Cover Fight 1.0 : Fallon V.S. Kimmel

Cover Fight time!
Ok so I've been meaning to post this since the Jimmy Fallon Vanity Fair cover came out but work has been crazy and I haven't had time to. SO, I'm posting it now because I believe this is still relevant and well, I love that Jimmy Kimmel cover and never had a chance to post about it so here we go:

A few months ago Esquire and Vanity both put on their covers two late night stars, on the one hand we have Jimmy Fallon for Vanity Fair and on the other Jimmy Kimmel for Esquire. We have two very different styles. Esquire mixed polished with artistic and oh my god how well does that work?! This cover made me smile, made me want to buy the issue, made me happy I went to the newsstand. The photo is great, it's by Jeff Minton. It captures the essence of Kimmel really well, the whole concept is just perfect for him. I love the hand drawn look of the type and the smudges around the logo. There isn't much to say here other than, they totally nailed it… So we have 1 point for concept, 1 point for typography and one point for photography!

On the other hand we have Jimmy Fallon for Vanity Fair. Different magazine, radically different style. The cover was shot by Annie Leiboviz. I am divided on this one. The more I look at it, the more I like it, I guess. But if I were to glance at it quickly at a newsstand I don't think I would look twice. It doesn't pop out enough for me. I wish Jimmy had been the only one on the cover, the models add a certain touch to this that I don't like. I get the concept, I get why it might have seen like a great idea to shoot two stories in the same picture on the cover, but I don't think it came out as great as it could have been. They didn't play the comedy side enough. The type is ALL over and it's getting very cramped which might be what is bugging me. I don't care too much for the blue sticker bubbles on top on the red banner on the bottom right. The logo is getting completely eaten away and I don't know where to look anymore. The hierarchy is off and it's a cover that ends up being rough to navigate through. (On a side note, Fallon's face looks kind of weird…) If we count it up we have 1 point for concept, -1 point for typography, 1/2 point for photography.

Which gives us 3 for Kimmel and 0.5 for Fallon.

So for this "fight", Kimmel and Esquire get the win…because you know, I smile everytime I look at this cover and that is a really good feeling.

Vogue UK June 2014 redesign

Kate upton made the cover of this month's Vogue UK. It's quite a disapointing cover considering the model and the photographer. I would have expected more but it turns out we don't always get what we want right?

After looking at the full photoshoot I saw this one picture and the cover alarms went off in my head. I took about 20 minutes and here's a little bit of a "what if..." moment...

 Dear Vogue, if you are going to have a really hot, beachy and steamy photoshoot with Kate Upton, do it all the way (by all the way I do mean put it on the damn cover).

 For this redesign I used some of the most basic fonts on my computer (though clearly they need a little help typography wise it's not the point I'm trying to make).

I understand that dealing with brands and getting the proper credits on a cover is a huge thing but that's why you plan those things ahead. This shoot is so light and steamy while the cover appears completely dull and washed out. This is another case of Vogue UK being so much better on the inside than it is on the outside (see my previous post on this with Natalia Vodianova). But this is supposed to be a package deal! (see below for more pictures from the shoot)

Next time Vogue, please go through with a concept ALL the way, 

it would make everything so much better...

Daniel Craig: GQ v.s ESQUIRE

Latest 007 Daniel Craig is on the cover of both GQ France and Esquire U.K
for their October issue and I can't complain. But who is doing it better?

Let's start with the photography.

For Esquire we have famous photographer Terry O'Neil with a straight on portrait and for GQ, photographer Tom Craig opting for a lighter setting and something slightly more interesting than a straight on pose. The photography is clearly better handled in every way by GQ France. The styling is great (that suit looks perfect on him) and he looks the most like himself. Esquire seemed to have had a bit of a mishap regarding the styling (and I also want to say Craig's face? I'm not the only one seeing there's a problem there am I?), what is Craig wearing? nothing I'd buy for my guy for sure...They tried to do something way more dressed up than they usually go for on their covers and it didn't work.

Now design wise.

 I'm not playing favorites but GQ does it better as well. Mostly I like their typeface better than Esquire U.K, it makes more of a statement and is way more pleasant to look at. Don't get me wrong Esquire's cover looks fine but considering they are indeed esquire they should look great. The whole thing looks a bit awkward to me.
Let's hope their next cover makes us forget about this one because so far (excluding this little accident) they've been amazing.

GQ October is bare & dapper for fall 2012

GQ U.S, U.K and FRANCE throw at us multiple covers for this fall, good thing?
I'm not so sure... We see here how drastically different the same magazine is from one country to another, and apparently the country where the magazine originated from isn't always the leading example to follow.

