When I was looking at my SFF magazine covers on Calibre-web, I noticed there seems to be somewhat of a house style to the images chosen for the covers. I know I could write a python program to give me a definitive answer, but I’m not currently in the mood for that. So here’s what I saw as the main theme for each of the magazines I’m subscribed to:
Lightspeed Magazine
The main impression I get with the covers (from the issues I own) is that a successful Lightspeed Magazine cover has orange in it.
![A grid of Lightspeed magazine covers](http://www.ericsbinaryworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Lightspeed-Magazine-Covers-576x1024.png)
Uncanny Magazine
By contrast, Uncanny Magazine covers have lots of blues or purples (with green a strong second place). I’m not sure how to explain this, but those colors make sense to me with a magazine that has a unicorn as its mascot.
![A grid of Uncanny Magazine covers](http://www.ericsbinaryworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Uncanny-Magazine-covers-1024x995.png)
Clarkesworld Magazine
For Clarkesworld, there wasn’t any particular color that stood out to me, but the predominant distinguishing feature was the brightness of the covers.
![A grid of Clarkesworld Magazine Covers](http://www.ericsbinaryworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Clarkesworld-Magazine-Covers-578x1024.png)
Apex Magazine
I’m not sure if it’s because I just don’t have enough issues or because Apex is more random in its illustration choice, but I couldn’t figure out a theme to these covers.
![A grid of Apex Magazine Covers](http://www.ericsbinaryworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Apex-Magazine-Covers-1024x716.png)