The best cover designs from American Shipper’s 1980s magazine issues

The global shipping publication American Shipper launched in 1974 with the goal to serve the needs of all players involved in international shipping, providing important information to shippers, carriers and third parties.

Founded by late maritime journalist David A. Howard, the magazine began as the Florida Journal of Commerce until Howard saw a need for a national publication focused on shipping. He relaunched the publication as American Shipper in May 1974. This was decades before the internet would take the publishing world by storm, so American Shipper was a monthly printed magazine for all things international shipping.

FreightWaves acquired American Shipper in 2019, and it serves the global shipping industry to this day — now in a digital capacity.

There is something to be said about the efficiency and convenience of online journalism, but what is lost are the creative and enticing cover images that beckon readers to open print publications’ pages. FreightWaves manages the archives of American Shipper and each week posts an article from the early days of the magazine as a flashback. In these archives, beautiful, funny and sometimes just plain weird cover images start off each issue.

We’ve compiled some of our favorites from the 1980s, the second decade of the publication in its print form.

The cover for the June 1980 issue of American Shipper. (Photo: American Shipper)
Similar to the flag made of money above, the cover shows someone literally patching up the globe. (Photo: American Shipper)
The beautiful Hawaiian backdrop caught our eye in this cover from February in 1983. (Photo: American Shipper)
It must have been a sweltering day on the ship in this cover image from the July 1983 issue. (Photo: American Shipper)
The beautiful Japanese landscape makes for beautiful cover image in the October 1984 issue. (Photo: American Shipper)

A funny take on the classic American Gothic painting for the May 1985 issue. (Photo: American Shipper)

The cover art from July 1985 depicting fractures in the industry. (Photo: American Shipper)

This cover art from September 1985 elicits laughs, as it features an actual lemon gussied up. (Photo: American Shipper)
Uncle Sam has accessories in this cover from October 1985. (Photo: American Shipper)

This beautiful illustration from the September 1988 also caught our eye. (Photo: American Shipper)

The post The best cover designs from American Shipper’s 1980s magazine issues appeared first on FreightWaves.

Source: freightwaves - The best cover designs from American Shipper’s 1980s magazine issues
Editor: Brielle Jaekel

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