Introducing a New Product

Contents page 1 HHR
By Jack Sanders

Large main image of wellknown Rap artist MASSI.This image will work wellto visually entice thereader to purchasethe magazine, ratherThan lots of text.

Contents HeadingWhich is in Sans Serif & clearly stands out.The brand name of the magazine isalso reinforced hereFeature images ofboth males & females,which shows thatthe magazine isaimed at both men &woman. Bold pagenumbers show the reader where to go for each article easily.

Advert / Link for social mediaFacebook & Twitter. The willAppeal to the young target audience

Features (Sub Headings) are clearly displayed ina list, making them easyto read and suggestingthe magazine is full of interesting articles to readand its worth purchasingthe magazine.

Contents page 1 - HHR

GENRE

I have chosen to analyse the contents page of HHR magazine. There are various ways in which you can identify that the contents page of HHR magazine is Rap genre. Firstly, the largest image on the page depicts an iconic image of an up and coming Rap artist MASSI wearing a tilted cap, sunglasses and a gold chain or 'bling' around his neck. This image is an iconic sign, as he fully represents all the stereotypes often associated with Rap artists and Rap music. The flashy jewellery symbolises a successful, hard earned lifestyle of a typical rapper and the glamorous lifestyle they lead. Being of Afro Caribbean ethnicity is often stereotypically linked with Rap music, as many of the well known artists are from this ethnic group. This stereotypical image will allow the audience to form an idea of the genre quite quickly.

TARGET AUIDENCE

The magazine is aimed at a young audience typically between the ages of 16-25, so the use of these types of image will appeal to them. The image of MASSI used for the main picture appears to show him as being wealthy, successful and happy, which will naturally appeal to the reader and draw them towards the magazine. Rap lyrics often contain stories of how the artist has because successful and the reader will associate these lyrics with the images used.

Contents page 1 - HHR

ICONIC, SYMBOLIC & INDEXICAL SIGNS

The main iconic image of the rapper is bold and although it is not in the centre of the magazine, it is still in a prominent place to the bottom left hand corner of the page. The image is iconic because it is stereotypical of how people perceive Rappers to look like. It is also a symbolic image, as it leads the potential reader to want to find out more about the contents of the magazine. The camera angle used is a close up and draws the reader of the magazine straight to this image. The producer of the magazine, will want the audience to focus on the cool, flashy image they are portraying of the Rap artist, with his expensive jewellery and nice trendy clothes. These indexical signs imply that the Rapper lives a lavish lifestyle, which the reader will want to find out more about. Having him as the main focus of the contents page will allow the audience to observe him, make a decision on the genre of the magazine and then decide whether or not they will buy the magazine and want to read it further.

Contents page 1 - HHR

TYPOGRAPHY, COLOUR SCHEME, CAMEREA SHOTS & LIGHTING

The lighting of the magazine shoot has been cleverly used to make the image of the rapper stand out even more. The background of the magazine is very dark using blacks and grey, which are very effective colours, as the audience will not distracted by the background and instead be drawn towards the main images and headings, which will really stand out. Black is also a depressing, dark & scary colour, which lends itself to the Rap music theme, as some of the lyrics can be quite dark. Red lettering is often used in Rap magazine covers and contents pages, because it is a bold and powerful colour. The colour Red represents danger, power and violence, which again can be associated with Rap lyrics. The white lettering against the dark background also stands out.

The Contents heading is clearly placed at the top of the page, informing the reader that this is what the page is for. It could be difficult to tell what the page was without this. The font used is bold and stands out in an informing font, which looks more serious in comparison to the theme of the magazine. The format is very clear as the contents page has been separated into sections i.e. performance reviews and specials, which allows the reader to navigate the magazine easily and will suit the target audience of young adults as don't like wasting time and want things easily understandble.

Contents page 1 - HHR

SUB IMAGES / FEATURES

The other Images used are also stereotypical of the Rap music scene and will draw the reader to the magazine. The images used are aimed at a young audience and will appeal to them. The image of the young girl can be associated with many Rap video's and lyrics. Many Rap artists use woman in videos and the lyrics often contain derogatory remarks about woman. The young males in the images appear to be the same age range as the target audience, which will appeal to them. The multiple images have page numbers next to them, so the reader knows easily where to find each article.

PREFERRED & OPPOSITIONAL READING.

The preferred reading of this contents page highlights rappers as being all about image and wearing flashy clothes and jewellery, to show off their glamorous lifestyle, which is often talked about in their lyrics. This will appeal to the target audience for this magazine, as many people aspire to be successful and own nice clothes and jewellery, which are status symbols of their wealth

The oppositional reading of this contents page is that Rap is a very arrogant and vain genre of music that focuses too much on image rather than the music. The image of the young girl is a good example of this, as many Rap music videos and images tend to objectify and almost de-humanize woman This sends a negative message to teens that image is more important than hard work and doing the right thing.

