of white space, spare typography, and sophisticated contemporary photography.

The first issue of Rosebud features actor Justin Kirk on the cover who co-stars with Mary Louise Parker in “Weeds.” Other features in the debut issue include stories about virtual online gaming babes; the joys of hanging out in your growing room, or “Man Cave”; visiting Holland, the birthplace of hydroponics; a photo portfolio on the beauty of smoke; and of course, tips on growing those bigger buds.