Contents Page Research - Q June 2014

This is the first contents page that I analysed. It is a Q Magazine from June 2014 (I previously analysed the front cover too).
From this contents page I know that the magazine has 136 pages. The main article however, about Lily Allen, starts on page 54 which, in my opinion, is quite far along in the magazine for the main article to be placed on. Before I completed any of my research I assumed that the main article would be as close to the beginning as possible. Between each article is 2 to 10 pages. This is a large range of pages which I also did not expect to see. There are 9 other stories that are included on this contents page. This has influenced my creative ideas because when completing my Music Magazine I  know that the main article does not need to be near the beginning.

 

The layout matches the front cover because the house style is carried on throughout the contents page. This mainly features the red, black and white colour scheme which is interpreted in the title "June 2014, Q, Contents".

 

In addition, the image of Lily Allen on the front cover and the image of her on the contents page are from the same photo-shoot. I know this because she is still wearing the leather jacket and has fierce, rock style make up. This also carries the house style through the magazine and creates synergy. 

However, all the other images are taken in different locations. For example, the pictures of Oasis are all in different settings, the models are wearing different clothing and the props also differ.

 

I believe this magazine to target an audience of ages 18 - 25 because youthful images and youthful models feature in this magazine. Also, the models that are featured will be more recognisable in that age group than in any other. This is because the music that they produce, especially Lily Allen, is chart music which is listened to by people of that age.

 

This contents page has 2 columns of text per A4 page, which is 4 in total. All of these columns contain 1 or more images which add up to 10 in total. This has influenced my creative ideas because it has allowed me to realise that many images on a contents page can look perfectly fine and not overcrowded. I may use this idea and create a contents page with a similar number of images because I know that it is used in a successful magazine.

 

The text size is around 18/20 for the headings and size 10/12 for detail. This makes the headings stand out and allows the reader to notice them before anything else. Also, because the detail is in such a small text, I believe that this then seems optional to read because the page numbers are also in a large font. The circle radius containing the page numbers range between 1.5cm to 3.0cm. The page numbers are all places on the left hand side, either on the top or bottom. However, this is not relevant for one of them as it is placed on the right hand side ("Page 96").

Two different fonts are used for the headings and the detail: Arial Bold and Times New Roman.

 

The fonts link to the house style and the front cover because the same colours and fonts are featured throughout the contents page which were first on the front page.

 

Modern representations are shown of new musicians and fashion. However, to break convention, Oasis are featured. This breaks convention because they are not new musicians and have been around for quite a while compared to other artists featured in the magazine.