The document discusses initial ideas for a music magazine concept focusing on hip hop culture. It considers potential magazine names and styles before selecting "Waved Magazine" as the chosen concept. The document then discusses masthead designs, providing examples from other magazines. It presents potential cover designs and photoshoots before selecting a final illustrated cover featuring a model with objects associated with hip hop culture exploding behind her. The cover is meant to portray the model as central to the lifestyle and larger than life, in keeping with personas in the genre.

1. MUSIC
MAGAZINE
The making of…

2. INITIAL IDEAS
EP: Mix Tape:
The name EP Mix tape is another
stands for hip hop term which
‘extended play’ it refers to a trial record
is often used in released to test
the music weather an artist will
industry but I make the big time.
believe it also They are associated
could be used to with being at the
mean more than center of the genre
music. and often credited
The masthead with being artist’s
would be in the best work.
familiar left The masthead would
corner and it be quite dominant
would be a pop and the magazine
centered would be styled to
magazine. look gritty and
homemade.
WAVED:
Waved is a hip hop
slang word meaning HOVE:
enjoyment or Hove is a term used in
intoxication. It features the hip hop genre,
in numerous rap songs coined by Jay-Z. Hove
and I feel connects the is a shortened version
magazine to the rap of Jewish god Jehovah
genre. and has come to
The masthead would be mean a type of
INITIAL IDEAS (scan in)
traditionally across the modern day demigod.
whole magazine and The masthead would
there would be few be vertical down the
kickers with the model side leaving more
being a major selling room for the models
point. and kickers.

3. CHOSEN
IDEA:
Classical masthead,
spreading across the
entire magazine. The
masthead should have an
WAVED
MAGAZINE
individual look about it so
it can be instantly
recognizable, and should
feature a hip hop font.
I elected to go with the
waved magazine idea
because I feel it can be
Central image of model turned into an entire
focusing on mainly the top brand. The title, though
half. The model should connoting hip hop, is
have a ‘snapback’ hat on not directly linked to
because they are very
symbolic of the genre itself.
the genre and allows
for a broader topic
area. In my survey I
found that more people
wanted an interview
One central kicker and review based
relating to the model. magazine and so I felt
The magazine’s main that this layout implied
selling point should a magazine that was
be the model and so more focused around
the kicker should personality that purely
relate the that. music.

4. masthead I feel it is important the the
The font here is bold and
readable. The red box masthead is seen as more as
around it makes it a logo than simply the name
completely visually of the magazine. The
striking. This logo stands masthead must not just
out from other magazines
and also connotes the connote the subject matter of
larger than life idea of hip the editorial but also be
hop. instantly recognizable. I
looked to hip hop magazines
such as XXL and Vibe for
Vibe magazine opts for a inspiration but I also took into
clear font with a slight consideration successful
flourish on the ‘v’ and a
lower case ‘e’. This makes it
mastheads such as wired
stand out whilst not being magazine which has now
overpowering. become a global brand. These
mastheads stand out from
simpler magazines.
The wired masthead is one of the
most recognizable in the
magazine industry, the font itself
connote the idea of technology as
to the pixelated blocks. It is a
prime example of a masthead that
symbolizes the genre.

5. MY MASTHEAD
I chose this masthead because I particularly like how it stands out.
The letters are readable but altered, and altered in such a way that
it makes the magazine stand out from other music magazines. I
wanted to establish a brand image and I particularly liked the idea of
persona within the hip hop genre. Artists often use pseudonyms and
wear accessories that hide their eves or face and so I wanted to
convey this idea of concealing identity in my masthead hence the
filled in letters.

6. Cover Ideas Idea 1: the front on model. I
like this idea because it gives
the model quite a lot of power.
The fact that the model is
Idea 2: In this picture the model would staring directly at the reader
be at an angle facing away from the creates this domineering
camera, with the camera looking persona.
upwards. This creates this idea of
importance and dismissal by the model.
The upwards shot makes the model
seem larger than life.
Idea 3: in this image I would
have the model striking a pose.
The idea of this is to show the
artist working a crowd. There is
also an almost king like
connotation to this pose.

7. Image 1: this image is the side on version. I photographed
my model in front of a white background to give the idea of
contrast, with her clothes being red. The bandana is something
used frequently in the genre because of how it conceals the face.
It also has connotations of crime. The glasses (which would be
blacked out in the actual picture) are also synonymous with the
genre. The pose of this is important because the folded arms
convey this idea of being almost king-like. The camera is also
below the model so as to give the sense that she is more powerful.
Image 2: in this image I had the model take up
a pose similar to that commonly found in the hip hop
genre. However as she did so her hands blurred. The
pose itself is good however the blur means it is
unusable.
Photoshoot images

8. The mise en scene is appropriate with the model
wearing the genre appropriate ‘snapback’ hat
and ray ban glasses. There is a great degree of
persona within the rap genre with stage names
and that is personified by the clothes they wear.
The downward angle of the shot makes
the model seem more powerful, this is
commonly found on the cover of music
magazines. This again relates to the idea
that these hip hop figureheads are
almost religious icons.
The pose of the shot is
important because it again
connotes power. The slight
angle makes the image more
interesting and gives the
model more of a persona and
an individuality.
The dark colours are again important
because the genre plays upon the idea
of darkness. As Rap started in the
Bronx in new york as a means for the
African American community to gain a
larger social stance the colour black
became synonymous with the genre
and still is worn by almost every
artist.
CHOSEN IMAGE

9. Illustrated covers
For my front cover I wanted to make it a real art piece
more than a traditional photograph of a model. Guitar
world often features covers with illustrations behind
artists or even fully illustrated covers. Independent movie
magazine ‘little white lies’ is famous for it’s beautifully
illustrated covers which have become a selling point for
the magazine. I wanted to perhaps experiment with a
partially illustrated cover.

10. FIRST DRAFT

11.  Masthead needs to be in the middle
 Needs date line
 Needs barcode
 Needs some additional selling lines/ kickers
 The masthead can move up
 The lights of the Brooklyn bridge are blurred.
feedback

12. FINAL DRAFT

13. I chose to do a relatively barren cover in terms of kickers
and badges. Though music magazine covers are often busy
I found that ones with a particularly influential cover model
didn’t feel the need to put as man y kickers. For example if
you look at the Nme cover featuring Jay-Z it had a small bit
of text and the picture of Jay-Z. I wanted to create this idea
of my model being almost like a king and so I felt that by
having her as the only subject of the cover allowed that to
happen. As I have stated the idea of persona and
appearance is key to the hip hop genre, with a large
emphasis put on stage names and presence. This is why I
chose to put al of the objects exploding out from behind my
model. I wanted it to seem as is she was at the heart of this
life style. Money, weapons and cars are staples of the genre
as well as New York, so in this picture I combined all of
these in just the background. I crushed the blacks so the
model’s hat and glasses became even more dark. Rappers
often choose to hide their eyes and mask their identity,
hence why I have chosen to do so here. The aloof pose is
also very symbolic of genre and the larger than life
personality. Because we are seeing up at the model we feel
as if we are below her. Similarly it implies she is larger than
the magazine. The kicker itself goes back to these
connotations of royalty within the music industry with the
word ‘queen’ made to stand out from the rest.