20 Trendy Examples of Illustrated Magazine Cover Designs

Illustrated magazine cover designs have been on a decline. This is because publishers have replaced illustrated covers with photographic images. Today’s magazines are almost identical in appearance with the photos of celebrities gracing their covers. This is unlike in the years 1920 up to 1960 when magazines were focused on creative and original artwork to attract readership. The early days of magazines treated magazine cover designs as canvas, instead of a mere billboard of faces of celebrities.

It is therefore sad to think of the illustrated magazine cover as about to become a thing of the past. But let us face this, magazines in the newsstand today look very identical to one another. So, perhaps, one of the best ways to stand out is to have an illustrated cover.

In this post, therefore, we try to search for creative and striking illustrated magazine cover. Most of these magazine cover designs are from Behance Network. To know more about each design, click on the preview image.

17 EXAMPLES OF ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE COVER DESIGNS

01-Michael Phelps for ESPN Magazine

02-Yorokobu Issue 18 Cover Using Type Illustration
The artwork is inspired by Native American culture. Just as the lettering that forms the center of the totem.

03-Typographic Cover of Computer Arts Magazine
Here is the cover art of issue No. 42 of Computer Arts Brazil Magazine. The main theme of this issue presents the importance of typography in the development of graphics projects.