Magazine Cover & Back Cover Design

Project Overview

Urban Trends is a Mexican lifestyle magazine that explores themes around city life, culture, and innovation. This issue focused on Lucha Libre—the world of Mexican wrestling known for its theatrical performances and symbolic masks.

The Challenge

The editorial team sought a powerful visual concept that would honor Lucha Libre’s cultural significance while staying true to the magazine’s modern, minimalist aesthetic. The goal was to create a photographic cover design that stood out and resonated with both traditional and contemporary Mexican audiences.

My Role & Creative Process

As the lead designer, I was responsible for the art direction, photo treatment, and layout design of the front and back covers.
I began with visual research on Lucha Libre, gathering references to understand the symbolism and design language of the masks.
I collaborated with the editorial team to select and treat two impactful photographs:
The front cover features a close-up photograph of a Lucha Libre mask—presented in a bold, clean composition to create immediate visual intrigue.
The back cover shows a wrestler wearing the mask, offering a full-circle moment that ties personal identity to cultural heritage.
I applied colour correction, contrast adjustments, and clean typographic placement to ensure the photos worked seamlessly as a unit.
For typography, I used Akira Expanded Super Bold for the title and paired it with a clean sans-serif font for supporting text.

Result & Impact

The final result was a striking cover set that visually narrates the duality of performance and identity within Lucha Libre. The design was praised for its cultural authenticity, editorial polish, and impactful simplicity—highlighting my ability to bring cultural themes to life through photography and design.