Contents Page Analysis

Metal Hammer Contents page

Found at the front of the magazine the contents page is often the first place a reader will look for concise information on the content of the magazine. This ‘Metal Hammer’ contents page is full of information on the content of the magazine. The title of the page ‘Contents’ is in the left corner of the page which is naturally where the readers eyes will go to read from as we read from left to right, top to bottom, this establishes to the reader the page they are on. The contents list in the two columns on the left hand side of the page is organised by page number and in chronological order so as to make it easier for the reader to identify whereabouts the information they are looking for will be in the magazine. The content of the magazine is split into ‘features’ and ‘regulars’ which helps narrow down specifically what the reader is looking for and saves them from reading through two lists.

The images on the page are not only relevant to further content in the magazine but some also correspond to page numbers such as pages 28, 60 and 54. These images matching the article title are likely to interest the reader more as they have something visual to help them understand the content of the specific article. By using lots of images on the page it adds colour to the page and makes it a lot more visually interesting for the reader to look at.

Most of the photos of on this page are reasonably dark in colour and give a dark tone to the page which suits the rest of the magazine and reflects the genre of music. Also, the images used are not particularly glamorous which again reflects the attitude of the genre and the artists producing the music as they are more interested in the music rather than the image they portray as an artist. The image of the pretty woman in the bottom right hand corner suggests again that this magazine is geared more towards men as she is what can be considered ‘eye candy’ which would appeal to male audiences rather than women.

The contrast of the blacks and reds on the white background makes the text in the lists easier to read; also the bold writing used for the titles of the articles makes them more prominent against the smaller text describing the articles. The dark blocks of red and black around the bottom and right edge almost frame the contents list in the top left corner as well as displaying information. The long black text box down the right hand side of the page is the editor’s note which is written in such a way that directly addresses the reader ‘As we hurtle into and explosive new year that marks…’ the use of the word ‘we’ involves the reader and makes it personal to them. Also the location of this box is right on the edge of the right hand side of the page, so when the reader is flicking through the magazine it is most likely to be the first bit of the page they see and therefore will read it and feel the magazine is addressing them.

The organisation of the page is well organised into text, images and text boxes. Although the information on the page is well organised it is presented on the page in such a way that looks messy and chaotic. This chaotic and busy look reflects the genre of music and attitude many of the artists producing this genre of music have. Because the information is separated into separate spaces I feel this makes the information easier for the reader to read and also makes it easier for them to identify what they might be looking for.

KERRANG! Contents page

The contents page is located at the front of the magazine so the reader can look at what's inside the magazine with ease. Also the contents list is printed on the right hand side of the page which makes it easier for to find when flicking through the magazine. The content is organised by page number in chronological order which helps the reader identify whereabouts the article they are looking for will be in the magazine. The page number is then followed by the name of the band or the subject of the article. The listed page numbers are then grouped into: feedback, news, live reviews, features, ‘K! icons’, album reviews, gigs and famous last words. In addition to this for some page numbers such as: 08, 10, 37 etc… They have relevant pictures on the page, again with the page number and band or article subject to help the reader visually see what the article is about.

The images used on the page are not only relevant to the article that it represents but also add colour and interest to the page. The pictures give an insight to what the article is about and what's in the magazine and they are also appealing to the eye because of the way they are fitted on the page, as there is no empty space which makes the page look full which suggests that the magazine has lots inside. Most of the photos used on the page are live photos which means they are un-posed, dark and less glamorous than photos that might feature in perhaps a pop magazine. It also shows involvement with the bands because the pictures were taken at their gigs, this reflects the genre as live music is a major part of rock culture. As rock music is often played live and the photos show a realistic representation of the artists which is more important to rock audiences because they care more about the music, than the image of the band/ artist.

