What makes a brilliant magazine cover? According to the Guardian's creative director, Mark Porter: "For mainstream magazines, it's about delivering the appropriate celebrity – whether that's Lily Allen or Bob the Builder – looking right at the audience. Eye contact is a must."
To celebrate the best of this year's covers – often produced under extreme time pressure (trust us, we know) – an online poll has been launched: "the Maggies". Thirty nominees, divided into six categories, have just been announced, with classics such as Time and Esquire battling it out with hip young titles such as Love – and, er, Profi International, "the only monthly magazine assessing, scientifically testing, comparing and advising on tractors, machinery and ancillary equipment".
So what is so special about putting some tractors on your cover? Says Porter: "Specialist titles have their own type of porn, whether your turn-on is shiny metal or 25ft waves. Just remember that like most ads, covers usually promise something they can't deliver." So bear that in mind when voting at themaggies.co.uk.
