Cover show

Author: Qiqiang Xie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The history of journal and magazine covers is relatively short, spanning less than a century. In the first few decades of this period, magazine covers were extremely simple, resembling the cover design of ancient books. They typically featured a paper label on the upper left corner of the cover, inscribed with the title, with no additional decorations. It was only after the "New Culture Movement" that the cover design of journals and magazines gradually became more diverse. One important reason for this is that when journals and magazines also became cultural consumer goods, their exterior packaging design had to be carefully considered and funded, just like other types of goods, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of smoothly promoting the product. The more they sell, the richer the profit. From the increasingly colorful covers, we can glimpse the growing anxiety of merchants, making it difficult for us to see a cover that is as simple as a blank sheet of paper—like a natural, unadorned beauty. The relentless pursuit of "shock value" and "notability" has become a shared approach between merchants and art designers. Meanwhile, readers overwhelmed by the visual impact of a dazzling world lack judgment and ultimately lose their way, forgetting their stance, with only a few remaining vigilant. This book is not an artistic evaluation of cover design. The author simply selects sixty stories from personal collections based on personal aesthetic preferences to express their ideas, with varying lengths of content. A cover is a fulcrum. All sixty covers were created before 1950 and are no longer vibrant. The majority of their designers are no longer alive. Old covers open a window to glimpse the old era, old people, and old stories. I delight in immersing myself in them, exploring hidden secrets, lamenting the past and reflecting on the present, writing down my thoughts as they come. I focus solely on admiring the beauty of the covers, regardless of the season.