It's Tuesday: I'm OOO and with limited...
Meanwhile, some covers we've liked, so far...Issue #108
Finally! The notifications are turned off. The phone is on silent. It’s been a while, so I had to dig around in the guts of Outlook and unearth the automatic replies feature. This was not an easy summer, and it’s well past time to get out and see some hills, trees, water. The idea is to try and not to think too much.
But that doesn’t mean the world stops. A little time off means that the world will go on with all of that stuff but you get to step off the hamster wheel and catch your breath. Maybe try something you haven’t done before. Or finally do something you really love, but haven’t had time for.
This country is full of incredibly beautiful places and I’m fortunate that my career has given me the opportunity to see an awful lot of it. In the past decade, though, travel for business has been minimal. But that has given me the opportunity to do a bit more of a deep dive into my home state and into the midwest. This week we headed across the lake and turned north.
I was not looking closely at news or links in the run up to this week. So instead, I offer for your consideration, some of the magazine covers that have caught my attention this year. Take a look. Do you like them? Is there something out there that I’ve missed that you want to share? Please do. I love magazine covers!
one___Bloomberg Business Week 03-23-23
Let’s leave aside the simple fact that less than 40% of America actually uses a gas stove and that the whole issue was essentially a ploy by members of one political party to get themselves onto cable TV (Why, exactly, would you want to do that?). The cover image is hilarious.
But, induction is very cool and so is this cover. Bloomberg BW continues, year after year, to deliver very interesting, colorful and amusing covers.
two__Chicago Magazine September 2023
I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive Alden Capital for what they’ve done to the Chicago Tribune. The paper is nothing but a sad, empty, shell of itself. A great city like Chicago deserves a great newspaper - a source of information about not just the country and the world it’s a part of, but a place of deep, inside knowledge of the city and its suburbs. Neither the Trib, nor the Sun-Times seems able to deliver that here in the third decade.
But Chicago Magazine, despite its current owners, continues to deliver great articles, reviews and, fortunately, some really fun covers. Let’s hope the streak continues.
three__Essence Magazine March/April 2023
There’s just something about Essence covers that I always seem to admire. They really hit all the notes when it comes to the whole purpose of a magazine: Serve your audience.
In the case of this cover, it’s also the “look”, the hair, the dress and the flat out statement of purpose.
four__Portland Monthly September 2023
Portland Monthly (Portland, ME) is another regional magazine I keep turning to when I’m collecting covers and there’s something about this particular September cover that left me smiling.
As a rule, I advise clients to not have the cover models’ back to the audience, but weirdly, this time it works. Maybe I like the painting. Or maybe, for some reason, I’ve always liked their logo.
five__Art Journaling Summer 2023
Did I mention that I’m a sucker for an illustrated cover? Well, I am. This Stampington special is another example of really good audience service. The cover is a piece of art, the magazine’s name is pretty straightforward, and the editors and designers were willing to to use cover lines that describe exactly what you’ll find inside.
Your moment of magazine zen…
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Want to find me on the social sites?
My Instagram link is here.
I’m now hanging out at Post.News and you can find me here on their app.
Every now and then I get to put on a suit and tie and comb my hair. Here’s my LinkedIn profile if you want to see me looking all professional.
Thanks to a generous reader, I recently got access to Blue Sky. But I confess, do I really want a “sort of” clone of the old Twitter? “Notes” here on Substack…I can’t say I feel all that enthusiastic. What do you all think about Threads? Is it worth it? Do I really want to spend that much time on social media anymore? I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this.
That’s all I’ve got for you this week. I’ll be back in the office later and hope the in box is not too stuffed with emails informing that the writer “Hopes that I am well and had an enjoyable summer.”
Well, did you? Have an enjoyable summer, that is…
