Researching hip hop magazines

In the first research which I have performed I have mainly focused on pop and dance music magazines which in the first place did not provide me with enough information for me to create a successful magazine which focus is on hip hop music. Based on my survey research I have come up with the first draft of my magazine which can be seen below.

I have requested feedback from my class mates in order to see how well the front cover represented the hip hop genre, and the feedback which I have gained was rather negative. By this I have considered to look more into the codes and conventions of hip hop music magazines to make my cover more appealing to the genre.

As we can see above I have found a very good example of a hip hop magazine. The 'VIBE' magazine which I have chosen shows a very similar image which I have chosen. Both of the models wear a beanie hat, which to me shows that I have properly chose the needed props. As of this similarity between the magazines I have chosen this magazine as a guide for my own magazine creation. For me to additionally reassure with the codes and conventions of hip hop music magazines I have chosen to perform extra research which included me looking at various hip hop magazine front covers as we can see below.

In the magazines above we can see the typical hip hop magazine front covers. Looking at the wide range of magazines and images I have found very useful codes and conventions which I can apply into my own music magazine in order to tailor it better to the chosen genre. First of all I have noticed that on hip hop music magazines we can see that depending on the magazine brand, the masthead is either partially covered by the main image or placed over the main image. I have already found this code and convention in my pop music magazine research and implemented it into my first draft. I will keep the masthead covered by the main image same as the "VIBE" magazine has with Eminem on it. Looking further on, we can mainly see dark skinned individuals such as Jay-Z or Snoop Dogg appearing on hip hop music magazines. The dark skinned characters mainly wear a 'full cap' hat which can be considered as a phallic symbol. On the other hand, on some of the magazines we can see a lighter skinned character such as Eminem, however in this case he is wearing a beanie hat. This shows the difference between how the different ethnic cultures are shown. In my magazine I have included a female model of a lighter skin colour which is wearing a beanie hat therefore I would consider this a good feature as it makes my front cover match the codes and conventions in terms of the photograph. Furthermore, looking at the wide range of front covers I have noticed that they contain the front image in colour. This contradicts with my front cover as I have placed a image in black and white. The black & white effect has been used intentionally, however in order to make my magazine match the codes and conventions I will take this into account and amend this error. A factor which I have additionally picked up which really stands out in the front covers of the magazines is the use of red colour. Large number of magazines use red to either underline a headline or the name of the artist. In my magazine I have not used red at all therefore this can be a improvement which I can implement into my magazine. Last of all looking at my front cover and comparing it to what I can see from the above search, I noticed that I haven't mentioned the name of the artist which can be visible in the main image. This is a really big downside as by this I do not catch the audiences attention because they cannot see who the artist in the image is. Furthermore, in terms of the magazines containing the name of the artist I have found that the name is either placed towards the bottom left or bottom centre of the page. I could consider this a really stereotypical placement of the text as it is mainly seen in hip hop magazines. In order to prove this point I have looked at POP music magazines front cover (as we can see below). The placement of the artists name is placed either on top left or middle right which is very different than on hip hop magazines.

From this task I have came up with a conclusion that I need to complete these steps:

• Edit the main image and reverse it into colour rather than black & white
• Insert the artists name on the front cover in order to give a meaning to the main image
• Use red either to underline the name of the artist or the headlines on the front cover

Editing the images for front cover

Previously I have planned out & completed three photo-shoots in order to gain the images for my magazine. The next step was for me to pick out the needed images for my front cover and begin editing them in order for them to be more attractive and for them to have the right codes & conventions. Looking back at my layout we can see that I have chosen my front cover to have three images on it, so these are the images which I have picked:

