3rd Double Page Spread Analysis: Rolling Stone 28/2/16

I have recently analysed the front cover of a Rolling Stone magazine so looking at this contents page, it is visible that this particular music magazine follows a very specific style and has a strong brand identity that flows throughout the entirety of the magazine- especially with regards to colour.  There are multiple conventions that this double page spread follows to which I shall be exploring.

The layout of this page is extremely effective in my opinion. A thick black strip runs across the top of the page containing the headline: ‘GREATEST HIP-HOP SONGS OF ALL TIME’ which although is small, it is immediately noticed due to the white text and prominence of the bold strip. Additionally, the left hand side includes the page number '50', an image of Tupac Shakur (2pac) and a pull quote. On the right hand side, there are six colums and a rectangular box in the middle bottom row. The content on the page is cohesive to the title on the page and there are a few images to help break up the large amount of text.

The main image is a black and white mid shot of late rapper 2pac. This is a very conventional feature of magazines as it draws more attention and in this case suits the house style of The Rolling Stone. In this image, 2pac has bare top half  which reveals his tattoos and shows him wearing a chain with a gun pendant. In my opinion, this is a very stereotypical representation of those in the music industry under the 'rap artist' bracket. The gun chain is perhaps a way of connoting  gun violence as this is a common feature in rap lyrics. Personally, I think this image would be recognised as a negative and stereotypical representation of black culture due to the styling and style of shot.

The pull quote is a very interesting part of the left hand page. The speech marks are enlarged on purpose and almost act as a border for the quote, not only drawing attention but also making it equally as important as the image. In addition to this, on the very bottom hand corner of the image, ‘all eyez on him' is written in very small print. This is very clever as this is the title of one of 2pac's songs and it therefore seems like the magazine have used it as word play to create an effective caption. By using the song title and stating that all eyes are on him enhances his position and iconic name in the music industry.

With regards to the right hand page, each individual column has a song title as its subheading with a description explaining why it is included in the greats list and also some interesting facts and information about the song below it. There is also the number in which they are placed in chronological order from 14 to 19. Both numbers are separated into either red or grey rectangles to go along with the consistent house style that runs throughout the entire magazine. 

The name of the artist and the album it is from are also included so that the reader can listen to these songs in the future. I believe this will make the reader feel a part of the magazine as it’s interactive. Although there is a lot of writing on the page, thin black lines make the page look less cramped and is an effective way to separate the information. The small image of Eazy-E doesn't obstruct the text in any way and looks rather than a clean  and professional. 

For my own double page spread, I would like to follow some of the conventions this one follows. Firstly, I would like to have my spread follow the house style of my magazines so that it looks professional. I will also be including a drop quote as they make the stories more personal. I am going to experiment with the colour of my main image as i believe certain effects can be very effective especially this black and white example. Finally, I will make sure that the layout of my page isn't too cluttered so that all ages would be interested in reading it and not just those in the older generation.