Regular readers of this blog, and subscribers to Wallpaper* will recall that last year the magazine created a nifty online app that allowed subscribers to design their own front cover for the August issue using a host of shapes, patterns and icons created specially for the project (see our post about it here). This year the magazine is doing it again – only this time the app is much more flexible allowing users a much greater scope for creating a personal design that will be printed and shipped to them...

"It basically builds on the success of last year's project," says Wallpaper*'s art director Meirion Pritchard. "This year it's more customisable, you can edit text etc. There is also an ability to create basic animated covers for the online gallery, so we're experimenting with how the finished piece behaves in the digital world as well as on the printed final static cover. It's a little bit more involved this time, and is therefore open to more abuse, and bad - as well as great design. But it is hopefully more democratic. Last year we made a real effort to keep it within certain paramaters aesthetically, hence the elements. It'll be interesting to see what happens this time."

Here are some screengrabs showing the some of the various elements you can play with and layer up in this year's design-your-own-Wallpaper*-cover app:

Obviously, you start with a blank cover, as above

You can pick what you want to use in a layer from Type, Patterns, Shapes and Images. Pick Type and you can type whatever you like

Pick shapes and you can play around with an assortment of shapes, changing the colour, size, position and angle of each and how they sit on / overlap each other

You could just overlap some coloured squares...

The patterns all animate onscreen to liven up the online gallery of completed and submitted designs – so you can change the speed of that animtion using the tools provided

Regarding type...

And there are pictures to use at any size or angle you fancy...

If you'd like to design your own cover of Wallpaper*s August 2011 issue, visit wallpaper.com/custom-covers/registration before May 31.