Crowded Covers
A couple of years ago, I was rooting around a used bookstore and stumbled across some old issues of Fortune magazines from the 1930s. Since I was only familiar with the current, somewhat aesthetically pedestrian, iteration of the magazine, I can safely say I was blown away. Those old weathered issues were simply beautiful. Filled with beautiful illustrations, design and typography, those old magazines easily bested anything currently on the newsstands.
Since then I have sought out other old magazines and marveled at how good they looked. It easy to forgot the power and beauty an illustration can have when used properly on a magazine cover. Unfortunately, it is so easy to forget because it is done so infrequently now. Aside from The New Yorker (which features a snazzy illustration by Eric Drooker on this week’s cover, there are few high-profile magazines that consistently have covers that exclusively use illustrations on their covers.
Now I don’t want to turn this into a illustration versus photography debate. I love good photography just as much as I love good illustration. I think the problem is more of one with art direction. Today, art directors must account for much more information that needs to be communicated. The result is covers jam-packed with coverlines teasing the content found within. This comes in direct contrast with what was done in the past (as seen in this then and now comparison.)
All things are cyclical and I for one hope that the pendulum swings back in favor of aesthetics over coverlines. There are a lot of talented illustrators and photographers out there. Let’s turn them loose and let them produce something truly striking.
Posted by Trev on August 10th, 2007
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