Wire report

‘Every magazine cover needs to seduce’: designers pick their favourites

From a timeless portrait of Lana Del Rey to an alternative guide to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, experts unpick what makes an enduring, shocking, or alluring print cover ‘We need to rethink what a successful magazine looks like,” says Steve Watson, founder of the subscription magazine club Stack. “It doesn’t make sense to compare the magazines of today to those of the 1960s when many people still didn’t have colour televisions. Print magazines are no longer the best way of reaching lots of people quickly and cheaply but they are still really great at engaging deeply with readers, providing an opportunity to slow down and absorb information. They provide us with an alternative way of seeing the world.” Watson, along with a group of editors, publishers, designers, historians and academics, will be discussing the varying roles and functions that magazines have played over the years during

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From a timeless portrait of Lana Del Rey to an alternative guide to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, experts unpick what makes an enduring, shocking, or alluring print cover ‘We need to rethink what a successful magazine looks like,” says Steve Watson, founder of the subscription magazine club Stack. “It doesn’t make sense to compare the magazines of today to those of the 1960s when many people still didn’t have colour televisions. Print magazines are no longer the best way of reaching lots of people quickly and cheaply but they are still really great at engaging deeply with readers, providing an opportunity to slow down and absorb information. They provide us with an alternative way of seeing the world.” Watson, along with a group of editors, publishers, designers, historians and academics, will be discussing the varying roles and functions that magazines have played over the years during

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According to The Guardian’s source item, ‘Every magazine cover needs to seduce’: designers pick their favourites, From a timeless portrait of Lana Del Rey to an alternative guide to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, experts unpick what makes an enduring, shocking, or alluring print cover ‘We need to rethink what a successful magazine looks like,” says Steve Watson, founder of the subscription magazine club Stack. “It doesn’t make sense to compare the magazines of today to those of the 1960s when many people still didn’t have colour televisions. Print magazines are no longer the best way of reaching lots of people quickly and cheaply but they are still really great at engaging deeply with readers, providing an opportunity to slow down and absorb information. They provide us with an alternative way of seeing the world.” Watson, along with a group of editors, publishers, designers, historians and academics, will be discussing the varying roles and functions that magazines have played over the years during

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Culture file for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-09-15T16:18:43+00:00.

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Primary source: ‘Every magazine cover needs to seduce’: designers pick their favourites via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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