When you’re putting out a magazine, you need it to jump off the rack, grab your ideal readers’ attention and let them know that your magazine is the one they’re looking for. And the way to do that? The right magazine cover design.
The cover is like the face of your magazine; it’s the first thing potential audience are going to see—and one of the major factors in how they determine whether they want to give it a read. Having a well-designed magazine cover—whether you’re launching a magazine for preteens, horse enthusiasts or gamers—is key if you want to break through the clutter, get your magazine in the hands of your ideal readers, and drive sales and subscriptions. And for a job this important? You’re going to want to bring in the professionals.
How to get the best magazine cover design
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You’re probably already familiar with the concept of hiring a freelance designer. But what you might not be familiar is your other options for getting killer magazine cover designs—and that’s a design contest.
With a design contest, you write a brief that breaks down exactly what you’re looking for in your magazine cover. Then, designers from all over the globe submit their ideas and concepts specific to your brief. You review the submissions, choose your top magazine covers, give the designers feedback to really hone in their designs, and then choose your favorite. If you’re not 100% clear on what you want your cover to look like and want to see a lot of different ideas, a design contest is definitely the way to go.
Learn more about magazine cover design contests –>
On the flip side, if you know exactly what you want for your magazine cover design, hiring a freelancer directly is definitely a solid choice.
The 10 best freelance magazine cover designers to hire in 2023
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1
machus4u
4.9
(129)
Other book or magazine
Magazine cover
Other business or advertising
Other design
Brochure
Typesetting with imagery
Postcard, flyer or print
Typesetting
Book cover
Other web or app design
Stationery
Infographic
WordPress theme design
PowerPoint template
Poster
Logo design
Illustration or graphics
Email
Banner ad
Request quote
2
Rav Astra
5.0
(117)
Logo design
Book cover
Magazine cover
Logo & brand guide
Other design
Logo & brand identity pack
Other book or magazine
Poster
Logo & social media pack
Other business or advertising
Illustration or graphics
Signage
Postcard, flyer or print
Logo & business card
Podcast
Email
Brochure
Web page design
Merchandise
T-shirt
Other clothing or merchandise
Landing page design
Album Cover
Typesetting
Sticker
Product packaging
Product label
Other web or app design
Other art or illustration
Facebook cover
Cup or mug
Clothing or apparel
Business card
Brand guide
Request quote
3
Mario Lampic
5.0
(182)
Book cover
Typesetting with imagery
Typesetting
Magazine cover
Poster
Other book or magazine
Other business or advertising
Logo design
Illustration or graphics
Social media page
Facebook cover
Brochure
Banner ad
Request quote
4
shanngeozelle
5.0
(96)
Banner ad
Book cover
Print or packaging design
Product label
Illustration or graphics
Other business or advertising
Other web or app design
Other design
Magazine cover
Logo design
Postcard, flyer or print
Other book or magazine
Product packaging
Signage
Brochure
Logo & social media pack
Email
Web page design
Other packaging or label
Other Graphic Design
Card or invitation
Other clothing or merchandise
Facebook cover
Brand guide
Request quote
5
ADMDesign Studio
5.0
(144)
Postcard, flyer or print
Brochure
Print or packaging design
Other business or advertising
Stationery
Brand guide
Poster
Sticker
Product label
Business card
Logo design
Album Cover
Other design
Signage
Menu
Infographic
Other web or app design
Other art or illustration
Illustration or graphics
Icon or button
Card or invitation
Banner ad
Web page design
PowerPoint template
Other book or magazine
Magazine cover
Logo & brand guide
Typesetting with imagery
Social media page
Product packaging
Other packaging or label
Other Graphic Design
Logo & brand identity pack
Book cover
Request quote
6
5.0
(61)
Other book or magazine
Magazine cover
Postcard, flyer or print
Brochure
Other design
Product packaging
Typesetting with imagery
Other business or advertising
App design
Merchandise
Book cover
T-shirt
PowerPoint template
Other art or illustration
Logo design
Infographic
Cup or mug
Web page design
Typesetting
Logo & social media pack
Product label
Poster
