Nineteen New Scientist readers were shown three potential covers during electroencephalographic (EEG) tests that measured and analysed their responses.

The readers’ brainwave activity was monitored to measure their immediate reaction to the designs in terms of attention, emotional engagement, memory retention, purchase intent, novelty and awareness and overall effectiveness.

Once the results were collected the cover was chosen for the August edition of New Scientist, which hits newsstands in the US and UK today.

Graham Lawton, the magazine’s deputy editor, said: “Like most newsstand magazines we need to create covers which grab people’s attention and keep them engaged. This experiment showed us that, neurologically speaking, there was a clear winner which stood out noticeably from the other two possible covers. It’s going to be very interesting to see how the use of neuroscience can translate to increased newsstand sales.”

NeuroFocus UK managing director Thom Noble added: “We were particularly pleased about this opportunity to work with New Scientist because it gives us a chance to show that what we do is based on robust science, is highly actionable, and delivers demonstrable results.”