First Draft of my Contents Page for my Music

Magazine

Layout

I have used a structured layout to create my contents page. There are columns to make it easier for the reader to locate the information, it also maintains a formal feel. I have kept to the codes and conventions of a contents page; having a main image to link to the main story, featured articles and setting the writing out in columns.

Images

The image shown on the left is the main image on the contents page, it links with the main image on the front cover of the magazine. It will be a different image than the one which is on the front cover.

I want the images to be bright so that they stand out on the white background. The images on the right link with stories in the magazine, but I feel that one may need to be substituted to make room for information on subscribing to the magazine. There are numbers in red boxes on the images to let the reader know what pages the articles are on.

Editor’s letter

I have decided to include an editor’s letter on the contents page, this is because I feel it connects the reader to the magazine as a whole, as it is more personal. Another aspect is the signature of the editor, adding to the personal feel.By looking at the data from my questionnaire, it was one of the most popular features that people wanted to see on a contents page. The colour scheme for my magazine is red, black, white and yellow. I felt having the writing in black in a white box made it stand out, especially when the editor’s name is in red.

Review

I wanted to show the opening of a review on the contents page to show the reader what to expect and to entice them into reading the magazine.I have used black writing on top of a white box, but I feel that it may look better with white writing in a black box to make it different from the other sections on the contents page. I have made it clear that there is a full review on the topic at the bottom of the box. There is a yellow box showing the page number it is on to show the reader.

By looking at the data from my questionnaire, one of most popular things people wanted on the contents page were information on gigs and festivals, and interviews. So I have included bands that fit in with the genre that have been interviewed and special events such as Lead festival.I have also included articles on the best music of 2013 to finish the year, and to have a different type of article in the magazine about music.

The word ‘contents ‘ is in a different font from everything else, it is the largest text on the page. It is situated on the right hand side at the top of the page, where I feel it fits on the page.

I used the masthead and the slogan at the top left hand corner of the page to reiterate the masthead of the magazine, but also to keep advertising the brand throughout the magazine.

To show that the magazine is growing and has multi-media platforms I have put the web address at the bottom of the page. This also attracts young readers and gives them different ways of reading articles and watching interviews.

I also included the issue date on the contents page as well as the front cover but I put the date in a numerical form to show that it is a weekly magazine.

The page number is situated at the bottom right hand corner of the page in a yellow box. I have also included the masthead again.