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.

Esquire's game of Throne

I have to admit I wanted to buy the march 2014 of Esquire instantly just by glancing at it quickly on my computer screen. Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones stole this cover and am I glad he did. With exclusive photographs by Tom Munro.

Ok so first off, hats. Thank you Esquire for putting this amazing actor on your cover. I'm sure many other people feel that way as well. Dinklage looks amazing here and I cannot control the urge I have to go to the first newsstand and buy this issue (unfortunately, we french people have to wait a little longer to get the latest goodies from America...). The styling is great, the picture is great and the guy is great. This scores major points. However, I can't only be saying nice things...or can i?

Layout wise I have to admit I was a little weirded out, at first. The logo placement felt a little awkward laying like that on Dinklage's shoulders, but after thinking about it, it was an obvious choice. Had the Style Guide copy and logo switched places it would have made Dinklage look a lot shorter. The placement they have now, with his head all the way above the logo helps a LOT. It makes him a lot more present and imposing. To give you a better idea of what I'm talking about, I quickly tweaked the cover to emphasize the difference.

On the left we have the original cover, very powerful. On the right, my tweaked cover. It's quite funny because it looks like I made him smaller. Optical illusion. A simple logo placement can make or destroy a cover, this one works very well, kuddos for that because this picture could have easily been ruined.

Esquire, please ship your issues to France faster.

Sincerely. 

J~

Esquire's bitchy february cover

Ah esquire, you have been one of my favorites for a while now and I thought it would take a lot for you to disappoint me. However, I noticed recently that I have been so hung up on how beautiful, interactive and user friendly the magazine app was that I completely forgot taking a look at the print version of the issues. 

Let's look at the february 2013 issue with Megan fox on the cover (not one of my favorite people but I will admit she looks good). all in all not a bad cover. the color palette is nice, the picture is up to the esquire criteria and standing and when I see that it does make me want to pick it up. The photography is from Sante D'Orazio (who seems to only specialize in taking pictures of naked models and actresses…). The picture of Fox is not that revealing but she does look a bit high and considering the photographer I'm surprised she didn't lose more clothes for this.

The typography on the cover is a lot similar to what they did for Sofia Vergara's cover (april 2012). I didn't really like it then I'm still not sure about it now. There are interesting things going on like the copy above the esquire logo, but the rest feels a bit too much underrated for me.

Now the cover is not my biggest concern…after looking at this issue on the iPad I was delighted, the interactivity, user interface and everything else was up to Esquire standards. But I did get a print version of this issue (which I hadn't done in a while) and I can honestly say I almost hard a heart attack. The layouts and design looks terrible. It takes a lot of bad for me to say that, as this magazine is in my top 3 favorites of all time. It looked messy and under-treated and I honestly cannot understand how you can have such an amazing iPad app and such an awful printed version of the exact same thing. one of the pages that shocked me was the "Funny joke from a beautiful woman". Gorgeous on the app, a serious wtf on the print, see for yourself below.

What's This Font 1.0 - Esquire

 Hey guys, so like many other graphic designers I'm a font nut and I like to know what is being used out there and if I can use it too. So for this first post of What's this font, I will be exploring our friends at Esquire Magazine U.S. If you've ever wondered what font they are using, this is the place to look. Most of Esquire's typefaces were custom made for the magazine though not all of them. You can find the ones that weren't, online ,(they do cost a bit though but nothing particularly excessive for a font family).

The first one we'll start with is Graphik (the font used on their cover) which can be bought through commercial type and was designed by Christian Schwartz in 2009. Esquire uses it on the cover and throughout the issue for categories like "Style", "cars" and "MaHB" (Man at his best). It's a very nice font, modern and bold,very easy to use as well as easy on the eyes.

The next one is Granger, which was commissioned by Esquire from Commercial Type. The name of the typeface was for their long-time editor in chief and was designed by Kai Bernau and Susana Carvalho. Granger is also used as one of their pillar typeface with Graphik throughout the issue and is quite prominent. Both those fonts stand very well together and bring the layouts together nicely.

Now the last one I'll cover today I am not sure about. They use a condensed type on their cover which I would assume after digging around, is Giorgio Sans from Commercial Type. It's a very nice typeface, lots of different weights, very modern and simple. It goes very nicely with Graphik and Granger, so nicely actually you almost don't notice there's a third type family on the cover.

I will keep updating this post as I get more info so stay tuned!

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.

Esquire's HOT Summer

Esquire U.S and U.K are all in for summer with hot looking cover

A very tasteful clothes-less Rihanna steams things up at Esquire U.K versus 57 year old Bruce Willis who can still is bring it on for Esquire's U.S's cover.

That's all nice and cozy... but let's not kid ourselves, this is about who's got it right:

Both covers' styles are great for different reasons. On the one hand we have great typography for the U.S cover (including the inside, as always pure YUM), the design team sure knows how to keep things interesting. BUT, it is starting to get a little busy and is taking focus out of Bruce's fierce portrait. The copy above the logo is what is mainly throwing everything off, poor Bruce is drowning in a too abundant amount of type...
now now will someone throw him a lifebuoy?

On the other hand we have a gorgeous and fresh Rihanna. A perfect design for summer with the simple typography. Loving the clean look of this cover. The combination of this sexy picture & the restricted color palette brings everything together. In general I would probably be doubtful about the type/copy at the bottom of the cover but weirdly enough (though it could be a little smaller) it really ties the whole thing together and completes it nicely.

on a side note, wouldnt it be wonderful if these two managed to merge their styles? 
those 2 covers seem to complement each other nicely...anyone up for the challenge?

Can't wait to see what's in store for the next issues, dazzle us Esquire teams~

Esquire's 2012 Big Black Book

It's this time of year again folks, the brand new Big Black Book 

spring/summer 2012 issue from Esquire is out!

I got my copy this morning and it looks amazing. The cover is beautiful with its type
and awesome spot gloss. The font for the cover and titles throughout the book is dala floda which you can find on Commercial Type. It's quite expensive but beautiful nonetheless! The whole book is designed very tastefully with a clean modern look, Dala Floda gives it the perfect edge. In addition the special openers add so much to the flow of what is esquire's best issue this year so far. Only minus is the overflow of commercials but we can let that slide considering the general great design of this issue.

Time to go grab yours.

Esquire U.S April and U.K May covers

Esquire U.S features Sofia Vergara on its newest April issue versus Jon Hamm from Mad men for the U.K. May issue. Now clearly this isn't even a competition, a dark and undertreated cover versus a colorful and out of character Jon Hamm?

Esquire U.K's new look that has been in place since December is a breath of fresh air. The magazine is getting colorful and more youthful than ever and we like it! It is Jon Hamm's crazy side that is depicted in this issue and it looks great. Standing out from it's competitors is exactly what the magazine is and has been doing. Each issue since the redesign has been a success and it's only getting better, kudos to Creative Director David McKendrick.

Now on the U.S side, this month's cover was quite disappointing. For an April Sex issue, this cover lacks excitement. The overall color scheme did not make me want to pick up my copy from the news stand. The photography is still appealing but there is no contest between Esquire U.K and its American sibling this month on the cover front...

Which one is your favorite?