Well hello there Mr. Craig! GQ France didn't do anything particularly special for this October issue but why change a winning style? This edition of the magazine has been gorgeous all on it's own completely detaching itself from its American sibling for a while now. The typefaces are custom made for GQ France and were designed by Anton Koovit, Yassin Baggar and Yorgo Tloupas. The boldness might appear a bit overpowering at first but it actually fits the general design perfectly. It's clean, modern and gorgeous all the way. We have a definite winner here there's no question about it!

Very sexy Tinie Tempah and Lana Del Rey cover GQ U.K going black and white for this fall. Both covers for this UK edition are at first glance a mixture of steamy and classy. The photography by Mariano Vivanco for Lana and Dylan Don for Tinie Tempah is perfect and the styling is just as good. What is bringing these covers down you may ask? well it's the typography. I mean really? I tried to find the name of the font they used unsuccessfully, not that I want to use it, it's not my taste and really not in sync with the GQ style. I understand the concept behind this but they could have used a more modern typeface and make this look way more appealing. So for this issue I'm not sure I can look past the font used. Still, I do have to give them credit for standing out on stands and be eye catching even if only for a few seconds.

Oh GQ U.S...what's been going on with you? Granted your photography of actors Denzel washington and Javier Bardem is great and that should'nt change but your typography is just boring. There is nothing special about these covers and it's a bit disappointing...The typography is just so cluttered and boringly stacked, you have so much more to offer than that, and if you don't I'm asking myself why pay $5 for this. When are they going to redesign this to be visually more appealing? Hoping for something better for the next issue.

Va va VOGUE

The month of may is already there in editorial land and I am focusing on the vogues. Three different and gorgeous women on each edition of U.S, U.K and French vogue show contrasted design styles. U.S vogue features Scarlett Johansson photographed by Mario Testino, for the U.K we have Charlize Theron looking more beautiful than ever in a Valentino dress photographed by Patrick Demarchelier and finally Laetitia Casta for french vogue also photographed by Mario Testino.

VOGUE U.K is my favorite of those three for many for different reasons. First of all the photography and styling is all you could want from a Vogue, beautiful yet simple and elegant. The general color scheme of the cover made me instantly want to pick it up from the stand and the inside is as great as the outside. The light blue/green of the dress combines perfectly with the bright red(with a hint of orange) on the cover. The typography combination of a sans serif typeface with a serif one makes everything better. As well as being more visually appealing it adds the edge that is lacking on the french and U.S covers. This "living Special" makes me want to be Vogue and carry this edition around all day.

Now FRENCH VOGUE's minimal style on the cover works quite well with the photography, a very simple color palette matching Casta's eyes looks very fresh. All and all a good cover though a little excitement wouldn't hurt... The typography is still a little crowded and could have used a little more work. That aside this custom font made especially for french Vogue is absolutely beautiful and makes me drool every time I read an issue...

U.S VOGUE I am afraid to say looks a bit "cheap". Now don't get me wrong, it's not terrible but it lacks the fashion edge that the U.K and french covers have. I am not a fan of this picture of Scarlett Johansson but I think that what is throwing me off is the typography. Vogue needs to be doing some redesign on its covers...It simply doesn't look like a fashion magazine. And the type... all sans serif, all caps, big and round letters crowding the left side, NOT looking sexy at all. Its overcrowded and under treated, come on the french and the british are doing it so well, what is happening in the U.S?

GQ U.K's May Issue rocks your iPad

The May issue of GQ U.K is out on our tablets and all I have to say is nice job!

Model Candice Swanepoel is on the cover with great photography
from Terry Richardson.

This issue is sexier than ever and the inside is just as delicious as the outside. The cover with its restricted and sexy color palette is more than appealing and the way the pictures are being revealed as you scroll down do read the article is the perfect touch. Awesome come back from last month's issue. Nice work from the iPad team!
Hopefully this will make GQ U.S switch things up a bit on their iPad edition and think outside the box.

If there's an issue you want on your iPad this month, it's this one!

GQ covers match worldwide

Recently owner of an iPad, the first thing to do was to download all the GQ apps available from newsstand. I've been enjoying comparing the different designs of the magazine from one country to another. 

GQ France and GQ U.S are both beautifully designed wether it be print or iPad (Hurry up GQ France we want  more issues uploaded on the app!). On the U.K side things are quite disappointing. The April design was less than appealing to me, the overall childish type treatment for the headlines completely broke off from the GQ style we all love so much. Despite the fact that this march issue in particular is supposed to be a comedy issue, the type treatment was just too off. I also have to admit I don't care for Olivia Wilde's picture on the cover, I barely recognized her..

So for April we have a winner for the U.S Style bible special issue 

which with its alternate covers blows away the competition with a 

very clean and modern design.

France comes in second place 

with great photography though the copy gets a bit overwhelming on the cover, 

nonetheless good overall design.

Last on the finish line is U.K 

with a design fail for march way back there trying to catch up...