NME Contents Page
This contents page is from NME. It is more like a newspaper more than anything else, the colours are your basic black and white, with fonts that are similar to a newspaper like The Times or another broadsheet newspaper. The header reads ‘INSIDE THIS WEEK’, the reason for it to be in capitals is to make the reader feel they are peering inside the week itself. NME is a magazine that thrives on being up-to-date and this is the sort of thing they try to project, also they like to be there own magazine unlike any other so they try do things differently, another example of this would be the date that is underneath the header.
There is an advertisment for subscriptions in the bottom right corner. Instead of placing the advert somewhere inconspicuous, having it on the contents page means the reader cannot skip it, and is therefore more likely to subscribe, No other contents page besides from Kerrang does this which benefits both sides, NMEs individualism and the more people who subscribe to the magazine.
At the bottom of the contents page there is what looks to be like an ordinary bog standard contents page, this is NMEs way of cramming in more infomation to the page so that they cover the most important pages and the less important pages. The size of it also tells you that NME wants you to focus more on the images and less of the smaller text.
I like the NME contents page I have analysed. It is smart, tidy and simple to look at. However, I want my contents page to be more decorative and informative. It is easy to see the care these magazines put into their design.
Q Contents Page
The Q contents page is completely different to the NME contents page in so many ways the first thing you notice is that Q have a basic white background layout with red text boxes which relate to there mastheads colour. There font is very basic, however the more important article information has bigger and different text than the rest on the page which draws the readers attention straight to it. Q like to take a very professional approach when it comes to the way they portray everything about there magazine from the way under there masthead says the words 'DISCOVER GREAT MUSIC' to the simple things like the layout of the magazine to the colour font and size of the text to little things like the issue number underneath the masthead in the red circle.
Down the left hand side of the page there is information about some of the articles in the issue with the more appealing articles in bigger text or colours.The statement '140 SONGS TO DOWNLOAD NOW!' makes the reader feel like they have been missing out on what is the latest top downloads and will make them want to turn to that page to see what they are missing, we all look left to right when analysing a magazine and its contents so you are automatically drawn to this.
Q have done somthing different on how they portray images on the contents page,instead of adding an image and text besides it they have let the cover identify what is involved in the magazine and the contents page just has images of the people involved in the articles, with a big red box and the page number you can find the article on. This is a good idea as it gets accross there main stories and the reader might feel like they are in the loop so to speak as they should know who these people are and if they dont that will just make them more eager to get the next issue.
I have enjoyed analysing the Q contents page i prefer it to the NME contents page,Q have a reputation of having a profesional approach when it comes to there magazine and thats why there one of the most recognisable music magazines.
Kerrang Contents Page
The Kerrang contents page is different to any other contents page it tries to be one of a kind not like the NME contents page but tries to reflect the type of music they portray, sort of anti establishment like they dont need to follow the codes and convetentions of a contents page they go there own way. The Kerrang masthead that would normally be found at the top of the page is located in the middle of the page as it divides the page up into two sections. The colour scheme is mostly black as well as its imagery which reflects the genre of the magazine.
The contents page is full of information on the bottom of the page ther more important stories have a red circle with a black star inside it which is a good way to attract the reader to a certain article, the page ranges in different colours, another thing they have is sub headings for things such as Posters, Features and album reviews which is a good idea as it actually explains what your going to expect instead of just telling you that there is reviews in the magazine but which artists album is being reviewed.
Similar to the NME contents page they have a subscription for Kerrang in the bottom right hand corner of the contents page which normally would be skipped by the reader but becuase they have it on the contents page and a known artist is advertising it they might consider subscibing as they might be a fan of the artist.
On the top half of the contents page Kerrang has an image of Slash and the page number in which you can find an article or something related to Slash, this is similar to what Q do where they place an image on the contents page and place the page number on the image, this is very eye catching and a very good technique at drawing the readers attention to a specific article.
Instead of putting a quote from an article in the magazine the chief editor has a statement in the bottom left hand corner of the contents page, the editor promotes stories that are involved in the magazine and tells you which page you can find the stories on. Which goes back to Kerrangs anti establishment like attitude like they dont have to follow the original codes and conventions.
On the top half of the contents page next to the main image there is images of the main double page spreads which is only ever used in Kerrang, most magazines would tell you where to find the double page spreads but Kerrang shows an image of the double page spread and the page number where you can find it. This is good in ways for example someone will know what the page looks like if a certain artist they like is in the magazine and they cant find the page.
Out of the three magazine contents pages I looked at this was my least favourite as it didnt really have any specific lay out or professional approach when it comes to how they present themself, I prefer the Q contents page everything is better and easyily interpretated.
The contents page is full of information on the bottom of the page ther more important stories have a red circle with a black star inside it which is a good way to attract the reader to a certain article, the page ranges in different colours, another thing they have is sub headings for things such as Posters, Features and album reviews which is a good idea as it actually explains what your going to expect instead of just telling you that there is reviews in the magazine but which artists album is being reviewed.
Similar to the NME contents page they have a subscription for Kerrang in the bottom right hand corner of the contents page which normally would be skipped by the reader but becuase they have it on the contents page and a known artist is advertising it they might consider subscibing as they might be a fan of the artist.
On the top half of the contents page Kerrang has an image of Slash and the page number in which you can find an article or something related to Slash, this is similar to what Q do where they place an image on the contents page and place the page number on the image, this is very eye catching and a very good technique at drawing the readers attention to a specific article.
Instead of putting a quote from an article in the magazine the chief editor has a statement in the bottom left hand corner of the contents page, the editor promotes stories that are involved in the magazine and tells you which page you can find the stories on. Which goes back to Kerrangs anti establishment like attitude like they dont have to follow the original codes and conventions.
On the top half of the contents page next to the main image there is images of the main double page spreads which is only ever used in Kerrang, most magazines would tell you where to find the double page spreads but Kerrang shows an image of the double page spread and the page number where you can find it. This is good in ways for example someone will know what the page looks like if a certain artist they like is in the magazine and they cant find the page.
Out of the three magazine contents pages I looked at this was my least favourite as it didnt really have any specific lay out or professional approach when it comes to how they present themself, I prefer the Q contents page everything is better and easyily interpretated.
Kris, you have produced three very good deconstructions of your chosen contents pages, making reference to composition, colour, text, images, linguistic features and narrative flow. You have discussed how the magazines attempt to appeal to their target audience through the composition, and have made links between the texts. Key terminology has been used correctly throughout. Well done!
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