Every year the Magazine Publishers of America run a little award for the magazine cover of the year. These were the winners from last year. As awards go, I rather like it. Magazine covers are a consistently underated form of design IMHO, and there's real skill in combining aesthetic impact with consistency of brand image and sellability on the newstand. As with many things, it's about combining unique knowledge (of your prospective reader) with great (design) talent. The shortlist has been selected by the American Society of Magazine Editors. The magazine buying public are voting the winners.
12 responses to “Magazine Cover Of The Year”
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Hello mate – how are you?
I know this might sound like I’m being a smart arse, but I swear I’m not … I just would like to know WHY you like those covers, just for my own curiosity to be honest.
If you have the time/inclination, I’d be very appreciative. -
Hello mate – how are you?
I know this might sound like I’m being a smart arse, but I swear I’m not … I just would like to know WHY you like those covers, just for my own curiosity to be honest.
If you have the time/inclination, I’d be very appreciative. -
Neil hi – good to have you back from hols and posting again.
I like these covers too but I am not sure they are ‘great’ in any way. I used to love Milton Glaser obviously – a truly iconic designer with a distinctive style who did some wonderful covers but for great you have to look at George Lois and the Esquire covers he did.
The Verna Lisi shaving cover was probably one of the most famous but to have had Ali as St. Sebastien with the strap ‘The Passion of Muhammad Ali’ with nothing other than the price on the cover – and to then for it to have become a best selling poster is the bar by which I judge such stuff. This just isn’t in the same class. I am sort of left wondering why! -
Neil hi – good to have you back from hols and posting again.
I like these covers too but I am not sure they are ‘great’ in any way. I used to love Milton Glaser obviously – a truly iconic designer with a distinctive style who did some wonderful covers but for great you have to look at George Lois and the Esquire covers he did.
The Verna Lisi shaving cover was probably one of the most famous but to have had Ali as St. Sebastien with the strap ‘The Passion of Muhammad Ali’ with nothing other than the price on the cover – and to then for it to have become a best selling poster is the bar by which I judge such stuff. This just isn’t in the same class. I am sort of left wondering why! -
Hey Mark, Rob – good to hear from you both. Purely subjective I guess but I just like ’em. What’s good about them?
NYT Magazine:- great use of a great image. Very striking, sombre, serious. I was talking to someone here about it and they made the point that this one seems to draw a real point of difference from all the images of Obama from when he was a contender. It moves things on. It says ‘ownership’. And the strapline just fits.
Departures – Apparently it’s really difficult to get text only covers to work on the newstand but I think this one really does. They could so easily have used an alluring image but I like the fact that they haven’t. Great combination of a flowery colourway, used on great typogrpahy, seen through a black plate – good combination of these three things, and the fact that you are seeing through the black plate to the brightness beyond seems to imply great things to be discovered.
Mark – difficult to draw comparison but you’re right about Milton Glaser and George Lois. Another Esquire classic which I think is hugely powerful is the ‘Oh my God – we hit a little girl” text only cover from ’66.
Great book on this subject BTW over here…
http://bit.ly/VF85N -
Hey Mark, Rob – good to hear from you both. Purely subjective I guess but I just like ’em. What’s good about them?
NYT Magazine:- great use of a great image. Very striking, sombre, serious. I was talking to someone here about it and they made the point that this one seems to draw a real point of difference from all the images of Obama from when he was a contender. It moves things on. It says ‘ownership’. And the strapline just fits.
Departures – Apparently it’s really difficult to get text only covers to work on the newstand but I think this one really does. They could so easily have used an alluring image but I like the fact that they haven’t. Great combination of a flowery colourway, used on great typogrpahy, seen through a black plate – good combination of these three things, and the fact that you are seeing through the black plate to the brightness beyond seems to imply great things to be discovered.
Mark – difficult to draw comparison but you’re right about Milton Glaser and George Lois. Another Esquire classic which I think is hugely powerful is the ‘Oh my God – we hit a little girl” text only cover from ’66.
Great book on this subject BTW over here…
http://bit.ly/VF85N -
Ta …
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Ta …
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I actually bought a magazine last night for the first time in, well I can’t remember the last I bought. I’d had a few pints, mind.
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I actually bought a magazine last night for the first time in, well I can’t remember the last I bought. I’d had a few pints, mind.
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I know where you are coming from Neil its about all that striking impact stuff that attaches and stirs a gut feel. Wholly agree with, “…combining unique knowledge (of your prospective reader) with great (design) talent.” You see this in retail as well I think – am I the only one (definitely not!) who moves around a supermarket “feeling” the ambience of all the product designs – you can really capture the zeitgeist – a zeitgeist which actually straddles not only food retail but the cultural climate: clothing, TV links artwork all sorts.
My only bugbear is why the American’s continue to wear the stars and stripes on their lapels. It just seems to me to say “stuff the rest of you”.
My contribution to magazine covers would have to be the Japanese journal Kateigaho International Edition http://int.kateigaho.com/backnamer.html -
I know where you are coming from Neil its about all that striking impact stuff that attaches and stirs a gut feel. Wholly agree with, “…combining unique knowledge (of your prospective reader) with great (design) talent.” You see this in retail as well I think – am I the only one (definitely not!) who moves around a supermarket “feeling” the ambience of all the product designs – you can really capture the zeitgeist – a zeitgeist which actually straddles not only food retail but the cultural climate: clothing, TV links artwork all sorts.
My only bugbear is why the American’s continue to wear the stars and stripes on their lapels. It just seems to me to say “stuff the rest of you”.
My contribution to magazine covers would have to be the Japanese journal Kateigaho International Edition http://int.kateigaho.com/backnamer.html
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