Contents page analysis

Contents Page Analysis.

Contents page 1.

For the magazine, I would also need a contents page, stating the stories inside and the pages they are on. To do this, I would first need to research different contents pages, and study the features they contain.

The first page that I looked at, probably for a story style of magazine, had a large image on the left hand side, which I thought was a key feature, as although it took some attention from the purpose of the story titles and the page numbers, it was eye-catching and still acheived a smart look to suit the page, the cover of the magazine and the target audience.

Next, was the titles of the pages, which were in appropriate thin yet bold text, with the writers underneath in normal text. The numbers next to them were in a bright red colour, to suit the image, and still look smart, as it matched with the black font and white background.

Overall, I thought that this page was well set out and appropriate for the genre of the magazine, as it was basic, yet had eye-catching key features such as bold text, bright complementing colours, and also a smart, attractive image, to give artistic features and grabs the readers attention when turning to the page.

Contents Page 2.

The second page that I looked at was advertising a cooking magazine of some sort, and used bright, colourful titles in bold, with bright images, one placed in the bottom left corner, and one in the centre, with a large, also bright title above it, saying 'Contents'.

The main titles are in bold to give a sense of importance to the audience, and then the brief information underneath is in normal font, as it is less important and will also be found on that page. The background was white and plain to draw the attention to the large image based on the theme in the centre, and the page titles and numbers which were bright to complement the white background. There are also annotations at the side of the image for information on it, and to give an extra feature to the page.

Overall, I think that this idea works well, as, like the first, there is a plain background to complement the bright colours which stand out for importance and effect, and the large picture in the centre with the large title above it really stand out so they are the first things you see, giving the reader an instant interest in what the page is about. The pages are numbered and start a new paragraph when reaching the bottom, which is convenient as the text does not have to be made smaller, and each different type of story is labelled with a different coloured heading above the paragraph. It is a basic yet effective and eye-catching magazine, which is helpful to the reader, and they will not help but notice it when turning the page.


Both of the ideas have individual key features which fit the different genres the magazine is based on. As my magazine is based on college, I will consider what fits the best when creating the mock up of my contents page.