PLANNING: 'XXL' Case Study

XXL Summer 2015

Front Cover

The gutter on the front cover is very small however it makes the magazine look clean and put together. The layout is in an 'L' formation, so it makes the audience read from left to right, noticing exactly what the magazine editor wants you to. The colour scheme is red, blue and black, which looks simplistic and appealing. The masthead uses the 'XXL' logo seen on every edition of the magazine, so it is easily recognisable. The font used is really informal and looks modern, which is aimed towards young adults. The colours red and blue are linked to each of the genders, thus making it appealing to both sexes. The word XXL is also a phrase you would use to say something is really big, telling us the content of the magazine is really worth the read. The pictures of the artists overlap the masthead connoting that XXL is a successful magazine and that the readers will still recognise it even if it is covered. XXL magazine focuses mainly on the rap music genre, which is what all the artists on the front perform, so they are all appropriate for the cover. The main cover line reads '2015's XXL Freshman class Built to Win,' this links in with the cover image because they are all up and coming artists. The use of white against blue makes it easy to read and draws your eyes towards it. The white could signify purity. The barcode is common convention on a magazine, needed in order for it to be sold. The date and price are common conventions, the price is really small conveying that the company doesn't want the price ($5.99) to stand out as it doesn't appeal to the audience. The placement of the rap artists on the front makes them look like a squad and really strong as a team, they all have differently poses conveying who they are as an individual. XXL is aimed at men aged on average 27, but it always depends on the artist on the front, in this case it it aimed toward men and women because it had men on the front like K Camp as well as women such as Dej Loaf. There is a sentence on the side which reads ' Hip-Hop On A Higher Level'.

Contents Page

 There are 3 different fonts used on the contents page, no no one place draws the readers attention. There is a heading that reads 'The A-Side' placed at the top left hand side so even though it doesn't say contents anywhere, you already know what it is. The font used is normal but the A is in bold. There is one image which is very similar the cover imagine the front so you know they are linked,  the image on the contents page looks like an informal version. The facial expressions on all the artists on 'The A-Side' are different, conveying their differing personalities. Some are smiling such as Fetty Wap and Raury and some are pulling faces such as Dej Loaf and K Camp, this conveys that all the artists are their own and are kind (hence the smiling.) All of the stars are directly gazing at the camera, giving unswerving eye contact, this connotes that they are all serious about their music. Bodily posture of all of the artists indicates they are confident. Mise-en-scene of them sitting on a stage-like-prop conveys that they are perfomers and are all comfortable on stage. I think the lighting is three point lighting because all aspects of the image is lit up. All the artists juxtapose each other in the photo, I think they put Fetty Wap int he middle because he is he most recognisable at the moment. The colour scheme is blue and black and is very minimalistic, this makes he magazine look very simple and focused on the music. The blue is striking and draws eyes toward the page numbers. There is only one column so it is very clear, these are all the features. Two pages along is 'The B-Side' which showcases all the departments in the magazine, this page is red and black themed so both link in with the front cover. The effect of this is that it looks very professional and put together. The woman on 'The B-Side is smiling really big so she looks quite attractive to men and even women who are reading the magazine. The way her head is turned slightly to the right makes her look quite seductive as her eyes are staring straight into yours.  If you read the Departments section, on page 80 is says 'Eye Candy. Briana Bette is both smart and sexy' which is very attractive to men. The way her leg is lifted up really emphasises her curves making her waist look smaller and thighs and hips look bigger, a very desirable shape for brown skin women, enticing them to see what she has that they don't have. The coral/red colour outfit she wis wearing really highlights her skin tone, making her skin look a very pure tanned colour, also with a matching lip and cheek colour she looks really desirable, the coral colour makes the melanin in her skin 'pop'. The plant and books in the foreground indicates a homely atmosphere, indicating that she walks around home like that, a very nice sight for a partner.  The low angle shot makes her look like a powerful black woman.  I think they use the technique A and B side so it is not too much information all bunched up on one page, in a way to split up the information. 

Double Page Spread

The heading is 'Sky's the limit' as it is talking about all up and coming artists featured on the page. so the title is something that probably all the artists have once heard, it also gives the reader an insight on what the article may be about. In comparison to the image the text is really small and insignificant. this could mean that the artists are the main focus rather than what the article says. The artists dominate the pages. Plus this is the cover story so it is big and out-there. The main focus of the double page spread is the artists, it shows all the artists in poses they are comfortable with. The contrast is high the image so each and every person stands out. The colour scheme is yellow and red, the colours of fire. 'Fire' in todays slang means something that is hot, usually relating to a newly released track or EP that is respected. The colour red can also be linked to blood and fighting for to get the most sales or love for music. The article is about the 10 up and coming artists in the rap community in 2015, over 10 pages it goes into detail of each artist. The target audience is people interested in rap and discovering new artists. I read the article on the double page spread, to summarise it, it explains how they decide who gets to be featured in the freshman class list, the people they pick they think they can make it as a star or even a superstar. The language used is quite informal, I know this because towards the end it reads 'So get your pens, pencils, smart phones, tablets, laptops or whatever ready. Once again, class is in its session.' A teacher from a proper school would never tell you to get your phones out and definitely say 'or whatever'. The structure of this article is quite block-y and kind of but not really split up into (3& ½) paragraphs. 

The audience of XXL magazine goes far and wide, 139 different countries to be exact. As of 2012, the percentage of male readers is 78% with a media age of 27 and 67% being african american. The publisher of XXL Magazine is Townsquare Media who also publish other music magazines such as  'The Boombox,' 'Consequence of Sound' and 'Taste of Country.'

Eleanor