Wendingen cover by J. L. M. Lauweriks
The pattern
This still is filed under Lettered cover hook.
Define
The cover is the hook, and the hook is lettering: a title treated as an image.
Mechanism
Type as bait. The words are drawn so they stop the hand before the contents are known.
Verdict
A journal, book, or issue must sell itself on a rack or a feed
Why it works
The lettering and the ornament are drawn at the same stroke weight, so the masthead cannot detach itself from the image - type and picture are one mark-making system. Placing the title on the figure's brow rather than above the head removes the usual cover hierarchy and forces the reader to enter the image to read the name. The stepped meander field does the work a colour would do: it is all black, so the cover is legible as a pattern from across a room, and the only soft-toned area is the face, which becomes the focal point by contrast of technique rather than contrast of tone.
Steal this when
Reach for this when a title has to survive in a square or off-format frame and you want the identity carried by a drawn ornament system rather than a logo. It is the right structure when every issue is by a different hand but the ornament language stays constant.