April 1, 2008
Elle cover
As Madonna hits 50 she’s featured on just about every front cover at the moment – including her tenth time on Vanity Fair – but none will be as stark and stylish as next month’s UK Elle, above. The Tom Munroe photograph is a strong one, filling the cover well while not adding much to the vast collection of images that already exist of the lady. But it’s the design and attention to detail that makes this such a strong front cover: the bright, clean white background with matt finish; the slight gloss varnish on the black logo and red headline; the way the text and barcode are all tilted slightly to throw off balance the otherwise symmetrical design.
This is the subscription cover, and the newsstand version will inevitably have more coverlines, but so what? This is a lovely cover.
11 Comments
Comment on April 1, 2008 by Andrew says:
It is, also because the bar code is nicely integrated too. By the way, take a look at this month’s Italian Vogue cover, if you haven’t seen it. The Reflections cover is a strong image, made stronger by a double gatefold.
Comment on April 1, 2008 by Andrew says:
Another thought – do subscriber covers NEED barcodes??
Comment on April 2, 2008 by richard says:
maybe im missing something, but its an average picture of madonna, inexplicably holding rope. for me the pissed type/barcode cheapen the minimal/stark/whatever intentions of leaving all other cover lines off. its just blahhh. im no big fan of vanity fair, but madonna as Atlas, holding up a concrete earth, whilst objectionable in sooo many ways, is way way stronger than this ropey (hur hur), dull black and white number surely? i know elle dont have leibovitz budgets, so the safe psuedo minimal/sopisticated avenue is maybe their only option, but im tired of trendy minimalism, it just feels unenthusiastic, bored, scared even. i dont know.. all i want are ideas. and there just isnt one here, or at least one that is fully resolved.
Comment on April 2, 2008 by jeremy says:
I like the minimalism, Richard, but agree the two weak points are 1) the subject herself: enough Madonna! and 2) as I said, the image itself is not adding much to the vast library of Madonna pix.
Check out an actual copy of the magazine – the design and finish work well.
Comment on April 2, 2008 by Dave says:
Come on, it’s a bit naive to think:
a) You’d put anyone but Madonna on your cover given the choice.
and
b) Any picture from a session would get on the cover without Madonna’s approval.
Given those restraints I think it’s really well executed. It looks iconic, which is hard to achieve given the raw materials(!)
It’s nice to live in a little artistic bubble where commercial considerations don’t exist, but we’re not talking about a Hoxton fashion mag
Comment on April 2, 2008 by richard says:
weve got a none subsciption one in the office with the cover lines and no trendy spot varnishes and traditioal use of barcode (ie straight). you know i dont hate it, but i just dont like it that much. notice theyre slipping the serif in on the cover, gently wrestling the sans away. that sans is like robert mugabe. it just wont let go. thats a very sick comparison actually. sorry.
Comment on April 2, 2008 by Mark says:
Reminds me of the supermodels issue of The Face
Comment on April 2, 2008 by anna says:
Isnt Elle supposed to use Futura all the time? All the other editions of Elle do. Its like an Elle company thing I heard. Is good to move it on.
Comment on April 2, 2008 by richard says:
@dave
i dont have a problem with madonna being on the cover, and i dont think that elle should be a hoxton fashion magazine. i just think it should be better than it is, for the reasons listed above.
the copy approval thing is a pertinant point though, that image is actually repeated as the lead imagine inside which suggests they were struggling.
i cant believe ive posted 3 times on a magazine i really dont give a toss about either way. must be a dull wednesday…
Comment on April 2, 2008 by Mark says:
I worked on a mag in the 90s where we were given one ‘exclusive’ shot by her people to use on the cover. They didn’t explain the same pic was going to be the cover of her next single too..
Comment on April 2, 2008 by Woz says:
“My name is Madonna. I had an accident, and I woke up in 1991. Am I mad, in a coma, or back in time? Whatever’s happened, it’s like I’ve landed on a different planet. Now maybe if I can work out the reason, I can get home.”