Contents page 2 The Source

Main image of iconic Rapartist Ice T, which is aclose up shot and takesup the whole page.This will attract fans ofIce T and will appeal tothe target audience andconfirm the genre of theMagazine.

Title of the magazine,which reinforces the brand

Features/Sub Headingare broken downclearly, with large pagenumbers, which will appeal to the reader, asit makes it easy to navigate the magazineand chose articles theywant to read easily.The titles are catchywith things likeEar to the Street, which makes the reader feel themagazine has insideknowledge on whatIs going on.

The title for the featuresis Departments, whichsuggests the magazineis modern which willappeal to the reader

Contents page 2 The Source

GENRE

The main image used for the contents page of this magazine is of a very well known and iconic Rap artist Ice-T and will immediately stand out to the target audience for the magazine. They will be able to identify the magazine as Rap genre straight away by this image.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Using well known artists is very common in magazines, as they are all competing for audience numbers. If they have a well know artist on their main contents page, this will appeal to readers, who have an appetite to learn everything they can about the artist. The main front cover and contents page will sell the magazine, as this is what the potential reader will look at first, when deciding if they want to make a purchase. The difference between using a well known and established artist, verses a less well known artist can have huge affects on the reader circulation for the magazine, pushing it from small numbers into a much larger main stream target audience. The target audience for this magazine is between 16-25.

Contents page 2 The Source

ICONIC, SYMBOLIC & INDEXICAL SIGNS

The iconic image of Ice T is very powerful as he is very well known artist, which will capture the readers attention. The expression on his face is very hard, menacing and dark, which are all images associated with Rap music and its lyrics.

TYPOGRAPHY, COLOUR SCHEME, CAMEREA SHOTS & LIGHTING

The camera angle used is a very close up shot, which adds to the dramatic effect. The colours used are black and dark colours, which symbolise depressing, dark and often scary images, which can be associated with Rap music. These types of colours are very commonly used in these types of magazines The use of low lighting has also been very effectively used and it is only highlighting the main image of Ice T, which makes it really stand out and gives the shot a very powerful and emotive feel. The image symbolises Rap music, as many of the lyrics have a dark, aggressive theme to them. The layout and font used is quite simple and is broken down into sections, which makes it easier for the reader to navigate to the articles which interest them in the magazine. As the colour scheme is quite minimalistic with only dark colours, red & white this makes the contents page look simple and more music focused.

Contents page 2 The Source

SUB HEADINGS

The sub title headings used highlight the main topics for the magazine and will appeal to the reader. They are around playlists, reviews with artists and news, with headings like Ear to the Street. These articles will appeal to the target reader and will encourage the person to buy the magazine as they will want to read the articles in full. The white and red colours used for the wording of these headings make them really stand out against the dark background. This makes it easier for the potential reader to quickly pick out subjects which they might be interested in.

PREFERRED & OPPOSITIONAL READING

The preferred reading of the magazine is drawing the reader towards the reviews with various artists and news stories. Having Ice T as an iconic image will really stand out to the reader. The editors of the magazine will want to use as many relevant and up to date reviews and artists as possible. Society has an insatiable appetite for information and they interested in the lives that Rap artists and their associated entourage lead. In contrast the oppositional readers will believe that the image used of Ice T and his menacing pose will give young readers a negative image.

A Comparison

A comparison

Having reviewed both contents pages for both HHR and The Source magazines I have made the following comparisons - Both magazines are using iconic and well know Rap artists as the main focus image for the page. The lighting in both contents pages is quite dark, which symbolises Rap music as being quite hard, controversial and talking about dark topics. Both magazines used dark colours for the background with bold font in red and white, which really stands out. The layout is simple and broken down into sections for each contents page, allowing the reader to chose the topics they are interested in easily without having to waste time, which will appeal to a young target audience.

I feel that the first contents page for HHR magazine shows off a more positive side to Rap culture, as the image of MASSI is quite positive, showing him smiling, with nice trendy clothes and expensive jewellery, which gives the impression of a successful person. I think HHR magazine would appeal to the younger end of the target market, as the images are all of younger people, whereas The Source would appeal to the older end of the target audience as the appearance of the contents page appears to be more serious and all about the music and featured articles. The positive image of MASSI used in HHR, will appeal to the target audience of young people who will have aspirations of being successful themselves. In contrast the contents page for The Source magazine gives off a very different feel. Ice-T is shown with a very menacing look on his face wearing a hood, which can often be associated with gangsters and a violent nature. This creates a very serious and hard feel to the page. It reflects more on the danger, violence and gang related lifestyle of Rappers often portrayed in Rap videos and lyrics. However the image of Ice T will also appeal to many readers as he is such a well know and successful artist.