43 QUINTILLION, 252 QUADRILLION, 3 TRILLION, 274 BILLION, 489 MILLION, 856 THOUSAND RUBIKS CUBE COMBINATIONS.
Rubiks Cube Combinations
The Rubiks Cube was quite possibly the best babysitter that my parents
ever had for me, as I spent many a rainy afternoon twiddling and fiddling,
twisting and turning it’s mesmerising pattern of coloured squares. Until
eventually I admitted defeat and simply peeled the stickers off and
replaced them in the correct order before gleefully presenting it to my
proud parents. To this day they are still blissfully unaware that their little
brain-box never actually solved the Rubiks Cube that day…
Whilst researching for this cover I was amazed to find that a standard
Rubiks Cube contains a staggering number of different combinations.
Approximately 43 quintillion in total. Wow. That’s a big number. This
big in fact: 43,252,003,274,489,856,000. I wanted to share that fact
with Inspire readers so used it as the basis for my cover design; using
the Rubiks squares as a striking and disruptive background
then picking the number of combinations out in muted, contrasting black.
The finishing touch is to highlight the 44 from the combinations number
in Iggesund blue to honour the 44th edition of the magazine.
Finishes
The finish would be uncoated paper for the header and other areas, with
gloss varnish across the Rubik’s background to represent the finish of
the squares on the toy, a spot matt varnish across all of the combination
numbers and finally the 44 of the issue number embossed from the
background to create tactile engagement for
the reader – as the Rubiks Cube is about as tactile a toy as can be.
43 QUINTILLION, 252 QUADRILLION, 3 TRILLION, 274 BILLION, 489 MILLION, 856 THOUSAND RUBIKS CUBE COMBINATIONS.
The theme of fun and games stirs many memories and emotions of
a childhood spent at play with friends, family and in blissful isolation
away from the danger and stress of the adult world. The act of ‘Play’
can manifest itself in many ways, from the innocent unbridled joy of
traditional hide and seek to the new age of digital entertainment and
computer games. To me, the most engaging and enjoyable games were
those in which I could challenge and test my developing mind whilst
having hours of fun along the way.