Because they could...Wallpaper* prints white-on-white cover

Wallpaper magazine has produced a subscribers-only version of its current issue that has a white-on-white logo and a pictograph cover image or 'rebus' which paradoxically spells out "I hate design". According to a story in the Guardian, the only thing that distinguishes the type from the page is that the lettering has a lacquer finish, which makes them seem dove-grey when held in a certain light.

The cover is the work, or the inspiration, of design iconoclast Neville Brody and is one of a series of llimited-edition offerings the magazine makes to its subscribers. Brody explains his decision as follows:

"Firstly, as this is the subscription version, I thought that to re/overstate the name of the magazine was not necessary – the subscriber knows exactly what it is, and certainly shouldn't need to know any of the other details such as prices in other countries, or even in the UK as it is paid for under a different subscription price structure.

"The name already appears on the spine if anyone is still confused. We do tend to inform these days to the point of overkill. Pure marketing paranoia.

"Secondly, as an invited 'artist' I felt that the basis should be a blank canvas. The inside already states Wallpaper, so there shouldn't be a further need to respond to the masthead on the front cover.

"The third reason was one of attempting to match the message within the artwork I was working on by reducing clutter, making the point about the need for a quieter and less visually/textually polluted experience in our approach to communications."