conventions of contents page
TRANSCRIPT
Page numbers:Page numbers:
Page numbers would be used on all magazines contents pages, this is because it will help the
reader navigate their way through the magazine to find certain article that they want to read. The
page numbers are normally highlighted to make them clear, in this kerrang example they are
written in red so that they stand out next to the black writing on white background. I have noticed
that only really in kerrang that they clearly highlight the articles that were on the front cover also in
the contents page. This maybe because people would be interested in buying the magazine due to
seeing the article information on the cover and so rather than having to spend a while going
through the magazine to find a certain story they
can easily find the page where there is the article
they want to read on and so can read that and
then maybe go back and have a look at the rest of
the articles.
Images:Images:
Contents pages would have images that link to
certain articles that they may think are
important to that issue or have most
information. In the contents example half of the
page is full with one image, this may be
because it is the main story that was the main
focus on the cover so they have carried that on
to be the focus of the contents as well. They
have also used ‘screen shots’ of pages later
on in the magazine. This will allow readers to
see what else they will find within the
magazine and may encourage them to read
that article as they may have been drawn to
the layout/style of the article and so they would
them want to know what it is about. Also they
seem to clearly show people that may be
recognisable, That a reader may see someone
that they recognise and then that’s what
attracts them to a certain page as they would
what to know what that person has to do with
that article or if there is any important
information that has been written about
them/then band that they are in.
Fonts:Fonts:
Like this cover they have used different fonts, but they
seem to be more organised. They have kept the same
font for all of the headings, this helps the reader to find a
certain article that may be under a certain heading so
they can easily spot the heading and find the article. All
other writing is the same font they may have only
changed the boldness of it to make certain things stand
out more than others. They have seemed to made the names of bands/people stand out more, this again would be so that fans would see their names and then want to read the article that is about them.
Colour:Colour:
They have stuck to quite a simple yet effective
colour scheme. They have used the colours
white, yellow, black and red. As there is already
a lot of writing and a lot of things going on, on
the page they seemed to have not used a lot of
different bright colours as they may not have
wanted to make the cover seem to in your face
with a lot going on and quite confusing. This
colour scheme, being quite simple, also makes
the magazine seem more professional and well
planned and thought about.
Captions:Captions:
With the images they are usually captions with
them that state what page number the article
about them would be found on and who they are.
Advertising:Advertising:
I have noticed, especially in Kerrang, that they
seem to have a small corner of the contents
page which they use to advertise subscriptions
to the magazine. This helps to make it easy for
the reader to find the correct information that
they need to get a subscription, this also may
influence readers to get a subscription when
they advertise deals or how easy it is.
Page numbers:Page numbers:
Page numbers are on this contents page Like the one previous. They have highlighted them by
making them the colour red, so readers can clearly see the page they need to turn to, to get to
a certain page. Some magazines only highlight the main articles and so may not show every
single article on that page, this may be because they don’t have as much information/pages in
the magazine so magazines that may have more pages would have more they want to
advertise to the reader on the first page they would see.
Fonts:Fonts:
The fonts used all see, to be the same they haven't used
loads of different fonts. They have used the same font,
the only thing that they have changed is that they have
made certain things bolder than others to make some
things stand out. The consistent font doesn’t make the
page confusing, as there is a lot of information on the
page then if they used loads of different fonts it could
make the page confusing and harder to read. As the
font is also quite simple it makes the page look
professional. The only time that they have changed
the font is where it says ‘oasis special’. They may
have done this is draw people to that piece of writing
as this may be part of the main story that was
advertised on the front or that it is the main
theme/subject of that issue of the magazine.
Colour:Colour:
The colour scheme that they have stuck to is
using the colours, red, white and black. This
again makes it look quite professional and not
confusing. They have cleverly linked the colour
scheme to the masthead. The masthead (on
the cover and the top left corner) use the colour
white and red, so the way that they have used
the same colours in the contents links them well
and keeps a clear theme throughout the
magazine.
