"If we gotta pay for the stock photo, by God, we're gonna get every dime outta it, dammit!" - design director at SeattleMet.

If that photo would stop flashing like a goddamm strobe light I might be able to really look at it.

(2: Drag the image to your desktop and it chills the fuck out.)

which of the magazines is using the image correctly and which one has it flipped?

@2 - Hit escape, and animated gifs will mercifully cease. Reload the page, and they'll return to their frolicking splendor.*

*tested on Firefox 10 and IE 8

One of my many designer pet peeves is when photos of people and/or recognizable buildings (or recognizable stock photos of anything) get flipped. You can get away with that for photos of generic landscapes, plants, and animals — but a person pushing the shutter button on the left (!) side of a camera is just wrong.

I bought that magazine one time in the 17 years I have lived in Seattle. I think that says about all that can be said about it.

Sigh. I have having to explain this to people.

Seattle Magazine: For Redmond parents researching dentists and schools for their kids, and who rarely cross the bridge.

Seattle Met: For Belltown/Cap Hill residents aspiring to be the above, but looking for a new bar to ruin in the meantime.

The difference:

Seattle Magazine: For Redmond parents researching dentists and schools for their kids, and who rarely cross the bridge.

Seattle Met: For Belltown/Cap Hill residents aspiring to be the above, but looking for a new bar to ruin in the meantime.

My apologies for the double post. Tried to fix my tyop. Mods, please remove #8 if you can.

I've always been confused why the new one puts so much effort into publishing a magazine exactly like the one that has already been here for 30 years. Such a wasted opportunity!

@6, sometimes the shutter button *IS* on the left! (I have a '50s-era Stereo Realist...still works great, as long as I can keep getting slide film...knock on wood.)

Thanks @5 for the (Esc) suggestion. I was able to stop it long enough to evaluate the two covers. IMO Seattle Met wins the cover design. Much cleaner look, more compelling visually. Better cropping and size of the image. No distracting copy like in the Seattle Magazine cover. Even the bar code has been reduced in a size more appropriate. The gold goes nicely with the black and white image and headline. The Seattle Met cover makes me want to actually pick up the magazine and look through it. Good job!