Skip to content
Cover Story: 38Hours
Cover story

Cover Story: 38Hours

38HOURS Covers-1 38HOURS Covers-3
We love these covers for travel magazine 38Hours, which follow a simple but effective template. Each of the A5 issues focuses on a different European city, and the editors work closely with local bloggers and journalists to ensure a personal and knowledgeable perspective. The front covers similarly convey a sense of insider-knowledge and capture the cities very accurately through typography and colour alone.

38HOURS Covers-5 38HOURS Covers-6
The repetition of the city name has that same ringing and hypnotic effect of flashing neon signs, capable of drawing you in and capturing your attention. Orange for Amsterdam somehow evokes the city’s tiled rooftops and the lit up canal, and green for Berlin conjures the city’s splattering of graffiti and parks. The typography is subtle but compelling; flowing cursive makes sense for Vienna, and the slinky, stylish Milan is very on point. This is not pastiche, but each choice make a gentle nod towards its provenance.

When you go buy a new travel magazine or guide, it’s important to get a sense that the editors know and understand the city they’re featuring. If these covers are anything to go by, 38Hours definitely know their stuff. Design by Node.

Review by Madeleine Morley

Since posting, these guides have been rebranded as Lost In.

lostin.com/#guide

Previous post magTravels: U Symposium, Singapore
Next post Out now: If You Leave #1