MarkLives.com runs a regular slot featuring the best local and international magazine covers every week. We recognise well thought out, powerful and interesting (and hopefully all three in one) magazine covers and celebrate the mix of pragmatism, creativity and personal taste that created each of them. By media blogger MediaSlut.
See our archive of previous MagLove cover selections
INTERNATIONAL
The New York Times Magazine, 11 August 2013
The coverline reads “The Midcareer Time Out (Is Over)”, with reference to people (working mothers) who ‘opted out of their careers’, and how they now want to get back into a career (You can read the article here). I like the visual (and playful) element to the cover, with the “crayon scribbles” over “time out”. Because it’s over. Get it?
L’Equipe magazine, 3 August 2013
This French Sports magazine (meaning The Team) has some amazing covers, but I especially like their cover of 3 August 2013. There’s a calmness and special beauty to it, and the use colour, coverlines and text all comes together. You can page through this issue, right here.
Open Skies, August 2013
Emirates’ Open Skies in-flight magazine is one of the strongest in-flight magazines, with consistently strong covers! This issue, they focus “How Technology is destroying the guide book”. The way they illustrated it, with such a simple design element, is what makes this once of my favourite covers… of the year! You can read the complete August 2013 issue right here, or look at their archive.
Tentações (Portugal), 3 August 2013
When translated to English, “Temptations” supplement (Saturdays with a publication called Sábado) produced this creative (and in it’s own dirty and messy way, beautiful) cover with the coverline “10 Ideas to spend the day on the river or the sea (One should not take this magazine into the water)”… Seems like it’s already been :-)
LOCAL
kykNET, August 2013
Not many people will be familiar with kykNET’s magazine, or know that they even had one. Well, it’s a well-kept secret, and kept as a present for Kaboedel-subscribers (you know, that Media24 MySubs platform where one gets 15 Afrikaans magazines for only R99 per month…) who get this monthly title as an added freebie. I thought it’s a pretty cover, with clever use of coverlines. Even though some of them are quite small, and you have to put in some ‘effort’ to read everything I like the execution.
JSE, July – September 2013
Once again a title that not many people will be familiar with, but a title that needs recognition as they definitely have some bragging-rights with their stunning covers (you can view an archive of previous covers here). I’ve included the main JSE cover, as well as that of the supplement, in my list of weekly favourite covers because both are just stunningly beautiful. JSE is produced quarterly and is the official business and lifestyle quarterly of the JSE Limited.
– The (for now anonymous) blogger behind MediaSlut knows way too much for his own good about media in South Africa. Magazines in particular. His mission is to show when South African magazines might fail, but most importantly, succeed. If you’re looking for a library about South African magazines and news, your one-stop pitstop is MediaSlut. #MagazinesForTheWin
– Find a cover we should know about? Tweet us @marklives and @mediaslut
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