Magazine Covers Scale Down on Clutter

Have you ever felt like there’s way too much to look at on a magazine cover? Your eye darts every which way, oftentimes reading only a few words of one headline before your brain is distracted and drawn into another (Teeny-bopper magazines are by far the worst offenders – MILEY CYRUS JUSTIN BEIBER SELENA GOMEZ HOROSCOPES TAYLOR SWIFT TAYLOR LAUTNER TAKE OUR QUIZZES WHO BROKE UP THIS WEEK ?!!?)

Two fashion magazines have plans to increase sales by decreasing clutter on their cover pages. Glamour and Harper’s Bazaar both want to scale down on the amount of content advertised on the front, as well as change type treatments and photography art direction. For years Glamour magazine has stuck with a white background and pink or red title. Now they’re exploring textured backgrounds and playing with different colors for the title and headlines – by keeping the type all one color, it helps the viewer better organize what’s highlighted in the issue.

Magazines are without a doubt more ads than content, and getting something featured on the front page is rare. That being said, now that less will be placed on the cover, one wonders if it will be more costly to get placement.

Old + New Glamour Covers

Source: AdWeek