What makes a photo zine cover design stand out?

If you're planning to sell your zine at a zine fest or online, it’s worth thinking about how your cover design can catch attention.
Take a zine fest, for example—most people stopping by your booth probably don’t know you. A cover that grabs their attention can make them curious enough to pick up a sample, but if it doesn’t stand out, they’ll just keep walking to the next booth.

The same goes for online sales. If the first image—the cover photo—doesn’t spark interest, people might not even bother reading the zine’s description or clicking on the sales link.

So, I believe that a strong cover design is key to making a zine that sells. Especially since many photo zine covers tend to look similar, having a unique perspective on your design can set yours apart from the rest.

In this post, I’m sharing a few ideas based on the zines I’ve bought or made, all focused on creating a cover that stands out from other photo zines.

Table of Contents

• ❤️‍🔥 Thank You for Supporting My Photography

• 🚀 7 Zine Cover Design Ideas to Make Yours Stand O …

  • Idea 1. Use Close-up Shots of Faces or People

  • Idea 2. Leave Out Titles and Text

  • Idea 3. Don’t Use Photos

  • Idea 4. Use Holographic Effects

  • Idea 5. Make a Cover with Tracing Paper

  • Idea 6. Go for a Halftone Effect

  • Idea 7. Handwrite the Title

• 🕺 See You Again Next Tuesday

❤️‍🔥 Thank You for Supporting My Photography

I posted this on Threads recently, but after listing all the countries where I’ve shipped my zines over the past year, it turns out people in 32 countries have bought them!
6 years ago, when I first started photography, I barely had any friends overseas. Now, I’m so grateful to be connected with you all and to have your support in my photography journey. Truly, thank you.

I’ll keep shooting, aiming to bring even more inspiration to the world. My goal is to grow into a photographer who can hold exhibitions in different countries. It’d mean a lot if you’d continue to keep an eye on my growth with kindness.

🚀 7 Zine Cover Design Ideas to Make Yours Stand Out

Idea 1. Use Close-up Shots of Faces or People

When you browse records in a shop, you’ll notice that many records—especially old ones—often have a big photo of the artist’s face on the cover. Even if you don’t know the artist, just seeing that face gives you a vibe of what type of music it might be, like jazz or pop.

Face photos have this magnetic pull on viewers. Plus, if that face photo captures the essence of your zine, people can get a feel for what it's about just from the cover.

This approach works best for zines with a lot of portraits, though. If your zine is people-focused, go for a strong close-up on the cover. The actual photos can be inside, so consider cropping the cover photo to show just a striking part of the face—it’ll make a huge impact.

Idea 2. Leave Out Titles and Text

As I’ve mentioned before, a zine isn’t a book, so you don’t need to plaster titles or your name on the cover. But for some reason, people feel they should.

If you have a solid design sense and can place text well with the photo, sure, go for it. But if you’re just thinking, “A title might look good here,” it’s actually okay to leave it off.

Going with a cover that’s just a photo can make people curious and wonder, “What’s this zine about?” Personally, I like to think, “If this cover was hung on a wall, would the title feel out of place?” If adding text takes away from the vibe, I’d skip it.

Idea 3. Don’t Use Photos

Setting expectations matters. A cover photo can instantly give someone an idea of what your zine’s about. Let’s say that image sets a ‘100’ level of anticipation; if they open it and feel the inside doesn’t match that level, they might pass on it.

If you’re unsure if the inside lives up to the cover’s promise, you don’t have to use a photo at all. Instead, let the cover create some mystery, so people want to check it out to see what’s inside. By not showing the content up front, people get curious, and when they do check it out, they might just be blown away.

Idea 4. Use Holographic Effects

Here’s a more specific idea: if you’re printing your zine through a print shop, consider a holographic cover. This is something I tried with my very first zine in 2019 because I just wanted it to stand out. Holographic covers aren’t super common, even in regular bookstores or at zine events, so it’s a great way to get noticed.

If your zine has a lot of photos of vibrant cityscapes or party scenes, a holographic effect could really highlight that energy.

Idea 5. Make a Cover with Tracing Paper

This is something I tried for my “Hokkaido” zine. The booklet itself only had photos, but I printed the title and other text on tracing paper with my home printer and used that as a cover.

The cover photo was taken around 6 AM when I was hoping to catch the sunrise on Japan’s easternmost coast. The fog didn’t let me see the sunrise, but I found this abandoned building nearby and took the shot.

Just 10 minutes later, the fog cleared. I wanted to emphasize that foggy vibe, so I thought tracing paper would do the trick. You can find a lot of other cool ideas for using tracing paper on Pinterest—it’s a simple way to give your zine a high-end, stylish look.

Idea 6. Go for a Halftone Effect

I used this technique for my latest zine, 404 not found Issue 02. Instead of a regular photo, I applied a halftone effect, giving it a graphic feel.
Nobuyoshi Araki’s photobook “KOSHOKU” uses a similar effect on its cover. Since most people just slap a regular photo on the cover, using halftones is a nice way to stand out.

I recently started experimenting with screen printing at home, and halftone photos work well as screen print originals. It means you can even turn your zine cover into a screen-printed T-shirt. 
Let me know if you’re interested in learning more about home screen printing—I might make it a topic in a future newsletter if there’s enough interest.

Idea 7. Handwrite the Title

Like I mentioned in a past edition, the “I better grab this now or miss out” feeling can really make a zine special. Since they aren’t distributed in mainstream bookstores, there’s this urge to buy before it’s gone.

So, don’t feel like you need to make a zine look as polished as a book. Actually, a handmade vibe gives it that authentic “zine” feel that collectors love.

Even if you’re printing your zine through a company, just handwrite the title on the cover—it adds that personal touch. Taking the time to put a bit of yourself into the cover, like using tracing paper or handwriting, really pays off.

🕺 See You Again Next Tuesday

That’s it for this week’s edition.

Thank you so much for reading all the way through! If you found this helpful, feel free to share using the social buttons below the title. You can also "like" or leave a comment using the buttons below the title, so I’d love to hear your feedback!

I’m also planning to feature zines made by my subscribers, so if you’re working on a zine or have already made one, hit me up on Instagram!

See you again next Tuesday!