EDITING THE MAIN IMAGE

Above we can see the steps which I have taken to manipulate the main image for my front cover. I have began with opening the image in Photoshop. This software has provided me with a wide variety of tools with one of them being the "Spot Healing Brush". The top left screenshot presents the use of this tool in order to clean the models face and cover up the unwanted areas. By this I have given the model a 'clean' look which will make her more attractive on the image, making the image more suitable for a large print as it will take up all of the front cover. Next of all I have moved onto a online editing software named Pixlr. This software allowed me to easily modify various areas of the image. Firstly I have descreased the saturation of the image to -100, then increased the contrast to 22 and finally added a 'Bob' effect over the image. As a result I have gave the image a very contrasting colour combination in black and white. This way the the image emphasises the model which is the subject of the photograph, and by this it shows the audience what they have to focus on in the image. Additionally, by turning the image into black and white from colour, I have given the image a melancholic feel to it, as black and white makes it rather nostalgic and shows to the audience the rough 'hip hop' life the person has gone through. I believe that this suits the codes and conventions of hip hop genre as hip hop is mainly associated with violence and rough life.

Here we can see the comparison between the original and the final image which I have come up with. Comparing the images, we can clearly see the difference the manipulation which I have completed have upon the message which this image conveys. The transformation from colour to black and white has really had a effect on the overall image as by this the photograph seems more emotional yet more attractive to the eye. This is a good feature of the image as it will directly link to the article which I am going to write on the double page spread of my magazine.

EDITING PICTURE BOOST 1

The editing of the first picture boost was very quick yet effective. At first I have began with a very successful image which as a result made my editing far less complicated. Firstly to gain the right mood in the image I have chosen to decrease the brightness and increase the contrast of the image just by a tiny bit. This small adjustment had a very large effect on the shot, giving the image the right 'street' mood. Second of all, I have treated the image with a effect named 'Hagrid'. This effect has underlined the lighter areas of the image by making them even brighter and sharper. This has made the image look very strong as the image became sharper in both the outline and the colour. As we can see on the left I have shown again the difference between the original and edited image. From the first glance we can see that the bottom image represents a better 'hip hop' material. This is because it gives an impression of a far more harsh surrounding.

EDITING PICTURE BOOST 2

This is the second picture boost which I am going to place on my front cover of the magazine. Same as the first picture boost, the process of manipulation has not been very time consuming yet has improved the image. For the process of editing this image I have chosen Photoshop as my manipulation software. The first step which I have completed in Photoshop was to use the 'Spot Healing Brush' in order to clean the face of the model. I have done this as in my earlier research I have noticed that all of the images of models which are placed on magazine have the models shown in the best way possible. Therefore hiding any unwanted areas would make the image more suitable to for magazine use. After getting this step done I have noticed that the image looks very dull which has hinted me onto using the "Hue/Saturation" function. This allowed me to tweak the colours which make up the image. As a result I have increased the saturation to 43 which provided the image with sharper and more live colours.

Above we can see the comparison between the two versions of the image. The final version of the image which is on the right will be used in my music magazine. This is becuase I find it more attractive in terms of colour which will definately draw the audiences attention. By it being so eye-catching it would present the content hidden behind it better.

Capturing the needed photographs

In order to edit the images for my front cover, contents page and the double page spread the first step was for me to take this images. According to my image plan which I have completed beforehand, I have asked my friends whether they will help me with the images. After gaining positive feedback from them I have then planned out the three different photo-shoots. The ending results can be seen below.

I have completed all the needed photo-shoots which have provided me with the necessary images for the front cover, contents page and the DPS. This way I have the images prepared for my magazine creation and I can begin making the pages according to my layouts.

Planning my images

Below I present a presentation which I have constructed in order to plan out the images which I am going to include in my front cover, contents page and the DPS of my music magazine. This presentation has helped me to structure out the images which I need which as a result has had a large impact on my organisation as I know what content I need to produce for each specific part of my magazine. The presentation explains why I have chosen to capture such shots and how they would fit my magazine.