Logo & business card
Logo & brand guide
Illustration or graphics
Card or invitation
Request quote
7
Olivier Darbonville
5.0
(607)
Typesetting with imagery
Infographic
Typesetting
Other book or magazine
Book cover
Brochure
PowerPoint template
Postcard, flyer or print
Logo & brand identity pack
Logo design
Poster
Other design
Other business or advertising
Magazine cover
Illustration or graphics
Logo & business card
Banner ad
Signage
Facebook cover
Stationery
Product packaging
Product label
Other web or app design
Other packaging or label
Landing page design
Business card
Brand guide
Request quote
8
FuturisticBug
4.9
(520)
Web page design
Postcard, flyer or print
Logo design
Brochure
Signage
App design
WordPress theme design
Poster
Other business or advertising
Landing page design
Magazine cover
Other web or app design
PowerPoint template
Other design
Logo & brand identity pack
Logo & social media pack
Book cover
Stationery
Business card
Logo & business card
Logo & brand guide
Facebook cover
Banner ad
Product label
Illustration or graphics
Logo & hosted website
T-shirt
Other book or magazine
Website builder
Sticker
Product packaging
Other clothing or merchandise
Infographic
Icon or button
Card or invitation
Car, truck or van wrap
Social media page
Other packaging or label
Menu
Email
Brand guide
Request quote
9
DiegoSpita
5.0
(103)
Poster
T-shirt
Postcard, flyer or print
Magazine cover
Illustration or graphics
Brochure
Book cover
Sticker
Product label
Infographic
Product packaging
Other business or advertising
Other book or magazine
Menu
Logo design
Other web or app design
Other clothing or merchandise
Merchandise
Signage
Other packaging or label
Other art or illustration
Logo & brand identity pack
Banner ad
Web page design
PowerPoint template
Other design
Clothing or apparel
Character or mascot
Card or invitation
Request quote
10
Gozd
5.0
(14)
Web page design
Book cover
Landing page design
Magazine cover
Other web or app design
Logo design
T-shirt
Postcard, flyer or print
App design
Logo & brand identity pack
Request quote
More magazine cover designers
How did we choose these as the top magazine designers?
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The cover of your magazine is, hands down, your publication’s most important design asset—and its important you hire a designer that has the chops to bring your design vision to life.
We take our job of helping you find that designer seriously—and that’s why we took all the following criteria into consideration when choosing the magazine cover designers for this list.
1. Design quality
When a designer joins the 99designs platform, an expert from our team goes through their portfolio to get a real understanding of the conceptual thought, technical execution and knowledge of design principles they display in their samples. Once we’ve done our full portfolio review, we then assign the designer one of three levels:
- Top Level
- Mid Level
- Entry Level
You can easily see which level we’ve assigned to each designer on their portfolio—that way, you know if a designer is bringing years of experience to the table or is more up-and-coming before you make a hire.
2. Magazine cover design experience
Penning a horror script and writing a historical fiction novel both require some serious writing talent—but most writers specialize in one or the other, not both. It’s the same thing with designers. In addition to looking at overall quality, we specifically vetted each designer on this list to make sure they had plenty of experience designing magazine covers (and the samples to prove it).
3. Professionalism
Working with a designer who has the skills and experience to design your magazine cover is a must. But so is working with a designer who handles the process like a professional—which means communicating with you throughout the process, delivering designs on time, and being overall easy to work with. We took past customer experiences into account to make sure every designer on this list is just as capable of providing top-notch service as they are at providing great designs.
Are you ready to hire an awesome freelance magazine cover designer?
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If you want your magazines to fly off the shelves, you need the right cover design—and if you want the right cover design, you need to hire the right designer.
Didn’t find exactly what you were looking for on this list? No worries. We’ve got plenty of other options to choose from.
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