How Magazine Covers are Taping Creativity of their Designers
Magazine cover pages are increasingly becoming creative and outstanding. This was partly caused by the decrease in newsstand sales, according to many designers. The covers are now designed to impress the subscribers rather than a passer-by and this has only enhanced the quality of it. Magazines are now using the covers to make statements on what the brand stands for rather than increase sales.
According to David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, the cover should be something that has a deeper value but a cover should also exist at the moment. Rather than designing the cover according to a particular story within the magazine, he opines that the cover should be about a beautiful or humorous moment.
According to Roger Black, publication designer, Magazine covers are more similar to a work of art. Time magazine’s cover proves this point as it is filled with talent and innovation.
For Atlantic magazine, its covers are signals for its readers and according to Jeffrey Goldberg, Atlantic editor–in–chief, it is a very meticulous task. For, the covers once selected cannot be changed.
The digitising of print magazines has also enhanced the creative effort they put into magazine covers. Covers are often Tweeted as images or even in animated form, making it more efficient.
The shift in focus of magazine covers from one top story to creativity and efficiency has liberated the designers and enhanced the way a magazine speaks to its readers. This shift has also aided its shift to a digital platform.
Four Creative and Influential Covers:
New York Magazine– Trump Pig Cover: Adam Moss, New York Magazine editor-in-chief mentions that it was an effort to creatively portray a piece on the corruption allegation against Trump.
The New Yorker Covers: Kadir Nelson’s covers have spoken mostly about African American life and history while Barry Blitt’s covers have creatively spoken about the political events like the cover that shows the refugee children hiding in the dress of the Statue of Liberty.
Time Cover: According to Edward Felsenthal, Time Editor-in-chief, the cover speaks for and influences the perception of the articles within the magazines. The Time Magazine’s story about the teacher’s pay becoming the most-read story of the year especially because of the cover with a strong photograph and bold lettering can be taken as an example for the same.
Atlantic Cover of ‘How Trump Radicalised ICE’: it was a story about the immigration crisis and the team had to face a lot of anxiety. According to Goldberg, the cover depends highly on timing and luck