This is great inside view from the fab designers of New York Times Magazine about last weeks cover:

Design director Arem Duplessis:
"In the end we decided to beef up the type and add some color to the background (Pantone 185 to be precise). What may seem like a long, arduous process was actually a short, arduous process. The execution of the final cover happened within a period of two very intense days."

Here the complete story by Arem Duplessis on their 6th Floor blog "
Here the final cover, artwork by Sara Cwynar

Editor: Hugo Lindgren
Design director: Arem Duplessis
Art director: Gail Bichler