I wanted a woodsy, natural feel to this cover. I chose colors from the image for text, making sure that there was enough contrast in the text placement to allow for easy reading. Alignment generally follows the dirt path, left and then right justified. Repetition is used in the colors and in the font.
The entire picture suggests motion and going somewhere. The path gives a pleasant place for the eyes to follow through the picture. Plenty of white-space makes the entire presentation relaxing and enjoyable.
Brandon's shirt also gives a bright spot for the eyes to land.
Another Example of a Magazine Cover Alignment is hard right and hard left. Text is designed to loosely wrap the hammer shape.
Contrast is demonstrated in the text colors and in the hammer against the sawdust. As a side note, the tracks running through the saw dust are from an insect that visited the job site during the night.
Repetition is used in text, with all article titles using slight variations of the same san serif font.
Proximity is demonstrated with the different article titles and page numbers being closely spaced.