Contents Page Analysis XXL

Semiotic Analysis of XXL Contents Pages

The first contents page is the A SIDE, which is essentially just the features, aka the contents that are only found in this issue of XXL, not the regulars every month, which are featured on the B SIDE contents page. The background and main colour of this page is black which has connotations of death, pain and mystery. The cvi centre of visual interest on this page is the rapper on the left of the page. His style, sunglasses and hairdo all point towards the assumption that this man is a part of the hip hop genre that this magazine is based around. This reinforces the genre and lets the audience know what theme the magazine they are reading is, in case they hadn't caught on from the front page's blatant hip hop vibe. The colour of the text on the right hand side of the page (the contents) is white which contrasts to the black background that it lies upon. The black and white colour palette of this page has suggests mystery and entices the reader to look further into the magazine.

Doing so would bring the reader to a further page, this one named B SIDE in which all the regulars, in this case departments, are shown. This is not conventional, as usually in magazines (such as UK Rock & Roll) the contents are all featured on the same page in the magazine, not spread out and split up into multiple separate pages. This unconventional aspect could show that this magazine is not as mainstream as previously thought. The background colour is red which has connotations of love, passion and violence. Violence has often been synonymous with hip hop music, as it was a centre point of riots in the 90's. In this case the CVI is a woman in a blue fur jacket. The fur jacket is similar to the fur jackets worn on the front page by the two rappers, therefore she is reinforcing the luxury, wealthy theme of the magazine.

The blue contrasts with the red, as blue has connotations of trust, wisdom and stereotypically in modern society - boys. A woman in a jacket meant for males shows defiance and rebellion which reflect the hip hop aspect of this magazine, which is famous for being popular amongst younger generations, those who especially in adolescent years are involved in defiance and rebellion.

The text is white like the A SIDE which reinforces the colour palette and in turn reinforces XXL's brand identity.