Alternative Weeklies
01.04.12
The Top 10 Alternative Newsweekly Covers of 2011
2011 was another great year for alternative newsweekly cover design. Papers big and small across the country put out a steady stream of covers that were by turns graphic, provocative, funny, and highly original. With the rise of publication cover sites like Coverjunkie and NASCAPAS (and SPD Grids!) these local and regional covers are now reaching an audience around the globe. Altweekly covers are produced fast and cheap, oftentimes by what are basically one-person shops, and they're filled with passion and creativity and a sense of gonzo design. Here's our list of The Top 10 Alternative Newsweekly Covers of 2011. There were so many good ones that we're going to have a list of 10 runner-ups later this week.1. The Stranger, January 13, 2011 (Above). Published immediately following the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Art director: Aaron Huffman.
2. Seven Days (Burlington, VT), February 23, 2011. Designer: Diane Sullivan. A fold-in cover.
3. Portland Mercury, March 17, 2011. Art director and illustration: Justin "Scrappers" Morrison.
4. Weekly Dig (Boston), May 18, 2011. Art director and illustration: Tak Toyoshima. This cover was a preview of the supposed "end of the world" event.
5. San Antonio Current, June 1, 2011. Art director: Chuck Kerr, cake: Doreen Howarth, photograph: Josh Huskin.
6. LA Weekly, May 18, 2011. Art director: Darrick Rainey, photograph: Kevin Scanlon.
7. Riverfront Times (St. Louis), August 25, 2011. Art director: Tom Carlson, illustration: Peter Pranschke.
8. Seattle Weekly, June 15, 2011. Art director: Boo Davis. 
9. Baltimore City Paper, December 28, 2011. Art director: Joe MacLeod, illustrator/cut paper artist: Annie Howe.
10. Miami New Times, October 27, 2011. Art director: Pam Shavalier, photograph: Giulio Sciorio.See related stories:
Great post, excited to see your picks for runner-ups.
A couple fixes on the credits: The photographer for the San Antonio Current cover is Josh Huskin: http://www.joshhuskin.com/, art director Chuck Kerr's website is: http://chuckkerr.com/, and Justin "Scrappers" Morrison was the art director and illustrator of the Portland Mercury cover.