The ’Contents’ heading has its own box and is in a fairly large brightly coloured yellow font as to draw attention to the heading. The use of yellow on black resembles lights in a dark room or a venue which fits with the genre of the magazine because rock music is often played live. Also the fonts and colours are consistent however the boldness, size and colour are changed depending on how much attention is needed from the reader, for example the content headers are bolder than the article names and yellow to draw more attention to them, however they are not as big or as bold as the page heading which needs the most attention from the reader.

The magazine addresses the reader directly in the editor’s note. The tone is chatty and ‘friend’ like as if the editor himself was talking to the reader personally. The editors note is also not in capital letters like the rest of the text on the page which makes it more personal because it makes it more like conversation that and exclamation. Lastly the editor signs the note himself with his actual signature rather than typed, this personalises the note even more so because it is his personal signature which makes the note more sincere.

I like how the contents page is organised because the articles are not only listed but listed in groups which gives the reader a more detailed idea of what the article is about and then who it is about. I also like how the photos on the page are almost listed, in a similar way to the text list. However I do not like how the photos are not exactly chronological because it’s slightly harder to find the articles names in order.

NME Contents page

The content on the page is organised with the most important text at the right hand side, such as the contents list and groups of content such as ‘News, Radar, Reviews, Live!, and Features.’ This is done so that if the reader was to simply flick through the magazine they would see the most important content first because it’s located nearer the open edge of the page. The ‘Band index’ however is printed on the left hand side of the page nearer the middle of the magazine which suggests maybe it is the more dedicated music fans who will take the time to read the lists to find bands and artists they like. Also the main and most important story is mentioned on this page by use of a coverline ‘…Oasis kicked off their world tour’ and pictures in the middle of the page to give a visual insight to the article. By placing these in the middle of the page the reader is most likely to read it because it is bordered/ framed by information making it the central point of the page.

The images in the middle of the page accompany the article mentioned below them and are taken at a live music event and are un-posed, this reflects the rock genre and live music is a huge part of rock culture not only for the artists but the fans too. The heading below it suggests they have caused big news during the week and so the central pictures help advertise the story to the reader. By putting the images in the middle it makes them centre of attention and more likely that the reader will be interested by them and want to read on. The general layout of the page shows the separation of information, which makes it easier for the reader to distinguish between information and for them to search what they could be looking for within the magazine.

The advertisement at the bottom of the page also uses images of various NME magazine covers to sell their subscription by presenting the product to the potential buyer. This is effectively showing the reader what they would be buying if they were to sign up and part with their money. The separate text box helps makes this eye catching but also shows it is a separate section of information. The bold capital font of the ‘SUBSCRIBE TODAY’ is eye catching on the page to the reader and the use of yellow font is not only bright to attract attention but also contrasts the rest of the text and images as it is the only yellow present on the whole page.

The heading reads ‘This Week’ which is clearly the title of the page which is establishing that the information in the magazine is up to date and relevant to the events happening in music currently. This is made bold and eye catching by using capital letters and a large font size. Also the use of capital letters on the contents headings and the advert shows exclamation and makes them bolder and eye catching, also easier to read. The text on the page not in capitals however shows perhaps the laid back approach to the way the magazine reports music, as often rock magazines use bold capital fonts to ‘exclaim’ and look loud to connote the music genre.

The colour scheme used here is very simple; red, white and black. The black contrasts on the white to increase visibility whereas the red not only contrasts the white but is also bright and eye catching so as to gain and retain the audience’s attention. These simple colours are often found in news paper which suggests that NME could be considered a ‘music newspaper’ it also connotes that the information is up to date for that week and factual like news journalism is.

Q Contents page

The content on the page is organised with the contents list on the left hand side and a picture on the right. This is unusual because the contents list is often on the right hand side of the page so it is easier for the reader to flick thought and find it quickly. The layout that ‘Q’ has chosen though may work well because the reader might see the picture of the band on the right hand side of the page while flicking through and then be drawn to them and their story in the magazine. Also the contents list is divided into three groups: ‘features, every month and review.’ this makes it easier for the reader to identify what type of article they could be looking for. Also ‘reviews’ are in their own text box in the bottom right corner which might suggest they are popular articles in the magazine and therefore are made easier for the reader to identify.

