This magazine cover features Usher. Usher appeals to both male and female audiences due to the music that he produces. For a magazine producer Usher would be an ideal person to use because their magazine would be able to sell to more than one target audience. The colour of the text is simple (black & white), it is very important to have a colour that audiences can read without struggling and white is an ideal colour to use because it stands out and can be easily spotted.The image of Usher connotes that he is more important than the audience because the camera angle is from a low shot, this makes him look bigger. This could further represent his power and authority. Usher is dressed very stylish, this helps the target audience aspire to be like Usher.

Contents Page Analysis

This contents page is constructed really well, the colour scheme is black and white however that isn’t the most significant thing about the cover. What I find most impressive is that the artist is blended in with the white background because he is wearing white, this allows the audience to clearly see his jewellery. Additionally his jewellery represents his wealth. Furthermore the jewellery also represents what genre he belongs to. Big platinum chains are usually associated with rap artist, this makes it easier for the audience to recognise exactly where he belongs. The text is Smaller than the key image, this is done on purpose because the magazine designers want to grab the attention of their target audience by using a well known artist on the front, this will help to create sells. If the text was bigger than the key image it wont attract the attention that the designer is trying to get across.

This magazine contents page features 50 Cent, a very well known rap artist. This will help the magazine sell simply because of the revenue that 50 Cent creates. The colour scheme is white, red and black, this colour scheme is widely associated with men (masculine coded conventions).The thing I like about this contents page is that it is very simple, there are page numbers and information going down on one side, and the other side is has a image of 50 cent.50 Cent isn’t portrayed as typical rap artist in this image, he looks casually dressed without huge amounts of jewellery and props that are usually associated with rap artists.However, 50 cent is wearing his own branded jeans ‘G-Unit’ This is significant because it represents the fact that 50 Cent is independent.

The main article has been enlarged, the text and the page number. This makes it more eye catching for the audience. There are small descriptions of the article to give a little taster to the audience.

The article are place on the left hand side of the contents page with the key image on the right hand side, this is a convention of rap magazines. It makes the artist read the headings first, then look at the key image. The text is shaped around the artist so that the text doesn’t overlay the key image. This creates a clean and well presented look about the contents page.

There is a quotation from Soulja Boy saying ‘’ if there wasn’t no 50 cent there would be no Soulja Boy’’ this give the reader an insight into how the artist is feels about 50 cent. This will make the reader want to read on to find out more about 50 Cent and Soulja boy

Key layout conventions of contents page are visible, including the categorised pages, the logo of the magazine and the contents page title ‘The A-side’.

The conventions of Hip-Hop/Rap are represented in the key image. There are gold and silver jewellery on both 50 cent and Soulja Boy. The costumes such as hoodies and tank tops reflect the genre that they represent. The visible tattoos on Soulja Boy also represent the genre of rap.