The Meaning in the History of Cover of KJCCM

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Acute Crit Care. 2018;33(1):64-64

Publication date (electronic) : 2018 February 28

doi : https://doi.org/10.4266/acc.2018.00101

Sung Jin Hong

Vice President, The Korean Society of Critical Care Medicine

Sung Jin Hong Department of Anesthesiology, Pain and Critical Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpodaero, Seocho-gu, Seoul 06591, Korea Tel: +82-2-2258-6151 Fax: +82-2-537-1591 E-mail: hongs@catholic.ac.kr

Received 2018 February 27; Accepted 2018 February 27.

Dear Editor:

The Korean Journal of Critical Care Medicine (KJCCM) has been using its cover image since 2007 after changing the cover design of its December issue (Vol. 22, No. 2). The previous cover design was simple and concise as it depicted only the logo of KJCCM on a green-colored background. With a growing opinion in favor of updating the cover image, we sought professional help for a new cover design that could better portray the nature of KJCCM. Yoon Ju-Hyeon, Professor at the College of Art and Design, Seoul National University, suggested five different designs. The mainly modern abstract designs provided a glimpse into the contemporary medicine and intensive care units. However, our attention was drawn to one of the illustrations showing a tropical orchid with nothing but a white background (Figure 1).

Figure 1.

Cover image of KJCCM.

KJCCM deals with the advanced dynamic academic approaches taken to treat patients with life-threatening illness. But, it was expressed as an orchid drawn on a white background. It seemed puzzling at first. However, we saw the possibility that this exceptional illustration could provide ICU professionals with comfort, albeit momently, given their busy and tense working settings. After the floral design was accepted almost unanimously at the meeting of the Board of Directors, KJCCM adopted it as a new cover image of its journal.

Since then, the floral image has appeared on the cover of white books and treatment guidelines that KJCCM published as if it were a symbol of KJCCM.

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