Image via Complex Original
September Issue covers are the talk of the town when September rolls around, but that leaves so many other great magazines overlooked. Aren't there are other ways to go about bringing readers into the Fall season than interviewing Sarah Jessica Parker or Demi Lovato for the tenth time? The celebrity on a magazine cover surely affects magazine sales, but some publications forget about the importance of presentation. A magazine can have plenty of interesting content, but they need an intriguing cover to lure people. Sometimes that objective distracts from the real message.
Publications with more creative freedom have much more enticing covers that actually reflect our culture. Whether they have collaborations with contemporary artists or transform their magazines into a creative sticker book, technology has allowed magazines to come up with more innovative ways to present themselves. The Coolest Magazine Covers of September 2013 are far more interesting than the typical magazines you see on your newsstand.
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15. Adbusters
Publication: Adbusters
Australia's independent magazine, Adbusters, might not be a design publication, but we love their incorporation of contemporary aesthetics into an anti-capitalist dialogue. Who said that politics had to be boring? The photograph on the cover is a stunning portrayal of our young generation's relation with war and politics.
14. Fucking Young!
Photographer: Michiel Meewis
Art Director: Michiel Meewis
Publication: Fucking Young!
Independent fashion magazines tend to be more creative than publications that belong to giant corporations. Pardon our French, but Fucking Young!'s cover could definitely be ripped out, framed and placed in art gallery. Michiel Meewis' use of lighting gives off a mysterious aura that makes the reader wonder what is going on beyond the frame.
13. Paper Monument
Designer: Prem Krishnamurthy
Publication: Paper Monument
We don't want to sound like a cliché, but sometimes less truly is more. Paper Monument, a contemporary art journal, just puts the issue number on the cover with nothing else. Every issue differs by color palette and design so the readers can look forward to <em>Paper Monument's</em> new interpretation of the issue number. The watercolor used to write the number four is simple and perfectly executed.
12. MOOD
Art Director: Emma Hovel
Publication: MOOD
Who knew music and art could have so much in common? MOOD certainly believes so. The publication has contributors from all over the globe which provide provocative articles and photographs that relate to the world of food and music. Because of the photographer's use of cropping and composition, it takes a second before one can tell that there are crabs on the cover. We enjoy the juxtaposition between the rough texture of the crabs and the fluidity of the water below.
11. Transworld Surf
Photographer: Brian Bielmann
Publication: Transworld Surf
Transworld Surf 's focus on design and photography innovated the way publishers go about creating sports magazines. Their covers always displayed creative photographs of surfing that do not subscribe to cliché surf culture. The "party's over" painted over the magazine indicates that this cover is for their last edition ever.
10. Novum Magazine
Photographer: Graphic Designer: Werklig
Publication: Novum Magazine
Novum's cover is great because anyone can interpret the cover which ever way they want. Is it a brain or is it a compilation of intertwined figures? It might as well could be both. We haven't even opened up the magazine and we already know that there will be plenty of interesting uses of technology and art. The Danish graphic design magazine shows us the creative potential of graphic design.
9. Bonafide
Photographer: Jimmy Mould
Publication: Bonafide
Bonafide's cover is special because of its unconventional portrayal of the famous rapper Danny Brown. It makes us want to open up the magazine just to see the other crazy photographs that Jimmy Mould took of Mr. Brown. It is about time that a hip hop magazine leans towards minimal design and more innovative styles of photography.
8. Frame
Graphic Designer: Mariëlle van Genderen
Publication: Frame
We expect nothing less than impressive aesthetics from Scandinavian design. Frame is no exception. The publication just recently upgraded their design game with a new typeface, streamlined design and consistent color palette per issue. Their new transformation has made their September cover appear refreshing and new, so it will be hard not to want to rip it open to see what else there is to enjoy.
7. i-D
Photographer: Craig McDean, Matt Jones, Willy Vanderperre
Art Director: Ronnie Cooke-Newhouse
Publication: i-D
It's hard to find a month in the year that does not have Kate Moss on the cover. Although this i-D cover was published in September 2013, this photograph is an outtake from Moss' photo shoot for Calvin Klein in the '90s with the world-renown Craig McDean. Per usual, i-D offers 3 other stunning covers to go along with their issue's theme, "Creative Collaborations." Alongside the iconic Kate Moss are super models Jordan Dunn, Natalia Vodianova and Amanda Murphy. We appreciate that i-D has always been capable of showcasing fashion in a very artful and design-oriented manner.
6. CTRL
Graphic Designer: Studio Temp
Publication: CTRL
CTRL magazine is a free Italian publication that shares events going out through out the month. What differentiates this magazine from other touristic publications is its focus on design. What we see on the cover is a man in a business suit with a head made of red, white and blue molecules. It is actually a portrait of Giulio Natta, who won the Nobel Prize of Chemistry in 1963 for his research in high polymers. We love a cover that is capable of looking cool and nerdy at the same time.
5. BOMB
Publication: BOMB
The Brooklyn-based publication, BOMB, showcases conversations with over-looked artists, writers and other creative people. The dialogue between the photograph of the sexy woman and the silhouette of the cowboy is very intriguing. Not to mention that the red, black, and white, color scheme speaks to the colors of WWII propaganda. Although the cover is very simple, there is a lot to be said in terms of its historical and cultural commentary.
4. Sleek
Photographer: Benjamin Vnuk
Publication: Sleek
We love the strong contrast between Sleek's electric yellow border and crisp black and white cover photo. Their clever use of photo manipulation in their diptych cover makes the publication stand out amongst other design magazines. The Fall issue explores the "Future Imperfect/Perfect," which is clearly reflected with their cover art's use of photo manipulation.
3. Garage
Photographer: Inez & Vinoodh and John Baldessari (Artist)
Publication: Garage
It takes a lot of will power to deface one of the hottest women on the planet, but the contemporary artist John Baldessari did not hold back with his graphic and monochrome overlays. What we love about the diptych covers is how Garage subverted the fashion's sexual gaze by manipulating an image of Adriana Lima to the point where she is no longer recognizable.
2. Das Magazin
Photographer: Andreas Wellnitz
Art Director: Michael Bader
Publication: Das Magazin
We cannot imagine a more iconic magazine cover. We are not surprised because Das Magazin has never failed to make covers that make our jaws drop. Andreas Wellnitz set up the photograph like a formal portrait, but we are caught off guard by the black burka contrasted by the blank wall. We applaud the photographer for making an image that is both edgy and timeless at the same time.
1. COLORS
Art Director: Ramon Pezzarini
Publication: COLORS
Colors Magazine is an Italian publication that focuses on 'Looking at Art' to provide new, introspective views on the art community. Their magazine cover for September might be the coolest of all because it is made of peel off stickers that represent popular pieces of art. Who wouldn't want the Jeff Koon's balloon dog on their notebook? We believe that their cover makes excellent commentary on the commercialization of the art world.
