Scott Newlands, Art Director, Canadian Retailer (Retail Council of Canada):
What stands out most to me on Canadian Living's new cover template is the elegant new logo. It is spot-on concerning their new content direction, which is based around "inspiring" the daily lives of their readers. The cover image is perfect  to showcase the logo with a perfectly out-of-focus background – certainly not an accident. The cover lines are eloquently done – Michael Erb is truly a type master and has immediately embraced the new cover fonts. The balancing of the various weights is also done really nicely. However, from a newsstand perspective, I wonder how effective the $1.99 callout was in comparison to templates used in the past? The incorporation of the 35th anniversary is done tastefully without distracting from the refresh, nor the main image, which is a beautiful composition - perfect for the seasonality of the issue released back in February. The colour palette and image both bridge the reader’s readiness for winter to  conclude and for spring to  begin – a fresh start, indeed.

Monique Savin, Journalist, The Globe and Mail and Web editor, Fiterati.ca:
The clear title with some welcome breathing room around magazine name and benefit-rich tagline neatly atop it, is powerful as it captures the eye; however, it could benefit from an advancing font colour. Although purple is a common spring colour, sunny lemon communicates NEW ENERGY, fun, fresh, vitality and promise of cheerful times.


 For a spring cover that’s supposed to visually capture the vibe of reader’s anticipation of warm weather, sunshine, regeneration, emerging from winter’s doldrums and excitement of its relaunch, the sour cream cake evokes comfort foods, baking. A better “fresh start” visual is colourful, crisp, vibrant fruits and salads, spring’s best crops, foods that wake up my taste buds, wake-me-up-and-let’s-go foods.
Also, once you get me visually with a recipe you want me to try, give it to me inside the mag and tell me what page it’s on by writing:  “Make X tonight! Recipe inside."


Corinna vanGerwen former senior editor at Style at Home, senior design editor at Cottage Life and the former Canadian director of Ed2010. She is currently operations manager at a busy PR agency, also a Masthead blogger :
I find this cover very timid: The logotype is too small, the coverlines have very little variance in size and weight, and the cake doesn’t take up enough room. There’s just no oomph here and I think it will get lost on the newsstand. There are some missed opportunities too. Numbers always draw people in, so why not blow up “35” in “35 Wear-Forever Fashion Finds”? Everyone loves prizes; why not highlight that? And why not use that prime real estate across the top? I do think the coverlines hit Canadian Living’s demographic well, with lots of budget-friendly items like dinners for less than $15, wear-forever fashion and a low cover price, which is smartly emphasized right up top.
 		 Scott Newlands:
It's not news that Chatelaine's overall design and cover template have gone through an interesting transitional period over recent years. Jane Francisco and Sandy Kim have developed what seems to be the most clean and effective cover template yet. The image and overall treatment communicates a strong summer message to the reader. The refreshed logo isn't a huge variation on its predecessor but is very contemporary and should speak well to Chatelaine's readers. It is similar in many respects to Canadian Living's new logo – likely a sign that they are on trend for their overlapping readers. I particularly like the use of magenta accents to highlight particular elements without distracting from the image. The publication has embraced tradition with respect to their cover line quantity, covering much of the free space, as opposed to the now trendy "minimalist" cover line approach similar to Martha Stewart Living and many other respected trade publications. This is a well-executed summer cover that should serve Chatelaine well on newsstands and be well-received by their breadth of readers.

Monique Savin:
Chatelaine title font is on trend, large, thin yet curvy, meaning it conveys a feminine aura. I dislike mags covering the title. I dislike them on any mag. The picture must be moved down. From a newsstand it fails to say “read me” or quicken my pulse. 
 


A smiling female face is almost always appealing, and it is here on Chatelaine’s June cover. But it’s the wrong image for summer, and to communicate the mag’s “fresh new look”. I want to see a fun-loving, modern gal in a colourful top showing off bronzed skin, not a Doris Day lookalike. The cover seems retro with the black and white striped coverall and black type.


Corinna vanGerwen:
This cover is a lot more visually appealing. Even though it has a similar colour palette to Canadian Living, it feels more fresh and dynamic, and I think it will do well on the newsstand. There's an adept use of varied font sizes and no dead space. A person is always more appealing than an inanimate object, and this model has a very friendly and engaging smile. However, I’m a bit hung up on her arm: Either her elbow has been photoshopped out or she’s holding her arm in a very awkward position. Unfortunately, the coverlines aren’t as fresh as they look; I feel as if I’ve not only read every story before, but I’ve seen these exact headlines. I’m also not sure about the connection between the image and the stories – I know that's not Jillian Michaels.

 
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