Magazine Layouts

 In this task I was to complete the layout for my magazines. To make up a successful design for each page I have looked at the codes & conventions which I have found during my research and tried my best to implement them into my designs. By having the designs prepared beforehand it will have a great impact on my construction process as by this the whole construction process will be less time consuming and all of the parts which will be included in the pages will be placed in the right spots around the page. The designs can be seen below:

Final Decisions On Content & Images

In order to plan a successful magazine, now I will have to select the content and images I will like to include in my magazine. By carefully planning and refining the ideas which I will put later into work in my magazine, I will make sure that my magazine will be of the highest standard possible. This plan will help me to achieve the expected outcome of my magazine as I will clearly know what my magazine has to contain. Therefore in the post below I will list down the ideas.

Double Page Spread:
On my double page spread I have decided that the image will dominate over the text. By this I will attract the audience visually which will persuade them onto reading on. The image will be focused on the subject of the article, with the article appearing below. By this I will make my DPS very organised and easily understandable by the audience.  For the double page spread layout I am planning to create an image composition which will be constructed from more than one image. I was significantly inspired by one of the layout structure found within  the NME magazine. This will allow me to make the facing pages more appealing and interesting as I will use more than one image.I am still not decided on the camera angles/shots which I will use to capture the images because this will depend on the setting and the person I will choose to pose for me. On the other hand I could try to implement a medium long shot or a long shot in order to show as much as possible of the person, conveying their body language.From my research I have found that these shots were widely used, making the magazine successful.Due to the fact that I have carried out and analysed my questionnaires, I have been given the specific areas which I can include on my double page spread. Therefore, in my DPS I will choose to focus it around the "Article" feature as it has been favourited amongst my audience. To follow the idea of the DPS being focused on the "Article", I will consider typing up a text which will make up a effective article. This article will link back to the image on my front cover, as by having it placed on the DPS I will emphasise its importance even more. 

Contents Page:
For my contents page I would like it to contain the features/regulars which will be based on articles, album reviews, concert/festival reviews, music reviews as well as new artists infomation. I have chosen to include these features in my contents page as they have been chosen as the most convenient options. This has been based on the questionnaire which showed me that over 50% of the votes submitted by the people have been put forward onto theses features. As a result of this my magazine will be tailored to my audiences liking and will show the audience that it has a broad knowledge on the current music industry and that it is not only specified on one area. In terms of the images which I will include on the contents page , I will make sure that they will reflect the message that the cover stories present. By this the audience will easily be allowed to link the cover line to a specific image and be attracted visually. This will link in with the picture boost which I have decided to include as a part of my contents page. The photographs which I could plan on taking could include both people or objects, depending on the cover stories which I am willing to include.This will allow me to visually show the cover stories, which I find very effective.
 The cover stories which I have come up are listed below:

• donGURALesko - Polish 'ICE CUBE' hits the top charts
• Eminem - past, present, future
• 100 greatest hip hop songs of 2015
• Rihanna under her umbrella
• 10 forgotten artists, where are they?
• Once a bad boy, always a bad boy
• Concerts that YOU have to attend!
• Uptown Funk going downtown
• Where,What,When of today's music 
• IMMACULATE flow & style on the loose!
• Dr. Dre, JAY-Z & Lil Wayne - Amerikaz Most Wanted
• Wiz Khalifa's Smokin' Start
• Kanye West X Fergie - New Duel Hittin' The Streets
• EXCLUSIVE: 2Pac's hologram at the concert 
• "I never thought I will end up here" - Ed Sherran
•  The Legends - 40 years of hip hop history 

Front Cover:

On the front cover of my magazine I intend to place a variety of cover lines and images with different purposes. The images which I would like to appear on my front cover are; the main image, picture boost and a ordinary image. I base this decision on the results which I have gained from my questionnaire as these features have been selected as the most useful by my audience. Due to the fact that my magazine is to be focused on hip hop genre and that it is to be for both male and females I will choose the main image to be quite unique. This means that in the main image I will most likely take a medium close-up shot of a female model wearing hip hop clothing. In the image you will not see the models face therefore the image will show hidden identity and make it quite neutral which will link to the neutral colour scheme of the magazine. I have chosen to take such a specific image as by this I will make the front cover visually meet both the male and female audiences as a hiphop (male) image is transferred as well as a female model being a symbol for the female audience. In terms of the picture boost or a small image which will additionally appear on the page I will consider using a photograph which conveys a different model in a different surrounding which will appear more to the pop music genre. By this I will show that my magazine will not only be focused on hip hop but pop aswell, making it effective as I will follow the results gained from my questionaire. The content which I will put forward and emphasise on my front cover can develop and change during the process of making my magazine however the features which are more likely to be placed on my front cover are as listed below:

