What makes a good magazine cover?
02:44
A good music magazine can be different for every person as everyone has individual taste. Some prefer minimal, others prefer cluttered. Bright colours may appear to one person whilst another may hate it and love a black and white theme.
On I-D's 35 most iconic magazine covers of all time, one of the most recent covers they've picked is the popular Vanity Fair cover featuring Caitlyn Jenner - previously known as Bruce Jenner.
The story behind this cover makes it very iconic. World Olympic champion, Bruce Jenner earlier this year revealed he was transgender and talked about his story. The image itself makes the cover more interesting as she is showing off her body and revealing her new self. The cover is minimal and simple with one centre image. It is uncluttered with just one main cover line which makes its more appealing to look at.
Another from I-D and also #3 on ASME's list is Esquires controversial cover starring Muhammed Ali.
Again the story behind this cover makes it one the top magazines in the last 40 years. Ali was refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army because of his religious beliefs. Similarly to the Vanity Fair cover, it is minimal with one centre image. Its a good cover as at the time, much controversy would have been sparked when it was released. It has one main cover line that is small and in the bottom right corner, so no attention is taken away from Ali on the front.
TLC on the cover of Vibe in 1994, made it to I-D most iconic.
This cover differs in comparison to the previous two, due the fact it's more cluttered. There are more cover lines and there is more to look at however at the same time it's no too overwhelming. This cover also made it to I-D's most iconic list for the story behind the image and main cover line. The image and main cover line are a play on words and reference to one of the members of TLC - Lisa Left Eye Lopes, burning down her partners house. The image does a lot for a magazine cover as it's the centre point, when there's a popular story related to the image it makes the magazine cover good and memorable.
Next up is Kanye West on the cover of the Rolling Stone from February 2006. Where the idea of christening himself as 'Yeezus' stemmed from.
This was such a popular magazine cover as it was controversial and many saw it as blasphemous. In the image West has been portrayed as Jesus Christ and this is what caused all the controversy, making it such a memorable cover and also as Kanye was... well just being Kanye. The cover has many of the typical magazine features, such as the masthead and cover lines. It is not as minimalistic as the previous magazines but is still intriguing as it has a good image like the others.
#1 on ASME's top 40 magazine covers is John Lennon and his Yoko Ono.
This issue of the Rolling Stone is seen as iconic due to the fact it is simply John Lennon and Yoko Ono. John Lennon was previously married to Cynthia Lennon and when they divorced, he married Yoko Ono. A lot of controversy and racism arose as many took a dislike to Yoko and were upset about the divorce with Cynthia. The image was taken hours before Lennon was shot in New York on December 8, 1980 and released on January 22, 1981. The cover is simple and minimalistic with just the masthead and date line at the top. The image is bold and stands out as it is different. Typically on magazine covers, the women are the ones who are nude or showing their bodies whilst the men are fully clothes however it's the other way round and shows Lennon's vulnerability.
So what does make a good magazine cover? From these covers that I've looked at, minimalistic and simple seem to be appearing the more than often. Those with a different and unique image are the most attention grabbing, some being controversial and topical at the time. But most of all those with the best story behind them make the best covers, whether that is Kanye West depicting himself as Jesus Christ or Muhammad Ali following his religion and being rejected for it.
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