Analysis of 5 Contents Pages

Rolling Stone

For the analysis of the rolling stones contents page I would say it is very similar to Q’s contents by the layout. Firstly looking at the right hand side of the page where there is a image of Johnny Carson from when he was at the height of his career, below this image is a heading ‘Johnny Be Good’ this larger image is one of the top stories in the magazine after Johnny had just recently died. The sub-heading below describes briefly what the article is about to get the reader interested and gripped. Alongside the sub-heading is a page number ’32’ and a small purple sentence telling the reader that the story continues on that particular page this is also used on the smaller colour image to the left; I really like this idea because it really seems like the designer took the time to add in the small extra touches and shows the magazine is easy to follow.

On the other hand the same as Q’s contents page the left hand side of the page is a lot more text based. Rolling Stone have also stuck to the 3 colour scheme (purple, black and white) so the page doesn’t look to crazy; I will defiantly choose to only use 3 colours. Starting from the top where Rolling Stone has been abbreviated to RS which is in a bold black serif and sans-serif font (underlined) this allows more space to be made for the issue number; which is a funky sans-serif font and purple so it is eye catching. However below this heading there is a slogan “All the News That Fits” this is a great choice of words because it connects to the contents page as it is the page which tells you the main news in the magazine.

Furthermore the black line cutting across the left hand side of the page acts as a separation between the top articles’ in the magazine and the minor ones. Below this line there are purple page numbers in a bold sans-serif font and alongside each one is a heading or one word to sum up what is on these pages; (also in bold sans-serif font but black) by making the text bold it lets the reader clearly see what each of the 10 pages is about. I will make this a definite strong idea to take forward in my research and will possibly use it in my magazine, to make the layout easier to read. Following on from the page numbers there is a small blue website advertising rollingstone.com to make readers more involved in this company; the blue is a good choice of colour so it stands out from the other 3 neutral colours. Finally in the very bottom left corner there is a brief outline of who is on the front cover and who took the photos; this is good of Rolling Stone to do as it advertises their photographers and lets the reader know who was on the front cover in case they weren’t sure.

Q

Looking at this Q contents page I have come to really like the simplistic, clean cut layout. Starting from the where the main heading ‘contents’ is in a serif font and black to show the sophistication of this page, by using layering the designer added a light grey ‘Q’ in the background which still gives the reader some indication of what magazine they are reading; also there is a small issue number just under the word ‘contents’ just as an added professional extra. Further down the contents page there is a large image on the right hand side advertising a new or recent issue of Q with an artist on both; this lets the reader see an exclusive photo shoot for the next issue of Q. This image has then been layered by a separate image of another artist who has been cut out of his original background; this helps the designer to add anything extra they may need to put on the page if there is no other space. I really like the way the designer has chosen to layer the images up like this as it allows more bands/artists to be advertised and almost gives a sense of 3D into the page.

Furthermore this Q contents page has stuck to the 3 colour scheme by using red, black and grey this makes the contents page easier to read by having the white background to make these 3 colours seem more vibrant. In the very bottom right hand corner Q always put their logo as advertisement and a small black square with a page number in to show you which page you are on; which is in a sans-serif font. Above this there is a faded red box which advertises the Q website and MySpace page; this just makes the magazine look that little bit more interesting while sticking to the colour scheme.

However the right hand side of the page is a lot more text based and starts off with ‘on the cover >>’, this is a great idea by the designer to let the reader actually know who was on the page before and where the interview with this artist is in the magazine. The font for the standfirst’s heading is in bold sans-serif and the small paragraph below is in grey and serif to show some separation between both. Lower down there are the listings of 7 page numbers with artists names alongside the numbers; these are both in a black serif font with a small line between each one so it doesn’t look as plain. Under each page number there is a description of what is on each of those 7 pages listed; this is also in a black serif font but is smaller so it doesn’t draw any attention away from the page numbers and headings. I may use this technique in my contents page as it is a great way of keeping the reader interested in certain parts of the magazine before others.

NME

When first looking at this contents page I thought it was a lot more different from the others I had analyzed, this NME contents page looks like it would appeal more for a younger teenager audience. My reasons for this are based on the untidiness of the layout; pictures are diagonal, there are stickers and £2 off ads in the corners and it all just looks a little messy. The designer may have chosen to do this based on the fact that teenagers are messy and tried to resemble their personalities through the contents design. I’m not really too keen on this layout and I don’t think the pink, white, black and yellow are great colours for the colour scheme. The font style that is only used is sans-serif, but this has been broken down into fonts similar to it e.g. Lucinda Handwriting which almost makes the page look like a student has written it.

To try and section off the ‘club NME this week’ section from the ‘Club NME Chart’ there is a thick black line separating the two, this makes the page look a little more organized. On the ‘club NME this week’ side there is a list of who is headlining in cities from Leeds to LA these cities are all in there own separate font and colour(white) to make them stand out against the black background. The ‘Club NME This Week’ is also in a sans-serif font and has been made bold to show that it is the main heading. Below this there is a small image which shows two band members and listings of future NME club tours; this lets the reader know any other vital pieces of information they may need to know before reading the main body of the contents.

