The best animated magazine covers represent the best of a venerable industry embracing the digital age. Figuring out how to transition away from print has been a challenge for many publications, and some of the best success stories have come from those who have embraced the change wholesale and played to the strengths of digital formats. As we’ll see, this can mean more than just cover that moves, with publications using animation in all sorts of surprising ways.
Most of the principles of magazine cover design still apply of course; an animated cover still needs to be engaging and eye-catching, selling the content that’s inside. However, while print magazines have an extremely strict and inflexible aspect ratio, for digital covers it’s the reverse – an animated cover is going to be plastered all over different social media platforms, and so needs to be able to work in different sizes and configurations.
