When PRINT turned 75 in 2015, it gave us a great excuse to blissfully disappear into the bowels of the archives with a scanner for days on end.
The covers for the annual RDA—which is now nearly 40 years old—serve as an evolutionary chart for the field’s aesthetics and trends over the years.
Here is an updated list of all the RDA covers from the past four decades, from the bold to the brilliant to the bizarre.
Design: Andrew P. Kner. Photos: Harold Whitely.
Bill Purdom
David Wilcox
Rafal Oblinski
Design: Andrew P. Kner. Model: Suzanne Couture. Photo: Karen Leeds.
Bill Nelson
Design: Rick Eiber, Andrew P. Kner. Photo: Ben Kerns.
Design: Andrew P. Kner. Illustration: Shelley Daniels. Photo: Galante / Marzelli.
Design: Andrew P. Kner. Photo: Nick Rosza.
Design: Scott Menchin. Photo: William Duke.
McRay Magleby
Design: Peter Good. Photo: Jim Coon.
Kit Hinrichs
Carin Goldberg
Charles Waller
Sam Kuo
Chris Ware
Michael Ian Kaye
Design and illustration: Steven Brower
Design: Steven Brower
Art Direction and design: Steven Brower. Photography: Richie Fahey. Hair/makeup: Maria Cristina. Models: CJ Lashuk, Greg Jackson.
Design by Steven Brower
Design by Stephanie Skirvin
Abbott Miller/Pentagram
Photography: Michael Schmelling.
Nicholas Blechman
Gluekit
Photography: Henry Hargreaves.
Photography: Brenden Beecy.
Jason Polan
Debbie Millman
Sean Adams
Marian Bantjes
Kelli Anderson
