1. RESEARCH
Before I even thought about designing a magazine cover, I wanted to get an idea of what companies
are known for selling magazines, ideas of the magazines dedicated to music and just a general idea
of the different components which make up a magazine cover. I searched the internet, looked in
magazine stores and even local supermarkets to check the magazines they sold, which ones stood
out to me and just the general lay out magazines used.
The magazine I looked into was XXL mag ‘The No.1 selling music magazine on newsstands’ as I
started looking at the different XXL magazine covers I noticed that there all set up in a similar way,
with the XXL logo in the top right corner with the artist standing in the middle. I like the way the
magazine is constructed, it makes you focus on the artist a lot, its the first thing you notice with the
artist names in huge letters, here are a few examples.
XXL features interviews, posters, articles and reviews. XXL has released many other special projects
including tour programs, mixtapes and exclusive DVDs. XXL also maintains a popular website, which
provides daily hip-hop news, original content and content from the magazine.
The mise en scene used on the magazine front cover is mainly to do with lighting and facial
expressions. There isn’t any background meaning there’s a spot light on the artist making them
stand out and the only thing you focus on. The other main thing the magazine cover consists of is the
different texts, the ‘XXL’ stands out the most, its bold, big and in a white font surrounded by a red
box. There are also different texts telling the reader what the magazine consists of.