Captions:Captions:
With the images they are usually captions with
them that state what page number the article
about them would be found on and who they are.
Writing:Writing:
Unlike some other contents pages this contents have used quite a lot of writing. Many just state the
name of a band/singer and what page the article about them is on. They have seemed to still do this but
have added some more information underneath to possibly describe some more information about what
the article involves/is about. They have used headlines to separate the pages to help if someone is
looking for a certain type of article however they haven't used a lot of headlines, that other magazines
have done for example Kerrang, which doesn’t makes is that easy to navigate to a certain article but
they may not include such a wide range of different articles that other magazines may do.
Images:Images:
There are very few images on this contents page,
unlike other that usually have quite a few. They have
seemed to have quite a simplistic look to it, and they
seem to have stuck to a more adult look which them
gives an idea of who the target audience is as this
layout may seem to ‘boring’ for a teenage/child
magazine. They have used one large image that
seems to take up just under half the page, this then
makes people look at the image and so may be
used to try sand advertise the main article, or even
just a normal article that may seem important. The
image seems to be quite dark as well so this also
draws people to the image to find out what it is
about, because it is against a very light background.
They have used one other smaller image under the
review section, which gives the idea that they have
done this because the person in the image may be
the focus pf the main review and so they wanted to
highlight them.
Page numbers:Page numbers:
Page numbers are slightly different, they seem to have
more information that has linked to a page. Similarly to
other magazines they have made them bold by the use
of colour however they highlight them in black writing on
one side and red on the other side so this may be slightly
confusing but not but much.
Fonts:Fonts:
They have stick to the same font through out, as the page holds a lot of information already and I
think that if it used many fonts as well it would look to crowded and hard to read. They have used a
font which is very similar to the masthead which keeps a theme throughout and links everything
together. They have kept most of the writing in bold which for something's (titles) are effective but for
something's (writing on the left column) makes it slightly hard to read. For one phrase in the centre of
the page they have used a fine italic font which draws people to it as it is so different to anything else
on the page, which then also makes it an effective way to get the reader interested in a certain article
on a reasonably busy page. Colour:Colour:
They have stuck to a simple colour scheme
using the colours, red, white and black and for
one section they have used the colour yellow.
They probably would have linked this colour
scheme to the one on the cover and so have
done it to show consistency. They have used
the colour red to mostly highlight the
band/singers names that are located in the left
side. They have used the colour yellow to
highlight the advertising section of the page,
and to make that section really stand out
against everything else.
Images:Images:
They have used two thin pictures that
when placed together doesn’t even fill
half of the page. This contents page have
seems to stick to more writing rather than
a lot of images. This then makes people
focus on the text rather than being
distracted by images. The way that they
have used text to give a preview of whats
on the page makes the navigation easier
as they get clear information on what is
on certain pages. It may just be a
coincidence but it seems to be that the
images kind f link to the colour scheme.
The images use a lot of red, white and
black what then tie the colour scheme of
text with image, which makes a good
theme on the page.
Advertising:Advertising:
In NME and some other magazines they have
sections on the contents page which they use
to advertise subscriptions to the magazine.
They usually advertise offers to encourage
people to get subscriptions. They may have
placed it on that page as the whole point of a
contents page is to help show information about
whats in the magazine and help the reader
navigate their way through the magazine, so
this links with the advertising as they give more
‘exclusive’ information about the subscriptions
(offers) and they give web addresses that help
the reader easily navigate to the correct
website easily.
Captions:Captions:
As there is only two smaller images on the page there isn't really
any small captions, they have seemed to extended the caption to
what seems to be a mini article about the images which may then
carryon to a longer article later on in the magazine.
Writing:Writing:
The main focus of this contents page seem
to be the writing. There is a large amount of
writing in the centre of the page with writing
underneath the headings and gives a brief
information about what the article would be
about specifying on a band/artist. The text
which shows the ‘band index’ is a very good
way of helping navigate around the magazine.
This is because if someone was looking for a
specific band then they would be able to
easily find then and know what page the
article about them would be on.