It’s not often you get to hear the story behind the cover of a magazine, but personally whenever I catch someone speaking of it, my ears prick up in excitement. Our magazine Printed Pages is quarterly, and the cover is often a too-many-cooks, arguing around a table sort of affair – which I actually love. What’s always boggled my mind is how The New Yorker goes through this gruelling tongue-biting process every week. It’s largely down to cartoon expert and art editor of The New Yorker, Francoise Mouly. Her and cover-obsessive contributor Mina Kaneko spend their time debating and discussing which artist would be up for the challenge of inhaling the essence of New York at that very moment, and translating it into an instantly engaging, witty image. The best part is, once the cover is out into the world, they speak to the artist about the process of making it, and what the city means to them.

For the last week or two we’ve been running features on the site about online publishing and its many different branches. For us, the way The New Yorker translates its print publication through to its site is second to none. By taking the cover of the mag and publishing an in-depth interview or critique of the design on their site, they’re totally bridging the gap between print/online that can be very difficult to get right. To celebrate our love for The New Yorker, and to get you as hooked on their Cover Story feature as much as we are, we decided to fill you in on some of our favourite behind-the-scenes stories. Want more? Check out the rest over here on the Cover Story section of their site.