Editorial design

Member lesson

The cover, and what it has to do in a second

Lesson 8 of 10 in Editorial design.

Lesson

A cover is a poster with a brand on it, judged in about a second, frequently with a third of it hidden behind another magazine. Everything about how covers are designed follows from those two facts.

An ink drawing of a crowded newsstand rack with overlapping magazines showing only their top bands, and a hand reaching for the one with a simple bold picture.
Overlapping covers on a newsstand where only the top band shows.
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Check what stuck

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Members answer these 3 questions and keep the ticket for this lesson. Every lesson has one.

  1. Question 1, locked

    Which of these words means this? “The publication's name as set on the cover. Its strongest distinctive asset.”

    • Masthead
    • Well
    • Breather
    • Pacing
  2. Question 2, locked

    Which of these words means this? “The text selling a piece inside. Written to be read at arm's length.”

    • Cover line
    • Scroll
    • Subscriber cover
    • Newsstand test
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which of these words means this? “Whether it works among forty others, partly obscured.”

    • Newsstand test
    • Gutter
    • Baseline grid
    • Column grid

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