• Once a bad boy, always a bad boy
• donGURALesko - Polish 'ICE CUBE' hits the top charts
• Uptown Funk going downtown
• Immaculate flow & style on the loose!
• 10 forgotten artists, where are they
• "I never thought I will end up here" - Ed Sherran

Planning the name & housestyle for my music magazine

The aim for me in this task was to come up with effective name for my magazine, create a logo and set a house style for my magazine. To do so i will begin with listing a few suggested names and picking out the best one. Next of all, after selecting an appropriate name I will put it forward into my logo creation. At the very end I will come up with the house style which will consists of the font style & size, colour and the tone of language. The overall production of the logo and the house style will reflect the research which I have completed on the music magazines and will contain many areas which I have been taught from it such as the codes and conventions.

"URBAN":Due to the fact that my magazine will be focused on hip hop music genre, the "urban" title will clearly convey the area where hip hop genre was brought up. Urban clearly signifies the busy, city lifestyle. In my opinion this title is very effective as the audience can clearly link the title to the genre the music magazine is going to be focused on, however from my research I have acknowledged that my music magazine is not only to be focused on hip hop, but pop as well. The word "URBAN" creates a more stable and definitive feeling about the magazine which does not effectively represent the pop genre which is more fluent in terms of vocal sounds. I really like the title as it easily creates a image in the readers head which is very memorable, however it is not my favorite choice as it does not represent both of my genres.

"FLOW":At first I have really liked this title as it is very short, which is very memorable and stays in your head for long. This would really benefit my magazine as by this the audience could easily link this word to my magazine which could affect the selling rate. The word "flow" is mainly associated with harmony which in fact represents the pop culture in a very good method. This way the fluent vocal sounds in the music genre are presented clearly to the audience. On the other hand, pop is not the main focus of my music magazine therefore this title will not be effective. In order to represent the pop culture in my magazine I could use "flow" as a part of my title in order to represent the pop culture and keep the positive image which is transferred by it.

'BB' - Bass Boosted:
This is the last title which I have come up in this task. The title can be shorted to a "BB" acronym. By this the title will be easily memorized by the audience as it will only consist of two letters. While creating the title I was focused more on the music  which appear on both the genres rather than the overall image the genres produce. The idea of "Bass Boosted" represents the amount of bass the music has. Bass is widely used in music industry, in both hip hop and pop genres however it is more associated with hip hop. Therefore I find that this title is not suitable for my magazine as it is biased towards the hip hop society.

In terms of the final conclusion towards the title of the magazine I have come up with an idea to merge the Urban and Flow title together which will provide me with the title URBANFLOW. By this the title will strongly present the hip hop and pop genre which the magazine is going to be based on, which I really find effective. This way both the hip hop and pop audience will be attracted to my magazine. The next step for me is to visually construct the logo for my magazine. 

Creating the logo:

On the left we can see my first attempt at creating my logo. I have decided to use WOB in order to make my text stand out and be more customer appealing. Instead of having a simple text I have chosen to provide the text with a creative background. As a result of this I have come up with the parallelogram design. This design looks very modern and reflects today;s innovative music creations. On the other hand we can see that the overall font which I have used for the title is very sharp edged therefore it does not appeal to the pop music genre and the female audience my music magazine has.

As a result of my earlier reference to pop and the audience I had to experiment with the use of fonts in my logo, Due to the fact that Photoshop in school only provided me with a limited number of fonts I have found a font which depicted the fluent image of the "flow" part of my title. However this was not the final effect which I was looking for therefore I had to take into account further development of the logo.

