Second analysis of a front cover

Hip Hop Connection (HHC) is the longest running monthly periodical devoted entirely to hip hop culture. HHC has earned international recognition and was described by Chuck D as "the best magazine in the world". (Wikipedia)

The mast head is exceptionally big; it covers almost a quarter of the front cover. It is placed at the top of the magazine directly in the centre. This mast head is somewhat bolder than usually expected. This could be to do with it being one of the longest running hip-hop magazines; it wants to flaunt the name to the potential buyer as it is a big well-known brand. The colour gold has connotations of power, success and money. This instantly grabs the reader’s attention and tells us somewhat about the lifestyle that goes with the music. Typically on a magazine, the mast head is covered slightly by the main image. On this magazine the mast head covers some of the main image. This could be making us believe that hip-hop connection feels that their brand is superior to the main image, showing confidence in the magazine; this could be appealing to a potential buyer.

The main image in this magazine seems not to be the focal point of the cover; it is hidden amongst the cover lines and support images. This may be due to the fact that Dr Dre is a big artist in the hip-hop world. They may think that he is well-known enough not to have to feature as the focal point of the front cover. The main image supports the warm colour tone that is used throughout the magazine cover. Alongside using a well-known rapper to attract customers, the two support images are used, larger than usual, of free cd’s that come with the magazine; this is a good way to attract new buyers.

The strap line is placed above the masthead to appear important and to catch the eye, although it is placed to the right of the magazine to make room for the ‘Two free cd’s’ label. This shows that each of these texts is as important as each other. “Dre’s ‘detox’” relates to drugs abuse appealing to either reader’s interested in Dr Dre and his life style, or drug users; this is a wide audience.

The purpose of a cover line is too let the reader experience what the magazine involves and gives the audience a wide idea of the main stories. The bold fonts help to do so, in that they are eye catching and interesting. Different fonts are used for the masthead, strap line and cover lines. This could be to make the magazine seem spontaneous and adventurous. It also varies the look of the magazine rather than using all one font and maybe look ‘dull’ or ‘boring’. The masthead, strapline and cover lines all follow the same conventions of colour using mainly gold and white.