The images on the page are of famous bands and it is perhaps them that are meant to interest the reader rather than the content because they have been placed where you would normally find the contents list. It is clear that this magazine covers pop music because the picture has clearly been posed for and the artists ‘image’ in the pop genre is very important as it is often a selling point, so by posing for the photo the artists will look as good as possible. This is huge contrast to rock magazines such as Kerrang! and Rock sound where its more likely that the magazines would have used live shots from the bands gigs. The smaller picture below of the artists leaning on the pillar has also been not only posed for but the shot has also been set up, which again, points towards pop genres.

The title ‘Contents’ is in a larger font that the other texts on the page which draws more attention to it so the reader knows what the page is about straight away. All of the headers and article names in the contents list are typed in capital letters which is more eye catching and attention grabbing so the reader knows what to read first to make sense of the other text on the page. The smaller text explaining the articles is not as big and does not draw attention to its self at all as the reader may only be interested in certain articles and may not want to read about all the other articles. The page numbers along the left side of the text is in read which not only makes them easier to identify but also keeps with the colour scheme of the contents page.

The colour scheme used on the page is very limited, though quite effective despite its simplicity. The contrast of the black on white and the colour on white is east for the reader to read. The colours used on the page are white, black red, grey and two words written in olive to show they are separate from the rest of the articles. The use of simple colours and organisation of information into columns makes the information concise and to the point much like a newspaper, which suggests the magazine is the equivalent of a ‘music newspaper.’ The red is used very simply to highlight key points such as the name of the magazine, group names and page numbers, likewise the black is used for article titles and lesser important text.

The audience are directly addressed by the larger picture on the right as they are looking directly at the camera. This invited the reader into read the magazine as they feel it is a more personal experience. Also the almost chatty tone in which the page is written causes the reader to again feel directly addressed. Despite the simplicity of this contents page the impact is that it is factual and full of information.

The images in the middle of the page accompany the article mentioned below them and are taken at a live music event and are un-posed, this reflects the rock genre and live music is a huge part of rock culture not only for the artists but the fans too. The heading below it suggests they have caused big news during the week and so the central pictures help advertise the story to the reader. By putting the images in the middle it makes them centre of attention and more likely that the reader will be interested by them and want to read on. The general layout of the page shows the separation of information, which makes it easier for the reader to distinguish between information and for them to search what they could be looking for within the magazine.

The advertisement at the bottom of the page also uses images of various NME magazine covers to sell their subscription by presenting the product to the potential buyer. This is effectively showing the reader what they would be buying if they were to sign up and part with their money. The separate text box helps makes this eye catching but also shows it is a separate section of information. The bold capital font of the ‘SUBSCRIBE TODAY’ is eye catching on the page to the reader and the use of yellow font is not only bright to attract attention but also contrasts the rest of the text and images as it is the only yellow present on the whole page.

The heading reads ‘This Week’ which is clearly the title of the page which is establishing that the information in the magazine is up to date and relevant to the events happening in music currently. This is made bold and eye catching by using capital letters and a large font size. Also the use of capital letters on the contents headings and the advert shows exclamation and makes them bolder and eye catching, also easier to read. The text on the page not in capitals however shows perhaps the laid back approach to the way the magazine reports music, as often rock magazines use bold capital fonts to ‘exclaim’ and look loud to connote the music genre.

The colour scheme used here is very simple; red, white and black. The black contrasts on the white to increase visibility whereas the red not only contrasts the white but is also bright and eye catching so as to gain and retain the audience’s attention. These simple colours are often found in news paper which suggests that NME could be considered a ‘music newspaper’ it also connotes that the information is up to date for that week and factual like news journalism is.