Billboard Front Page: This is the front cover of an issue of the 'Billboard magazine' which covers contemporary music of the moment (the charts and new releases). The cover of this particular issue has an image of the famous US rapper Drake on it. This alone is a very good marketing technique due to the fact that they have used an internationally recognised rap artist who is liked by the majority of the general population. He (unlike most other rappers who are photographed) is smiling in this image with a large cheesy grin. This comes as a surprise to those who are looking at this cover because when looking at codes and conventions of rap magazine covers (which have rap artists on them). You will find that the artists are almost always pictured with an intimidating facial expression being worn (to earn status and respect from fans and other rappers). The main font is in white, the masthead, the name of the artist (hot topic) and the story behind the artist. This is because everything in the background is of a dark colour, therefore the white text will contrast this and standout when it is on the shelves in the shops. The smart layout and colour scheme which has been adopted for this cover will appeal to those who are associated with both contemporary music and also those who listen to less recognised rap music and this is because the layout is not biased towards either direction and could be seen as presentable by anyone.
Vibe Front Page: This is a slightly contrasting cover page for 'Vibe Magazine'. The reason for me seeing it as a contrasting cover is the use of extremely bright colours (compared to the monotonous colours used for the Billboard magazine cover). The background of this magazine cover is white, then on top of this (in the foreground) is a vibrantly coloured masthead which is bright yellow, this is the colour which is also used to show the name of the artist in this particular episode. Similar to the 'Billboard magazine' cover, the artist on the cover is in front of the masthead and consequently blocking it out of sight from the front. But back to differences, the layout of the text is very different to that which is used on the front of the 'Billboard magazine'. It's different because firstly, the text is left, right and centre at different levels which looks less appealing than the text layout on the 'Billboard magazine'. This is because, the text is not very well organised and the fonts are different sizes in different areas of the page. Also the fact that the font (for the little snippets of inside information) changes colour regularly just on the front cover suggests that there is no colour scheme being followed by the publishers of this magazine. In contrast to the other magazine (Billboard) the artist on the front of this magazine has the usual facial expression of a rap artist on the front cover of a magazine. His face looks tough and intimidating which makes him seem more powerful and allows him to gain status from fans who look at the magazine. Also the jewelry which is being worn in the photograph on the front page of the magazine sticks to codes and conventions of rap magazines. This is because the chain is large, thick and silver which suggests to the audience that he spent a large quantity of money on it. Which therefore gives off an impression of wealth as well as power and status. Due to the fact that this is what this genre's audience is used to seeing, it means that it will be appealing towards their target audience.
XXL Front Page: This is the most abstract of the three magazines (in comparison between all three). This is due to the high level of text on the front cover, in comparison to the two previous covers, there is a textual overload on this front cover. Similarly to the 'Vibe magazine' the background of this magazine is white which creates good effect. This is because, anything which is layered above this (as long as the white background is still visible) will stand out more than usual because the colour white almost gives you a blank canvas to then layer on top off. Unlike the other two magazines, there are two artists on the front cover of the magazine and neither of these two artists are blocking the readers view of the masthead. In my opinion this is a more sensible layout (artist not blocking the masthead) and this is because it means that there is no chance of a consumer missing it. The colours used for the masthead are also in contrast to one another, the text is white but is placed on a reg backdrop which therefore makes the 'XXL' masthead stand out more. The two artists (who are the main feature in the magazine) have their names displayed on the front cover in large bold text (different colour for each artist). The change in colour between the two artists could suggest to the reader that the style of these two artists is not similar and therefore the colour difference has been used so that they are not mistaken as the same sort of people (they are not associated with one-another musically) but they are related in genuine (because they both produce music of the same genre). This magazine has the bar code in the bottom right and the masthead in the top left which means they're on opposite sides. As a result of this layout they have enough room on their front cover for a photograph of two artists alongside a high level of text which tells the reader what they get inside the magazine.
