The document provides details on the layout and design choices for the front cover and contents page of a magazine about hip hop music. For the front cover, the author replicates elements from established hip hop magazines like The Source. This includes using a close-up artist image and headline style. For the contents page, the author includes features such as page numbers, headlines and an editorial. The double page spread focuses on an artist and includes their image, headline and inset photos from a music festival they performed at.

2. 8. Selling Line
or Banner
1. Masthead
9. Tagline
10.Feature
Article Photo
11. Headline
4. Secondary Lead
12. Anchorage
13. Flash
2. Kicker
14. Menu Strip
3. Cover Line
15. Bar Code
6. Graphic
Feature or
Puff
16. Date Line

3. Front Cover: I based my house style on well established Hip-Hop magazines such as: The Source, XXL and Vibe. However, I
decided to mainly base my magazine front cover on the issue of The Source that features Lil’ Wayne. I chose this cover as it
seemed to represent the stereotypical view of the genre quite well. As the main image is just straight up in your face, and it shows
masculinity with Lil’ Wayne’s gritty, intimidating facial expression and body language. I decided to go with a similar look with my
magazine front cover.
Masthead: I tried to replicate the Masthead of The Source Magazine as I stretched my Masthead out across the top section of
the cover and I replaced the ‘O’ with a microphone. More recent issues of The Source have placed a microphone within the ‘O’ in
their Masthead. For my Masthead I used the Myriad Pro font and made it bold. I adjusted the vertical and horizontal scale to
make my Masthead seem bolder and more noticeable. I added other details, including shadowing on the text and I inserted a
red rectangle behind the Masthead to make it seem more professional and to make it contrast with the main image. I chose the
features I chose for my Masthead to make it seem more unique and to make it appeal to the audience more.
Main Image: For my main image I have chosen to use a medium close up, or a head and shoulders shot. I tried to replicate a
similar image to the one used of Lil’ Wayne in the cover of The Source on the left hand side. I chose this image as it represents
the genre and once you look at the image it is easy to tell what the genre is and what type of artist it is. The model for my front
cover is using direct mode of address, which I feel is effective as he stares into the audiences’ eyes. This gives my artist an
intimidating look as he comes across as a masculine, ‘tough’ figure; which is commonly seen with typical Hip-Hop artists. As the
original shot was not as good quality, I had to edit it in a dew ways. For, example I adjusted the brightness as it was too dark and I
adjusted the background to make it completely white.
Headline: I have used a similar headline to the one on the example cover of The Source. However, I based my font slightly on a
different cover of The Source which featured rapper Game. Nevertheless, I have gone for a similar layout and effect to the Lil’
Wayne issue. I chose to have the artists name as the bold headline and also chose to have a semi-transparent rectangle behind
the headline, this worked well for my magazine. I chose to have a bit of introductory text above the headline to reveal the
artist, as it says ‘HERE IS…’. Also, I chose to have my Anchorage as a quote from the artist underneath the headline in a
handwritten-type of font. I replicated an issue of XXL, featuring rapper Nas, when doing this. Finally, I underlined my headline in
a separated line to add boldness and originality.
Kickers and Cover Lines: I used two Kickers and Cover Lines in my front cover. I used them as they give the audience a slight
snippet as to what is featured in the magazine. However, I do not give them enough information so this will make them want to
read the magazine. I used the font Impact for these as it is a bold and effective font. Also, I chose to have them in the colour
white, as none of my other features are in white and this makes them stand out.
Other Features: I used a number of other features. For example, I used a number of Flashes, ‘+’, ‘PLUS’ and ‘FREE’. This feature
is used in most magazines and is effective as it stands out to the reader as they are usually in a different colour. For, example, all
of mine are in yellow. The ‘PLUS’ and the ‘FREE’ are also part of other features. The ‘PLUS’ being in a Menu Strip and the ‘FREE’
being in a Graphic Feature.

