The secrets of magazine cover design 2: The right mix

• each cover line has two parts: a 'kicker' in a bold font with an explanatory line;
• some are in colour, chosen to stand out against the background;
• 3 flashes are used: New; More; and the Exclusive slash;
• stars are used to list items rather than the usual bullets;
• a line running along the top of the masthead lists the topics covered;
• lines are restricted to the left and right thirds and the bottom of the page.

The image  

See these Picture Post covers at Getty Images (a photo agency built on photographs from the magazine's publisher, Hulton)

Study of US Life covers (Web Archive)

Vogue magazine cover archive

Database of US covers

Consumer magazine editors worry more about the cover more than any other part of the magazine. It has long been a mantra that an editor should 'prostitute himself' for the cover, because it is so important to copy sales in the shops (particularly in the UK where more than 90% of consumer magazine sales are in newsagents).
There are no absolute rules to putting a cover together – as a look at the history of magazines shows. Technology has been a big factor in terms of what's possible (women's monthlies weren't glossy 40 years ago, but advances in varnishing and lamination have now made them so). Many people bemoan the move away from the sort of covers that made the Illustrated London News and Esquire famous, but readers' tastes change; magazines must change with them or fold.
Generally, photographs are felt to work better than illustration, at least since the mid-1950s. However, what works for one title might fail on another – computer magazines tend to like a factual look, with white background and photographs; yet computer gaming titles prefer moody illustration.
The models on women's weekly covers will not usually be household names; instead, they reflect how the target readers feel – or want to feel – about themselves. Models will be chosen to look younger than the target reader (except on teen titles).
Bruce Willis is chosen as an international screen icon who moves in the sort of circles that Esquire magazine's aspirational buyers would like to see themselves in.
Note that the faces are not centred on the nose, but instead on one of the eyes.
People prefer images of others with wide-open pupils – a sign of attraction in everyday life.
Colour: many editors avoid white, black and green. Red stands out but can be over-used. Contrast between colours may be more important.
Numbers are used to suggest there is a lot in a magazine. The bigger the better, with many editors preferring figures such as 162 to rounded numbers such as 100

Dick Stolley's mantra for
People in US

"Young is better than old.
Pretty is better than ugly.
Rich is better than poor.
Movies are better than music.
Music is better than television.
Television is better than sports
. . . and anything is better than politics."