Foreign Affairs, Everywhere
October 12th, 2009
The Foreign Affairs cover & masthead have always been a favorite.
The utilitarian blandness coupled with the expansive name, and the table of contents-as-design-element yields a design akin to something an ambitious intern would come up with while summering at the Pentagon. Its presence on a magazine rack can best be interpreted as a subtle dare, a stolid prod at your attention span.
Most of its draw comes from the coupling of the poker-faced name (Foreign Affairs) with its suggestive, regal emblem. Like a flourished medal on an otherwise spotless military uniform, the combination is a proclamation of confidence and history.
The design of the cover was decided by its first editor, Hamilton Fish Armstrong, (how’s that for a name?), while the man and horse were illustrated by his two sisters. Unsure what their training was, but apparently they were wry enough to include the latin characters for VBIQVE, which translates as “Everywhere“. VBIQVE = UBIQUE = Ubiquitous.
Fantastic.
October 13, 2009, 8:11 pm
I totally agree. The FA cover is remarkable. From working with CFR I’d just add that it was updated in the last year or two by Pentagram, removing faux mottled blue and some strange dated bits. The new, bolder typography and strong rules reinforce the stature, capture readership at the newsstand, and yet hold the stubborn classicism as most magazines do not. No cover photo, only the addition of red highlights. All of this blandness and it’s the leading title in the genre at B&N.
Cheers,
Aaron.
October 26, 2009, 11:24 am
if you’ve ever perused the racks upon racks of esoteric journals found in university libraries, you’ll see lots of covers with the contents on the cover like this, though not as stylishly done. I have to think that “serious” and scholarly vibe is what they’re going for.
October 28, 2009, 4:15 am
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November 3, 2009, 9:21 am
Perhaps it’s because I have been a FA reader for decades but …
I am afraid I will have to buck the consensus and say I do not like the cover all that much.
As striking and clean as the masthead is, and as much as I love the
background blue, I find those lead headlines unnervingly overpowering.
I appreciate a hierarchy of content as much as the next man, but this is
sheer boastfulness.
Fair enough, I do not always agree with Hobrook anyhow, but if he
insists on “shouting” from the cover like that, I am bound to get on my high horse too …
I could go on …
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