Magazine Analysis: Contents Pages

The coursework for this subject includes creating two contents for two different magazines. In order to get a better perspective on contents pages for magazines, I analyzed three by looking at the key conventions.

VOGUE:

 The masthead on this contents page is the name of the magazine. It's in the largest font on the whole page and stretches across the top. This is to make it stand out and so that the readers are reminded of the magazine title. The title also uses the same font as the front cover title, carrying it's theme, . The rest of the text is in a different font from the title which again is like the front cover. The black font contrasts the white background which also makes it standout.
There is a singular image on this page which although it is rather large, it still doesn't fill up the whole page.
The text is split into four sections: 'Cover Stories', 'Fashion', 'Special Features' and 'Subscribe To Vogue'. Each of the sub titles has red font, this differs from the rest of the text which is black and white.
The other text on the page is at the very top and it's the date and the word 'Contents'. These aren't the most important part of the page so therefore they are smaller than the title but they are key things needed on the page so are at the top and are in the same or bigger than the rest of the text.
The main colours used on the page are black, white and red. The white background with the black text overlaid makes it look sophisticated then the small amounts of red text gives the page a splash of colour without overdoing it. The white text on the image is needed to be white so it contrasts the grey background of the image. In front of each of the article teasers, there is the page number so the reader can easily access a certain article.


SPIN:

The masthead of this page is the magazine title and although it is the largest text on the page, it is still smaller than the front cover title. Also, it is almost in the background as the main image is slightly overlapping it.
The layout of this contents page is pretty basic. The article teasers are all in a singular column on the left with page numbers on the left of each one. Underneath this, there is a blue box for the main article teaser that is also on the cover. The final piece of text on this page is a quot eon the top left from an interview in the magazine. The quote is also from the celebrity in the main image on this page.
For this contents page, there is a main image that dominates the page as it takes up the most room out of everything on the page also acts as a background.
There are a few colours on this page but each are used sparingly. There is red which is in the title and also the front cover title. This is used to continue with the original theme and also music magazine use a lot of red. Another colour is blue. This is used for the page numbers, to underline the subtitle 'FEATURES' and the 'ON THE COVER' box. The third non neutral colour is pink. This is the colour of a prop the model is holding: a ukelele. By this page having these three colours, it brighten the page up and makes it more interesting to look at as the rest of the colours, the main colours, are neutrals such as black for the text and grey for the background.


NME:

The mast head for this page is different to the other contents pages I have looked at. Instead of being th title of the magazine, it's 'INSIDE THIS WEEK'. In other words, it's the contents. They include the date below this large text in a much smaller text. They have taken 7 of the article teasers and added a picture to go along side them. On the pictures, there is the page number and then underneath them is the article teaser which consists of a quote and a follow up underneath. Each of these are sectioned off from the others by thin black lines. The rest of the teasers are in their own section under the sub heading 'PLUS' with the page number and then a teaser word(s) underneath.The other thing on the page is an advert for the magazine itself. This is the biggest block of colour - red. This is to make it stand out and encourage people to look at it, see the deals they are offering and then subscribe to their magazine.
The colour pallet used on this page is basic. It consists of three colours: black, white and red. The background is plain white and all the text - barring the advert and the page numbers - is plain black. There there is the splash of colour on the page with the advert being and also the page numbers being red. This colour is used as it is a typical colour associated with the genre of this magazine which is music.
There are multiple fonts used on this page. Italics and boldness are also used for different pieces of text. This variation makes the page look interesting and stops it from being monotonous. There is also no empty space on this page. This is because there is lots of content in this magazine as it is a popular magazine and the lack of space is to show that the magazine itself is also packed full of content.