You don’t need to be a media scholar to know that in a digital world, the landscape for print magazines has been challenging over the past decade-plus. According to IBIS World’s global magazine publishing market study, the category—worth $105.2 billion this year—has been declining at a compound annual growth rate of 2.4% since 2019, a trend that is expected to continue.
And yet, print magazine covers are everywhere online, and more relevant than ever.
It’s a testament to the enduring influence of certain legacy media outlets and their talented art directors. But more than anything, magazine covers uniquely offer a static snapshot of culture at large, and collectively form a visual timeline of the times. This past year had a particularly unrelenting news cycle—and one polarizing person often at the center of it all: Donald Trump. As the U.S. election cycle kicked into high gear, designers were once again there to opine on him and the rest of the political world.
“We’re still on the wave of using magazine covers as protest [art],” notes Jaap Biemans—art director of Volkskrant Magazine and curator of the popular Instagram account Cover Junkie—in a written exchange from the Netherlands. “I adore that. It [keeps] them relevant.”
Unsurprisingly, Biemans doesn’t see those ubiquitous Trump covers going anywhere anytime soon. But he’s optimistic that creatives will be able to continue to find fresh takes on the incoming president and politics at large moving forward.
“That’s what a good designer does. [They] will always find something different, something surprising. [ . . . ] Maybe it’s time not to show the man himself but focus on his plans, his ideas, and visualize that instead of another weird orange hair cover.”
Of course, there was more to 2024 than Trump— the fall of Joe Biden and the rise (and fall) of Kamala Harris. Gaza. Ukraine. The Olympics. The continued cultural domination of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour.
And they were all in print, dominating magazine covers—and disseminating online far beyond the physical reach of any given periodical.
What follows are 15 striking covers that uniquely told the story of 2024, with some commentary from Biemans. Biemans also included five standalone covers that embody great design for design’s sake because, well . . . this year was a lot, on and off the page.
‘Bloomberg Businessweek’
As if its art director had access to a crystal ball, Bloomberg Businessweek nailed this cover in January, quite accurately presaging the year to come with a convoluted maze.
“Don’t we all think the same when seeing this cover?” Biemans asks. “What a world we’re living in. A year of unbridled chaos, but a charming approach.”
‘Politico’
While endless Trump covers take a predictable route, here, concept rides high, providing a simple, brilliant spin on the aforementioned rote imagery.
“This artwork nailed it! Content-wise and visually, [it’s] the best Trump cover of the year.”
‘The New York Times Magazine’
Is this photo from 1948 or 2024? It’s not immediately clear—and therein lies the power of this cover.
‘The Atlantic’
Putting the table of contents directly on the cover of The Atlantic might seem like an aptly chaotic anti-establishment approach to a chaotic anti-establishment politician. But rather, this cover served as a warning that laid bare the stakes of the election.
Biemans loves the approach, and ventures that David Carson did the same at some point in his career. If he did, though, I’d wager it lacked the sobering punch of creative director Peter Mendelsund and team’s treatment here.
‘The Wall Street Journal’
This isn’t a magazine cover. But in spotlighting the void left by journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was held as a political prisoner in Russia until August, The Wall Street Journal took newspaper editorial design to new heights, rivaling the best glossies out there today.
“White space tells more than a thousand words,” Biemans says. “Hail to The Wall Street Journal for running the story like this.”
‘The Economist’
This haunting image of Ukraine’s embattled president Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes use not of white space, but black. The result is a cover on the edge of an abyss, where every ounce of gravity is felt.
‘NYT Mag’
As Biemans notes, this cover makes the viewer instantly curious—and its starkness makes a statement. Moreover, by undertaking the visual heresy of erasing an image of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Selma to Montgomery March, The New York Times Magazine deftly underscores the thesis of its cover story.
‘TIME’
One word sufficed on the first cover following Joe Biden’s disastrous late June debate performance. No words were needed on the second, as the party quickly rushed to embrace Kamala Harris in the race against Trump.
Per Biemans: “Genius thinking of their art department. The discussion back then was that Biden had to leave because of his age. Well, let him leave and walk off the cover! [ . . . ] But when you add the other candidate a week later on the same composition, [that] deserves a design hallelujah.”
‘HOMMES China’
The 2024 Olympics were a break from politics (at least in theory). And no magazine captured them with as much vibrancy and life as L’Officiel Hommes China.
“This series—it’s a split run—is so crispy and full of joy. The colors! The fun! Best of the year. This makes me smile.”
‘The New European’
National Lampoon’s 1973 cover “If You Don’t Buy This Magazine, We’ll Kill This Dog” became a classic, and was ranked at No. 7 in the American Society of Magazine Editors’ “Top 40 Magazine Covers of the Last 40 Years.” The New European trotted the classic visual back out as Trump made claims that immigrants were eating dogs in Ohio.
“Big shout-out to The New European. They try to make something spectacular each week.”
‘Variety’
Thanks to Swiftie culture, friendship bracelets became one of the defining ephemeral elements of 2023/2024. As such, that’s all Variety really needed to capture a phenomenon.
“That’s how you make an attractive cover,” Biemans notes. “Crispy colors! Body parts! [A] simple pose! [It] sounds simple, [but those are the] hardest to make.”
‘Bloomberg’
The Democratic Party’s near-immediate coalescence around Kamala Harris took some by surprise—and she was no doubt to many a somewhat blank slate. Here, Bloomberg Businessweek sought to color in some lines.
‘The New Yorker’
Barry Blitt on the eve of the presidential election . . .
‘New York’
. . . And, yeah. Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you fall on, that sums it up.
“The magazine is talking to the reader here,” Biemans concludes. “[A] direct approach with impact.”
And now, to cleanse the timeline of the year that was. . . .
‘The New Yorker’
The New Yorker sometimes gets dogged for its gentler seasonal covers at times when the world may feel as if it’s burning. But we’ll take a moment of zen from artist Peter de Sève any day. (Props if you can spot the Easter Egg.)
‘Vogue’
A hypnotic Vogue Arabia cover featuring a surreal Monica Belluci.
‘New York’
The type. The cats. The colors. The fact that it was not about politics.
‘NYT Magazine’
A moving, beautiful cover by Gaia Alari for a moving, beautiful essay by Sam Anderson. (It’s okay to cry here. I did.)
‘Paris Review’
And finally, a moment of artistic bliss that’s neither here nor there, courtesy of Nicolas Party.
“This magazine doesn’t scream, but it says, very calmly: ‘Pick me up, read me,’” Biemans notes. “Isn’t this a beauty?”
Yes. Yes it is. And sometimes, that’s enough.