Some of you probably heard about Washingtonian’s May Cover Contest. In March, Washingtonian magazine asked the public to offer up ideas/concepts for their May issue. Of course, I would not do my profession justice if I didn’t send a few suggestions (11 to be exact). I didn’t care so much about the prize (free dinner with a Washingtonian food critic) – being chosen for the May cover design would have been the ultimate portfolio piece.
Obviously, I didn’t win. I’m not even sure if the cover art concept was developed by the public. I have a feeling a Washingtonian staff member came up with the final idea.
This cover is completely different from the colorful, whimsical covers the magazine usually does. I always liked the professionalism of the other covers – very clean, very inspirational. This cover just seemed like an excuse to display a half-nude Obama to the public.
I think a better cover concept could have been designed for the “Why We Love DC” theme. Washingtonian needs to go back to basics.
But if nothing else, this cover did create a lot of “buzz”. No doubt it will boost magazine sales this month, and maybe add a bunch of monthly subscriptions to the mix. That was probably Washingtonian's strategy all along...
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