How come most design magazine covers are so poorly designed? I will start with the one I think has the worst problem.
-HOW: every now and then they come up with an interesting cover. But most of the time they use design cliches and the main subject of the issue is translated literally into an image, for example December 2000’s theme is “Unlock the secrets of business success” and in the cover is a really big vault slowly opening. Doesn’t leave much to the imagination, does it?
-Communication Arts: pretty bad too. I sort of like the white space and the masthead treatment. The bad part is that enormous square they have smack in the middle, which they just fill in with the “prettiest” picture available for that issue. They will put a picture of a tortilla if we turn our backs just for a second.
-Eye: ok. Time for a good one. Their covers are very compelling, the size of the magazine probably helps and makes it more interesting. And that new logo is just sooooo pretty (courtesy of Magnus Rakeng)
-I.D.: yes. Another magazine with good covers. The masthead treatment is excellent, I love how the I wraps around on the spine. They always have a great photograph, invariably looking clean and classy. And who can forget the May 2000 issue which featured nothing but PMS 147? pretty bold. And daring.
-Step: newly reinvented Step Inside Design is surely stepping in the right direction, the first cover of the new format is really good, it invites you to open the magazine. Unfortunately they have a past that is hard to forget, Step-by-Step Graphics. Reeeeeally bad covers abounded back then, with a few exceptions of course. Mainly the thing that bothered me the most was their ugly logo, diamond shaped and stuff. Ugh! it gives me the shivers.
There you have it, my personal breakdown of a few Design magazine covers. I still buy most of them, because the content is always good. And that’s what matters in the end. But we are designers and we should get better covers from some of them.
We should get better covers but it doesn't always happen because of newsstand sales and economics involved. Having been a magazine art director, I have experienced this challenge. Covers are often thought of like cereal boxes on a shelf. Stiff competition causes many magazines to take a hard line on making the cover sell. Intelligence and subtlety are often reflected on the inside but the cover can be a different animal. Unfortunately, the audience should be given more credit for their sophistication level. ID and Eye stand out because they relate design to how it fits in our culture. They have a unique spin. I applaud a magazine that takes a risk and knows its audience well enough to get the right response.
On Sep.06.2002 at 07:14 PM