My Favorite Cover

"For W’s December/January Art Issue, the magazine collaborated with artist Yayoi Kusama to create this iconic cover image depicting George Clooney. The visually arresting image is the highlight of the cover story, for which five leading female artists were invited to create interpretive portraits of the actor. Clooney wears a suit painted by Kusama with her signature polka dots and stands against a polka-dotted backdrop. Planned to coincide with the opening of an exhibition of new work by Kusama at David Zwirner Gallery, the cover makes a powerful reference to the artist’s iconic self-portraits."


The cover grabbed my attention, right away . The serious expression with the busy and fun background creates a great contrast, which is part of why it's so interesting. That reflects different aspects of Clooney's personality by using the background in contrast to his expression. The lighting is made so that his expression is defined and highlighted. Balance is definitely a key design element in this cover, because it used  to highlight Clooney, the main focus of the picture. The fact that dots cover everything except for his face add emphasis on his face and his expression. The only thing I would say might need some tweaking is the color of the words just to insure that the reader can easily read it.