I then have taken the Photoshop file home and downloaded a additional font from the internet which we can see being used on the "flow" part of the title. This font represents the fluency much better and makes the logo look more stylish. As a result the logo now conveys both hip hop and pop cultures which makes it an appropriate logo to use for my magazine.

After creating a sufficient logo, it was time for me to experiment with the colours used on the text in order to transmit a given message. As we can see I have focused on the "URBAN" part of the text and at first filled it in with a camouflage texture. While asking my peers I have noticed that their initial response was quite negative as they did not think that this idea showed the "metropolitan" image well.

As an improvement I have chosen a second image which in this case is a skyline of a city and implemented it into my text. In my opinion the final outcome is very positive. To prove my point I have yet again asked for a 3rd party feedback from my peers and in fact they agreed that now the logo suits the purpose. On the other hand we can see that the "FLOW" part of the logo has not been manipulated. I have chosen to leave it as it is as I really like the WOB effect because it creates a strong contrast between colour, which in fact attracts the audience.

House Style:

Colour Scheme:
In terms of the colours which I would like to use for my music magazine, I have chosen to use a colour scheme of WHITE/GREY/BLACK. The three colours work well together as they show a fade of colour which as a results creates harmony. By the use of such colours I will be allowed to easily emphasise different areas of my magazine as the colours have a high contrast between each other. Throughout my front page, content page and the double page spread I will aim to use grey as my background. By this I will eliminate the negative space which I have found that is unnecessary based on my surveys. I then intend to use white/black for my headlines on the cover of the magazine. This will mean that I will follow the WOB effect which has been used on my logo/masthead which will effectively emphasise the articles in my magazine. Further into the pages of my magazine such as on the contents page or the double page spread the white/black colours will be used to write text, headlines etc. In terms of text I will follow the standard format of black text on white background as by this I will make sure that my text is clearly read by the audience. I believe that by the use of such colours I make my magazines image quite neutral therefore it will match both audiences of hip hop and pop as no symbols will be transferred by the colours used.

Font Style/Size:
Throughout my magazine I will use various font styles and font sizes in order to transfer a given message to the audience. For the headlines which will appear on my front cover of the magazine I will use the same font as I have used for the "URBAN" part of my magazine logo which is called "Agency FB". By this the headlines will match the masthead of my magazine, continuing the corporate image within the design. For my main headline I will use a rather larger font which could take up to the whole width of the page, however for my coverlines I will use a size which is smaller yet effective for the audience to notice. By the use of variable font sizes I will proritize the text which will draw the audiences attention, making them look at larger texts first. Moving onto the content page and the double page spread of my magazine I will use similar font styles. For the headlines again I will use the "Agency FB" font as by this I will make my pages match. On the other hand, for longer pieces of text such as article paragraphs I will use a font which is more delicate however still matches the sharp, edgy look of "Agency FB". This will improve the readability of the text due to the fact that the font will be simple yet continue the same style as the logo and headlines.

Type of language & layouts:
The final parts of my magazine which I have to take into account during my creation are the language and layouts used. Due to the fact that my magazine is to be focused more on the younger audience (16-19 and 20-23) I will tend to use informal language. By doing so the audience will find the magazine more appealing towards them as it will be seen as more friendly. By this the audience will be more persuaded to read the magazine and treat the magazine as a form of escapism, because they will enjoy the articles and content shown via text. Moving onto the layouts which I will put forward into my making. By planing out layouts for my magazine beforehand, I will be allowed to design where I want specific content to be placed. By this I will make sure that my magazines structure is well thought out and meets its purpose. In my earlier post we can see the layouts which I have come up for my magazine. For the front cover I have come up with the final design straight away whereas for the contents page and the double page spread I have come up with more than one design. By this during my making I will be allowed to pick out useful areas from both of my designs and come up with a final design which will match my liking and make my magazine successful.