For the final magazine cover design, I chose to do a hybrid of a poster cover and "pictures married to type." My magazine is a mimic of Smithsonian which is one of the few magazines with minimal text on its covers. It caters to a well educated, affluent audience, and the confidence in its cover design reflects that.
The cover picture is a photo I took at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It's one of the best photos I've taken, so I knew I didn't want it cluttered with any other graphics. I wanted to keep the bottom right-hand corner bare because that space is typically used for the name and address of the subscriber. Still, I added a banner as an alternate version so it lures your eye diagonally from the top left-hand corner with the jelly fish to the bottom (and hopefully into the magazine).
Selecting the appropriate text was the most difficult. I wanted the text to differentiate from the title, but still compliment the overall look. I wanted the main story to pop, so I added an ocean ripple effect and gradient overlay. Simple, clean, yet enticing was my goal, and I think I achieved just that.
