East Coast Living underwent a complete makeover, back in the Winter of 2010, after winning a contest sponsored by K9 Design and CoversSell.com.

The cover features a contemporary California-style beach home in the Newfoundland community of Long Harbour, Newfoundland. Editor Suzanne Rent loves this cover for its drama. She says it was an automatic choice for the cover. “In the story, the homeowners said their home garners considerable attention from neighbours and visitors,” she says. “I think this photo captures that perfectly. In the shot, the home stands out from the landscape, which is rugged but beautiful. It certainly was a different cover for us, but being bold and not playing by the rules can pay off.”

The cover photo was taken by Kenneth Harvey, an award-winning filmmaker, journalist and internationally bestselling author from Newfoundland. This was his first time working with East Coast Living. He says he wanted to capture in this photo the same qualities he captures in his writing. “I generally go for a stark, dramatic look,” Harvey says. “It is compelling and creates a need in the reader/viewer to explore, to want to know more. This is a trick I learned from writing novels; drama is a major force. I love the clean, geometrical physicality of the house against the rugged landscape and brooding sky.” 

K9’s creative director Norm Lourenco says there are a few reasons why this is a strong cover. “When we originally designed the new templates for East Coast Living magazine, we made sure to include many cover elements that would allow the ECL team to design for results,” Lourenco says. “Clarity is this cover’s strength. The bold image provides clean, uncluttered space for the masthead and allows secondary cover lines to pop. Add to that the use of cover devices touting the ‘Holiday Door Designs Special Feature,’ and it makes for a hard working cover that leaves little doubt as to what this magazine has to offer.”

The cover is East Coast Living’s best selling issue ever. It outsold last year’s Winter edition by 37% and improved efficiency by 19 pts. Overall, sales in 2012 were up 24% compared to 2011, and sell through was 48% for the year. It was their best year ever on newsstands! Impressive. 

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