2. I have looked at the contents
page from Kerrang! magazine to
help me with my own contents
page.
Here are some key points:
3. Layout of the page:
• The page is divided up into two halves. The top half is an image of ‘My Chemical
Romance’, this is the main article in the magazine and a developing theme as it has
been used for a weeks. It has the largest image showing this page is obviously the
most important on the contents page.
• The second half is made up of text, it has all of the pages featured inside, plus a
sentence to make you want to read more under each title. The text is small and
crammed into the small space but as long as the main article is clear and easy to read
it does not matter as much.
• There are other small images on the page, these show you what is featured on the
page. For example a double page spread on ‘Enslaved’. It is too small to read yet they
put it in to attract your attention and make you want to turn to this page to read it.
4. Layout of text:
• The content is organised in four columns, this makes it easier to read and helps
them fit more into the space. The texts is not quite square, this gives the messy
look which suits the target audience.
• There is also a column for the editor to write to the reader. As this is small, it can
be overlooked but they have added a picture of the editor, this attracts your
attention. It also makes you feel like you know the person writing it. Usually this is
found in gossip magazines but as this magazine is aimed at a younger audience it is
good.
• The layout draws your attentions straight to the main article, this is the large
picture at the top. Also the smaller articles with pictures. Your eyes always look at
the images then the text after so to get certain features noticed they have placed
it with a photo.
5. Layout of headings and captions:
• The headings are in the same font, yellow, black and white, this is the house style
of the magazine. They are big and bold, at the top of each half of the page, this
helps split it into two parts. The smaller headings are still in the same font so still
attract your attention. As the headings are all the same size and fonts, you know
to look at them first rather than being confused where to look. The heading,
‘content’ is placed in the darker section of the image, this means your eyes are not
taken away from the image.
• The captions are placed next to the image, but slightly to the side, overlapping the
images. This creates the messy effect again. They are set out as arrows to point
you to the correct picture. They have the page number in red so you immediately
know where to turn to.
6. Language and words:
• The headings are in capital letters, this makes them stand out and you look at
them first of all. The headings and mini subheadings are to guide you as where to
look so the words are very important. They sum up what is in that section in one
word. The headings are in the house style which is this black and yellow bold font.
You get to know this through out the magazine, it looks better when each page is
consistent.
• The language is informal, this suits the target audience of the magazine as it is
aimed at teenagers . They wants you to feel like you know the artists so it has
language such as friendly banter. Also the use of ‘!’ is common, it is used in most
sentences, emphasizing it and also keeping with the Kerrang! theme.
• Having the small “cover story” sign next to some of the page numbers is helpful if
you want to find something that you saw on the front cover. The whole point of
the contents page is to make it easier for the reader to find articles they are
interested in, therefore this sign helps them even more.
7. I then looked at Mojo
magazine, here are some of
the key points I got:
8. Layout:
• The contents page is over 2 pages. First page is the features that are new
and different and then the next page is the regular features and
competitions.
• The layout is not very clutter, it is spaced out. This makes it easier to read
all the information.
• It is laid out in a square way, the photos are stacked on top of each other
therefore they are all clear.
• The text is just in one column down the side. This is because there is not
much text on each page.
9. Images:
• The background is a full sized photo. This is a posed shot and is direct. This
photo is in back and white which suits the older target audience and
creates a sombre, mysterious mood.
• Images on the other page are a mixture. Some of them are direct and
posed but others are indirect which have obviously been taken at a live
gig. All these different images shows the magazine has a variety of
features inside.
• There are pictures of CDs, these show that inside there would be a review
about these albums.
• There are also photos at the bottom of the authors that have written
articles inside the magazine. Having these images shows that this
magazine thinks that the journalists are just as important as the article
itself.
10. Language/words:
• To help them find the page they want, there is a heading called, cover story. This
makes it much easier to find a feature that you had seen on the font cover.
• The headings are clear, they split up the content into sections to make it much
easier to find what you are looking for.
• The language is formal but straight forward. It just uses the artists name instead of
catchy titles and quotes. This suits the target audience as they know what
standard the magazine is and don’t need fancy titles to attract them, they just
want to know who is actually in the articles.
• The content page is important to this magazine as it is expensive, the reader
would look at the contents page to see what's inside before they buy it, therefore
it is important that this magazine’s contents page is well laid out with good
images.
