Contents Page Analysis

Vibe Magazine

Layout
The effect that the layout has on the audience is that everything is very precise and has its place, even down to Kanye West’s (pictured) haircut shows it is sharp and to the point. The word ‘Contents’ is clearly written big and is in bold, whereas the ‘Features’ and ‘Fashion’ are in bold but a smaller font to stand out from the normal text so the audience can see it is an important element for them to read.

Creativity
In this magazine it is plain to see how important the look of it is. In this example I like how everything is black and white apart from the heart which is a very vibrant red. The word ‘Contents’ is also displayed in a way to challenge music magazine conventions. The use of many different fonts and sizes is also obvious to see.

House Style
Vibe magazine uses more conventions of a fashion magazine compared to the rock and indie music, hip hop and R&B is as much to do with what clothes the artists wear as the music they make. This is shown with the magazine having a features part to the side further up and then a part for fashion which shows how much a vital part of the magazine it is.

Professionalism
In the bottom corner of the contents page it has the name of the photographer who took both the front cover and contents page pictures also it says where and when they were taken, this shows that the magazine wants the people working for them to take credit where it is due.

Rocksound Magazine

Continuity
As with all the magazines I have analysed, the date that it was released and then the issue number as well is in the top left hand corner just underneath the title of the magazine.

Layout
Contrary to the other magazines I have analysed Rocksound is a lot more flexible in its layout. The main picture takes up the whole of the page but with other pictures for like the ones at the bottom of the page look slapped on to create a more comedic effect, this will entail with the magazines target audience of a younger age.

House Style
Rocksound magazine will use the same type of layout each time with the same colours as shown in the example with red and white the main font colour. Even in some one of the pictures the two colours have again been used to show the picture belonging to the magazine.

Eye-Catcher
This magazine has the eye catcher of the main picture as it shows a vocalist in action putting his all into a performance, this shows the audience what they can aspire to be and shows there hero doing what they are best at.

Q Magazine

House Style
Q magazine keeps a constant style with fonts and sizes. They will use a mixture of white, black and red. Titles are in a larger font size so to stand out on the page also the colour they are in is white on a different background colour so there is more contrast to it.

Professionalism
This magazine keeps an air of intellectuality by how clinical everything is; meaning each column and word has its space that has been organised yet still being quite minimal and free for the reader to enjoy the main picture in the middle of the page. It even has in the top right corner who is photographed and who by.

Eye-Catcher
The tagline at the bottom of the page draws attention as it says “I fart in your direction” which will immediately draw some kind of reaction from the reader then it has who said it and which band they are in, this can lead to people wanting to read more about it.

Continuity
Within the magazine each issue will have the month and the year at the top of the contents page, also it will have the issue number, this is so the magazine then can be archived for research and collectors of the magazine.

NME Magazine

Subscriptions
The main aim of this is to advertise the magazine inside itself. The fact that it is in the contents page follows the codes and conventions of a normal magazine. It helps customers save money and it stands out as it is displayed clearly and boldly showing how to go about subscribing to the magazine.

House Style
The way the NME’s layout will always be similar with the different fonts and font sizes. A main picture will also be in the middle of the page to show the main or most important article that might not be on the front cover because it’s more to do with the people who actually know the music or go to gigs so they will know the Astoria.

Layout
As with Kerrang, the NME’s layout has everything positioned very strategically so it will benefit the audience who are reading the magazine, with The main story in the middle then news, radar, reviews, live and features to the side.

Continuity
In the NME they will always put the date and the contents page will have a band index so people can go straight to the parts of the magazine that they would normally be interested in.

Kerrang Magazine

Layout
Everything within Kerrang’s layout is ordered and has its place, with blocks to separate each different section. The titles all stand out in a bright yellow colour so they can catch the eye, this can also help understand the target audience being mid teens to early twenties. As with the titles the pictures help with people who maybe wouldn’t want to just read pages and pages of text. The bigger the picture the more important the story is within the magazine. The language they use is very informal and used in a kind of “chatty” way as the tag line underneath The King Blues says “Fucking shit up in Liverpool.” The text is all in the capitals meaning it is easier to read.

House Style
Kerrang sticks with yellows and blacks in the contents page for many of its magazines. The titles and numbers are all in the same style. This makes it clear to the reader what is what without any confusion.

Editorial
Kerrang conforms to the conventions of a normal magazine with the editor’s letter at the top of the contents page this shows however un-formal it seems to be it still is a professional magazine. It still has a signature on it which will also give a personal feel to the reader to know that the editor actually gets involved with them.

Professionalism
The issue number and cover date it helps if any archives are needed to be found and also gives it a more formal look.