On the other hand this contents page differs from any other, where some contents pages have a good indication that you are reading the contents; this NME one doesn’t at all. The idea of not putting a bold heading before the main body of the contents just seems weird and may make the reader just skip past it without realizing; I’m not too sure if this idea will work in my contents page as I would like the reader to easily be able identify what page they are on. Moving down to the main image in the centre of the page which is at an obscure angle to differentiate from the others, the image shows the reader that they are the main band in the spot light on that particular day and by making it the central focus point the readers eyes will be immediately drawn to it.

The contents numbers are displayed as a sans-serif font again and are bold to make them more prominent to the reader. The headings to go with each page number are all in a pink graffiti like font to show the rebellious side to teenagers. And any other information I indicated in a black font. Finally the stickers on the right hand side of the contents are there to give the reader a little bit more information about NME; in this case it’s NME TV. The pink sticker almost looks like it has been peeled off slightly round the edges, this just adds that little something extra to the page to make it look good and link to the teenage audience.

NME

While analyzing this NME contents page I realized really loved the way each aspect of the page way laid out and positioned. Firstly the heading of the magazine contents is ‘inside this week’ I really like this because it adds a sense of variation instead of using ‘contents’ as you’re heading and it just makes it look that little bit more interesting. The font used for the heading is in Times New Roman (serif font) and is in black to contrast with the white background. Secondly the designer has organized the pictures in a way to show which artist is the main headliner e.g. all the smaller images are surrounding the larger image in the center of the page. This technique is a good idea to make the readers eyes focus on specific parts of the page before looking at others; might be a useful idea for my contents page. Furthermore the font choices are very variable, each artist has their own box to section off each page reference and they each have their own font to separate them all out; this design at a quick analysis of the page looks relatively ok but if you look at the page in more depth then it starts to look a little crazy and messy. On the other hand to make sure this wide variation of fonts doesn’t look too overpowering the designer has only used one colour (black) instead of the usual 3; just so the fonts don’t overpower the images.

On the other hand the each artist has their own significant page number in the bottom right hand corner of their image; sans-serif black font with a white background. This could be a good way of showing the reader easily what page to look for if they have a specific interest in an artist and could be another interesting idea for my contents page. However to make the main artist image stand out from the 7 others the designer saturated the image so it would be the centre of attention quite literally. To give this NME contents page look a little more professional the designer added the date under the magazine heading as an added extra; the date is in a italic serif font to contrast with the main heading ‘inside this week’, which is in bold and non-italic. Finally to add some extra information for the reader to read the designer of the contents page created a narrow space to add in extra page numbers that may be of interest to the reader. The work ‘Plus’ above all the sub-headings is a great idea instead of using boring words such as ‘more info or extra stuff’. This writing in the narrow box is also black and varies between serif (the word Plus), sans- serif bold (page numbers) and sans- serif (other page headings). I really love the way the designer has used this rectangular gap to their advantage and have used it extremely well; this could be a good idea to use the technique if I am also left with an extra piece of space.

Mojo

While analysing this Mojo double page spread I realised that the majority of Mojos contents pages are very plain and basic so they are easier to read. For example on the right hand side of the page Mojo always seem to put a column of 4 to 5 images showing what artists will be appearing in their magazine just to give the reader that extra piece of information and making the page look more creative. The designers have also added a caption at the bottom of the 3 large images to tell the reader what page number the bands are shown. They have also made one of the images slightly forward and tilted to give the whole contents page a bit more diverse; this also has a shadow surrounding the image to make it look more 3D and attract their target audience.

Furthermore Mojo also uses the 3 colour scheme to give the contents page a professional touch. (gold, red and black) This allows the reader to focus on certain parts of the page, for example all the numbers on the page are gold and the headings of each section on the contents page are red; this gives everything its own colour scheme and makes the layout of the page easier to understand for the reader. To add an artistic vibe the designer has added a dashed black and gold line to separate off the contents sub headings from the Mojo heading at the top right corner. However the feature of the magazine next to the gold page numbers are in a sans-serif font and bold to give them a bit of definition compared to the description of each feature which is in a smaller sans-serif font as it isn’t supposed to be the main focus point for the fast readers.

The word Mojo heading has replaced the regular idea of using contents as a heading, this makes the contents page look a lot more unusual and retro which is similar to the style of the magazine. Therefore at the bottom of the contents page there is a black box with contrasting white writing (again sans-serif font) to indicate what the piece of information is informing the reader about. ”This months contributors include” The white box below introduces the reader to some artists that will have an appearance in the magazine and a small brief description on the left hand side about the musician; this box again adds a small insight of what is appearing in the magazine, this could be a good idea for using in my magazine to make it a little more formal.

Finally as any normal magazine would there is a page number in the bottom left hand corner (in bold black sans-serif font) followed by the magazine logo ‘Mojo’.