Billboard Contents Page: This is a contents page from a 'Billboard magazine', in my opinion this is a very well presented contents page. There are several reasons for my perspective, one of them being the layout. The layout makes the page easy to navigate (meaning that readers of the magazine will not waste time looking for what they want to read). There are images with numbers in their corners, these are page numbers. Instead of making all bits on the contents page text, they have decided to put an image of the artist who the article is about with a page number. This is smart because it stands out more than the text would usually. The four articles on the contents page (which have images with them) are most likely to be the most significant articles of those in the magazine. Also, the colour of the background is white, this is another very smart decision by the designer of this contents page. This is because it allows everything in front of it to be accentuated as a result of the plain background (because any colour will stand out from the white back drop). The text on the contents page is mainly black and blue, this is because these colours compliment one another and also they are easily visible on top of the white background. The images on the contents page could also be for audience appeal, this is because they could have selected the chosen artists via using statistics of the most listened to artists. By inserting images of the artists it suggests to the reader that the article is of great importance and therefore the reader is more likely to go to that page and have a read through the article. One of the images of the artists follows all codes and conventions of a rap/hip-hop magazine photo. This is because, the artist is photographed with a straight face which suggests to the reader that they aren't to be messed with which strengthens their status and makes them look as if they are in charge, also the image is not of the artists whole body but instead it is of a mid-shot (from the waist up).
Vibe Contents Page: This is the contents page which was in a copy of 'Vibe magazine'. Compared to the last contents page, this one is rather monotonous, this is made clear because the only aspect of colour on the page is the object in the ladies hand (which is wrapped around Kanye's chest). In the background there is a large V, from my perspective this 'V' is a symbol towards the fact that the contents page is for 'VIBE magazine'. The layout is also in contrast to the last one that I analysed, this is because there is only one large image used for this contents page (in comparison to the four used in the previous one). The conventions of the image itself are highly similar, the artist has been photographed with a facial expression which makes him look intimidating and controlling because this is how they want to be seen by their supporters and fans. The image taken is also a mid-shot which is the type of shot used for almost every single rap artists photo shoots. The colours used (to effect) are black, grey and white. This is quite a sophisticated range of colours to be used to a rap/hip-hop magazine (seeing as the music is usually vibrant in both lyrics and instrumentals). The use of the woman's arm in the photograph of the artists is also very effective, this is because it gives the contents page a sexual appeal. It also increases the sex appeal of the artist himself, due to the fact that it makes it seem as if there are women clinging onto him. The text which is used to show page numbers etc. is not large enough in my opinion, this is because the image is so much larger than it (meaning that the readers attention is first drawn to the artist photographed) which is a positive because its clearly the main article. For those readers who then want to look for a different article, then that is where the texts weakness is. This is because it is small and the font used is quite squiggly which means when in a small font it can be difficult to read.
XXL Contents Page: This is the contents page for 'XXL magazine'. This strongly juxtaposes the other two that I have analysed, this is for several reasons. One of the reasons being that the background for this is colourful (compared to the blank white colour used on the other two). In my opinion this is a very appealing contents page. As a result of the photo having a coloured background (of a dark shade) it means that all of the text can be in the same colour without having to change when the background colour changes. Also, because there is a large level of colour used in the background, it means that the artist featuring in this issue will be able to stand out even when wearing black and white (as he is). The masthead for the magazine is placed in the top right corner of the contents page, this is a good branding technique because people who see someone with the magazine will be able to identify what magazine it is which is being read (without any use of the front cover). All text on this contents page is black or white and this is achieved as a result of the coloured background, darker font is easier to interpret and therefore this is another strength for this contents page. On the other hand, the conventions (not all of them) of the typical rap/hip-hop magazine have been broken in the making of this contents page. This is because, the artist featured on the page is not shown in a mid-shot and instead is shown in a long-shot which shows him from head to toe. This contents page is the reverse/opposite of that we would expect to see (after analysing the previous two) this is because all of the colour in the other two was in the foreground, on the other hand this issue of 'XXL magazine' has all of the colour in the background (leaving the monotonous colours in the foreground for text). In my opinion this is the better way of presenting a contents page and this is because the colourful background makes the whole page colourful and eye catching meaning the reader is more likely to stop on this page and extract some information from it.
