Accidents and alchemy creating The Gentlewoman’s covers
Penny Martin is the editor of The Gentlewoman, the phenomenally successful magazine that fills its pages with fascinating women and discerning fashion, all presented with a wry smile that sets it apart from the rest of the newsstand. Renowned for its iconic covers that have featured a wide range of stars including Angela Lansbury, Beyoncé and Simone Biles, it rejects standard tools like cover lines and garish colours, instead using characterful portrait photography and subtle design touches to create an impact.
In this episode of the podcast Penny speaks about the slow-burn process of choosing their cover stars, the trust they place in their collaborators, and the way she knows that they’ve got a cover right. (“A magazine cover works for us if I end up shrieking with laughter every time I see it.”)
I’ve been thinking for a while about recording some episodes of the podcast that focus more closely on particular facets of magazine making, so if that’s something you’d like to hear, please do drop me a line to let me know who you’d like to hear from, and what you’d like them to be talking about. I’m thinking along the lines of Isabel and Christoph from Migrant Journal speaking about their use of typography, Paul from Weapons of Reason speaking about the way he commissions illustrations, or something similar exploring the use of photography, page layout, editing, etc. Let me know what you think!
As ever, if you enjoyed this episode, please do follow us on Soundcloud, iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts, so we can deliver the next one to you as soon as it’s ready.
