MAGAZINE FRONT PAGE ANALYSIS 3
Magazine: XXL
Music Genre: Hip-Hop
Masthead: The masthead within the front cover is very bright and visible, even though it is being covered by the main image. This is because of the colour font used, for example by having the bold white XXL ident being outlined with the red it lets the masthead to still be in that empowering position, letting the reader know easily know what the magazine is called. In addition to that the red and white colours used for the masthead contrast together really well giving an eye-catching and attractive look.
Main Story: When analysing the main story a relation between the words used to describe Nas and the main image used upon the front cover is noticed. For example the words “Hot Damn” relate back to the main image of Nas holding other brands of previous front cover magazines on fire. By describing the main story to relate to the main image it allows that serious style to be kept throughout Nas’s presence in the magazine.
Font: The font used for this cover of XXL includes Gills sans ultra for the masthead and then Eras bold ITC for the main story and cover lines. The use of these bold style fonts allows for the text upon the front cover of the magazine to be attractive and easily noticed by the audience.
Layout: The layout within this front page is very professional due to the way in which everything goes together. For example every piece of writing shown on the right and left sides of the front cover are all kept inline below one another, therefore giving a clean and organised look to the front cover.
Colour Scheme: The colour scheme of this front page involves the uses of red, white and black which present the magazine to be very aesthetically pleasing. This is probably because they can relate to hip hop in some way, for example the use of red can relate to the reader by the fact that it demonstrates a sense of passion, something a reader can definitely relate to as they are reading the magazine about hip hop because they are passionate about it. Furthermore the use of bold colours have been specifically put in place due to the fact that they have to stand out from the bright background.
Main Image: The main image upon the front cover is very encouraging as it involves a medium shot of Nas holding burning magazines with him, it shows to be very empowering and rebellious as it portrays Nas to show no remorse towards the media. Furthermore the way in which Nas is dressed in a bullet proof vest relates towards the cover line within the story as it demonstrates that he is ready for war.
Cover Lines: When looking at the cover lines upon this front cover the first thing in which you notice is the way in which they are shadowed by a contrasting colour, Therefore allowing them to stand out. This is mainly shown on the main cover lines beneath the main story as the black text is shadowed in white, therefore allowing the cover lines to stand out towards the audience. In addition to that the use of asterisks upon the main cover lines allows the text to stand out as a whole due to the fact that it portrays the article inside to show some serious content that needs to be seen, therefore drawing the audience in even more.
Background: The background portrays a very urban theme due to the use of the wall scaling across the whole page beneath everything. The use of the wall as the background helps define and back up how Nas is still with the streets of New York and not sold out for fame. Furthermore the wall is very grimy and cracked which matches the style and conventions of the magazine but with also the Hip-Hop genre of music in which the magazine specialises. In terms of the background colour used for the front cover the dull colour palette used allows for the main story, masthead and cover lines to stand out due to their presentation in bright colours.