Billboard Double Page Spread: This is a double page spread article from the music magazine 'Billboard'. One page from the double page spread is used for an image of the artist (relative towards the article on the other page). This photograph of the rapper has been taken at a mid-shot angle which is a regular convention of rap/hip-hop magazines. Another aspect of the photograph which is also a regular aspect of rap/hip-hop magazines is the facial expression that the rapper has on his face. He is not smiling or scowling but his face looks tough which is exactly what the artist is aiming to achieve, the reasoning behind this is that they want to make the people looking at the image feel as if he is in power and not anyone else. If he was to have an image of him taken where he was smiling, this would be seen (by fans of this genre of music) as soft. The background of the who double page spread is white, this is once again a highly intelligent technique. This is because it makes everything in the foreground stand out that but more (unless it is also white which means it's blend). The main bit of text is in black (which is in contrast to the white backdrop), this is effective because it means that those who read the article and don't just look at the pictures will not have trouble reading the information. In the title for the article they have combined the work time with the rappers name (which is T.I.). This is effective because it could boost audience appeal, a play on words always appeals to anyone. Another way in which the publisher/designer of this article has increased audience appeal is through their use of colour. This is because anything which is of significance is inside a coloured box/circle or if not the text itself is coloured vibrantly.
Vibe Double Page Spread: This is a double page spread which was in the music magazine named 'Vibe'. Similarly to the 'Billboard' double page spread, there is one page which is purely dedicated to an image of the artist who the article is about. The other page has a white background with black and yellow font. You may notice that the artists hat is also black and yellow. This is because the artist who they are writing about is called Wiz Khalifa and his first major hit (on the mainstream system) was a song called black & yellow. In the image of the artist he is made out to look extremely cool. The photo was taken in a close-up shot (which isn't the most common shot but isn't the most foreign in a music magazine either). In the photograph he is smoking (probably marijuana) and once again the artists facial expression tells the reader that he is in control and not playing around. There is a large 'WK' on the right page of the double page spread, this stands for Wiz Khalifa (the artist who the article is based on). Under this the next heading says "how high?". This further suggests to the audience that he is not just smoking tobacco in the action shot of him smoking on the other side of the double page spread. The reasoning behind the white background is that it allows any colour to be visible on top of it. Therefore there is no chance of any textual information being missed or processed in an incorrect fashion. A large number of people who listen to and create rap/hip-hop music smoke marijuana which is another reason for the photograph showing the artist in the spotlight doing what they all do.
XXL Double Page Spread: In comparison to the other two double page spreads I have analysed, this article from 'XXL Magazine' is highly monotonous. The only colours involved in the whole double page spread are black and white. This could be for two reasons, the topic of the article could be of quite a serious nature and therefore the use of colour could create unwanted connotations which were not meant. The other reason would be that all information on the two pages is of equal significance and therefore the use of colour could suggest to the reader that one area of the article is of more importance than another area of the double page spread. Like the other two articles I have analysed, there is one whole A4 page which is dedicated towards a photograph of an artist (the one who is relative to the article on the page opposite). The title of the article is in a pixelated font which suggests another reason for the black and white theme. It could be because the article is about something which happened in the past, before colourful productions. White font has been used on top of the black background of the picture and black font has been used on the white background. This is because they stand out from one another and therefore no information will go unseen. The photograph of the artist is one which follows the codes and conventions of rap/hip-hop, this is because it is a mid-shot of an artist with a facial expression and body language which suggests that they are in power and nothing is worrying them and nothing will worry them.
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