4. Contents Page:
Contents Page Logo: For my Contents Page Logo I decided to just use the exact same style as I did for my Masthead. I did
this as I believe that it would make my magazine seem more professional if I kept the same house style. Also, it does not
confuse the audience as they can easily tell that the contents page and Masthead belong to the same magazine.
Editorial: In my Contents Page I featured an Editorial. I featured my Editorial in the bottom segment of the page as most
prestigious music magazines feature their Editorials in this area. I chose to include this feature onto my Contents Page as
it gives a slight introduction to my magazine and gives the audience an insight as to what will be featured inside. Along
with my Editorial I also included a ‘mug shot’-type photograph of myself (the editor) and a signature, which was written in
a handwritten-like font.
Inset Shot: I decided to include an Inset Shot in my Contents Page, I did this so that some of the exclusives within my
magazine could be highlighted. This gives the reader a slight snippet of what will be featured in the magazine and this will
make them want to read further into the magazine. As the article the Inset Shot is previewing is about a music festival the
shot I used was one I took at the actual music festival the article is about.
Main Feature: For my main feature I have chosen for my model to be in the centre of the page so all of the audiences’
attention goes straight to him as soon as they look at the page. To kill off some of the white space behind him, I chose to
have a grey square with a black border around it as it contrasts well with the rest of the page. I chose to have the caption
in the bottom right corner, and in a white square as it stands out and immediately informs the reader where they can find
the article of the artist, if they are interested. For my actual model, he is doing a crouched sort of pose, this is commonly
seen within Hip-Hop magazines and gives off a Hip-Hop look. Also, it replicated the Contents Page that mine was based on
quite well.
Page Numbers & Headings: As pretty much all music magazines do, I have included structured headlines and page
numbers so that my magazine is organised. This will help the audience massively as they will be able to easily navigate
through my magazine
Flash: Also, I included a flash in my Contents Page as I included a ‘FREE DOWNLOAD’ of a new album and featured the
track list with it. This would grab the readers attention and want them to read on so that they could gain their free
download.

5. Double Page Spread:
Feature Article Photo: For my main feature article photo I chose to have my model spread his arms out so
that he would cover up an entire page and would also go into the other page; similar to the Double Page
Spread that mine is base on (shown below). In my Double Page spread the artist blends in with the page as he
cuts through the Headline and part of it is arranged over him. Also, his foot goes over the border, that seems
to be keeping the magazine in place. This can be seen as a metaphor for the artist and the genre In general, as
he is doing what he wants and he is stepping over the line, literally and hypothetically. The artist also
represents the genre of Hip-Hop as he is looking towards the audience in a confrontational way, as if he wants
some sort of conflict with them. This is shown with his outgoing arms and his facial expression.
Headline: I used the same font that I used for my front cover Headline, ‘ZODIAC’; this font being Stencil
Std, in bold. I chose this as I decided that it would be Zodiac’s signature font. This font and the size of the
actual text will stand out to the audience, also, this font will make them realise that the article is about the
artist Zodiac. I chose to have my Headline spread across the entire double page spread and I chose to have
each word in a different section. I did this because it is more original and creative than most Headlines seen in
music magazine. I also used a light grey square as the background for the headline as it worked well.
Introductory Text: Before the actual article begins I have included a small piece of introductory text that gives the reader a slight insight as to what the rest of
the article is about. This piece of introductory text has its own little headline ‘READING+LEEDS FESTIVAL ROUNDUP’. I chose to have the colour scheme of this
headline yellow and red. This makes it stand out, also these are the official Reading and Leeds Festival colours. Plus, if I chose to have this headline as red then my
magazine would seem more boring and basic.
Inset Shots: I included a number of Inset Shots in my double page spread. All three of the shots were taken by myself at Leeds Festival 2013, which the article is
about. Therefore, this adds realism to my magazine. Two of the shots have captions and one of them is wrapped around the text in the columns. I think this works
well for my double page spread as it shows creativity.
Article Columns: Most modern music magazines tend to include two or three columns in their double page spread articles. Therefore, I decided to keep my
article conventional and use three columns. I have used a drop capital in my article to start things off. I used this as it signifies the beginning of an article, also it
gives my article a more professional look.
Setlist: The last feature I included in my double page spread is a set list of artist ‘Zodiac’s’ performance at
the festivals. I did this as it is a regular thing to do when magazines talk about an artist headlining a major
festival. Also, it would give the audience some worthy information about Zodiac, in case they did not know
much about him.