The Coolest Magazine Covers of January 2014

Image via Complex Original

Photographer: Jason Nocito
Art director: Robert Vargas

For this issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, the magazine decided to dedicate its front cover to David Stern, who will be stepping down from his position as commissioner of the NBA come February 1. The business magazine hilariously depicts Stern tossing a ball away from him alongside Silver, who holds his hand out to receive a pass. On top of them are the words "Transition Game." There was no better way to bid Stern farewell.

Who could forget Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman's rubber duck? The giant, inflatable sculpture first made waves last year in Australia, eventually traveling to places like China and Taiwan, where it became a huge hit. Taiwanese arts and culture magazine Radikal dedicated its 10th issue to Hofman, featuring the artist's rubber sculpture on the front cover along with an in-depth interview with Hofman.

What can we say? We're total suckers for bold typography and pop art. The artist behind Block Club's cover took a page out of Roy Lichtenstein's book, obscuring a photo of a man with a massive yellow sound effect bubble with the word "BOOM!" emblazoned on it. The cover is playful, it challenges typical magazine covers, and it's effective. Andy Warhol and Lichtenstein would've been impressed.

Art director: Andrew Diprose

Although The Ride Journal features the image of a bicycle on each issue of the cycling publication, the magazine's designers have managed to ingrain a sense of wonder into their readers, transporting them to new destinations with every cover. For The Ride Journal's eighth issue, readers are taken for a ride on the streets of Japan, where splotches of yellow light up the Starry Night-reminiscent scenery. Though we're not sure what the creatures on the right side of the cover are, the orange critters bring a sense of playfulness to the otherwise solemn illustration.

It's not every day the work of a recent grad makes it onto the cover of The London Magazine, but Malaysian-based illustrator Floyd Grey is so good at what he does, it looks like the 23-year-old has been doing this for decades. Though his cover for The London Magazine is relatively simple, consisting of a white background and Kate Moss' face, you have to appreciate his craftsmanship and flair for color. Somehow he makes the British model look even more beautiful, portraying her with a cherry red pout and pink watercolors washed into her hair.

Photographer: Inez & Vinoodh

Rihanna stripped down for the Winter 2013/2014 issue of 032c, rocking nothing but a pair of smoky eyes, a cross, and a Gucci coat draped around her shoulders. And while the Barbadian singer has posed for a number of fashion magazines in 2013, something about this minimal, black-and-white image suggests it's about more than just fashion. Maybe it's the lack of clothes, or perhaps it's because the image was shot by the illustrious photography duo Inez & Vinoodh.

Art director: Ramon Pezzarini

There's no denying the fact that people have become overexposed to the media and desensitized to even the most violent headlines. Perhaps that is why we find Fanqiao Wang's cover illustration for Colors' Protest Issue so powerful. Though it's made up of seemingly charming caricatures like that of a familiar comic strip, it depicts images of suffering and rebellion from foreign places like South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico. The contrast in style and content is what makes it so eye-catching.

Now that we're well into awards season, British film magazine Little White Lies devoted their January/February issue to the Academy Award-winning Coen brothers, the directors of Inside Llewyn Davis. The issue includes a rundown of the Coen brothers' best works and an interview with Inside Llewyn Davis star Oscar Isaac. We like this cover, not only for its detailed illustration of a rugged-looking Llewyn Davis, but also because it perfectly encapsulates the film's gritty narrative.

Art director: Waleed Rabin

It's refreshing to see publications like Oman's Thursday Magazine retain a sense of playfulness even when tackling some harder news stories. For the magazine's Jan. 23, 2014 issue, the cover portrays a toddler with his arms swaddled around his mother's left leg, which is appropriately composed of the words "clingy child." Though it's a simple design, it works.

There's a whimsical quality to the cover of Hi-Fructose's latest issue, illustrated by James Jean. The woman on the cover is composed of delicate lines, with no bold colors, save for her ebony hair. She seems to fade into the background; only her long wisps of hair conveys a feeling of permanence. Surrounded by magenta blossoms and tiny butterflies, the woman is in stark contrast to the embellishments around her, which is precisely what makes it such a striking cover.

Photographer: Craig McDean

It's hard to believe Yoko Ono is 80 years old, especially when her cover shoot for the Art Issue of Interview portrays the artist looking like a total boss in a her mod attire of a black suit, hat, and her iconic Porsche shield sunglasses. Photographed by the acclaimed Craig McDean, Yoko Ono looks stylish against a backdrop of subdued pink, yellow, and blue. Two art legends come together in this epic cover.

Art director: Lucijana D. Rastić

The cover of Tinted's third issue is enough to make anyone do a double take. That's the effect Emir Sehanovic has on his viewers. Just like his artwork, there's a psychedelic aesthetic to this Tinted cover, which features a rosy, redheaded woman. The kaleidoscope affect along with the subtle grainy quality makes for an eye-catching image.

Art director: Brent Gentile

Charlie Immer's cover for the Imagination Issue of Juxtapoz Magazine allows viewers a glance into a world inhabited by slimy skeletons and sliced-up creatures, while reminding them that the things your imagination conjures up may sometimes be pretty scary. The Juxtapoz cover features a smiling skeleton. Long globs of blood drip from his head to his rainbow-colored tentacles. After a while, however, the blood begins to resemble syrup, and his hands look like pieces of candy. It's crazy what the power of imagination can do.

The illustration Ben Wiseman created for the cover of The New York Times Magazine's Jan. 19, 2014 issue is simple yet striking. The swarm of pixelated cursors clustered around the orange text "Bully" feel menacing despite being an icon viewers see on a daily basis. It was a perfect opening image of an issue centered on cyberbullying and the "vigilantes" who try to stop it.

Photographer: Emma Summerton
Art Director: Yayoi Kusama

It seemed the art world would never stop raving about Yayoi Kusama in Dec. 2013, especially after she speckled George Clooney for the cover of W Magazine's Art Issue. Clooney sat down with W Magazine to chat about his latest role in an upcoming film The Monuments Men, so it only made sense to enlist an acclaimed artist like Kusama as art director of this cover shoot. To no one's surprise, Kusama's latest editorial work has become just as iconic as her lauded exhibition at David Zwirner.