2. WHAT layout will you be using for your contents page (This relates to the use of COLUMNS and
GRIDS in planning your Contents Page layout) and WHY?
• For my contents page, I would be using a layout which includes a large column on the second column
which is similar to a lot of the magazines I have researched but I would slightly transgress the conventions
of the contents page by including two supporting images which will sit inside the column with an insight as
to what the picture is about. I would be using grids on InDesign to define my contents page layout and this
would be also to separate my cover stories on the right from the main image on the left accurately. On the
first column of the contents page, there would be another column which would include the main image
which will be a larger photo than the two supporting images on the second column and beneath it would
lie miscellaneous features such as horoscopes, quizzes, galleries and crosswords and minor stories which
will be hip-hop related in a box. My masthead would sit on the top of the page and would be bordered of
and possibly in a different coloured box so to the colours used on the rest of the page so that the different
colours could appeal more to the audience.
• I think the use of having three images on the contents page is useful and is a bright way of catching the
audiences attention as some people would rather see images of how a person may look like, what they are
wearing in terms of jewellery or designer clothes and their facial expressions rather containing a lot of text
which will be off-putting to many of my target audience due to the background they’re coming from which
is a predominantly working class background who are not academically established or who are still
pending on their education.
3. WHAT codes and conventions will you be using from your CONTENTS PAGE RESEARCH and WHY?
• I would be using codes and conventions which I learnt form the contents page I researched but I would
also subvert these conventions and be different In designing the contents. The conventions of a contents
page I would be including are an image to preview who would be a big feature in one of the articles (which
would be supported with captions and page numbers), page numbers so the readers would be able to
navigate easily to their specific cover story they are interested in the most, the title of the masthead would
be at the top of the page which underneath would include the text marked “CONTENTS” which would be
the largest font used on the page.
• The conventions of the contents page that I’m subverting are how many images are being used on the
front page. I’m going to try and add three images. On the first column I’m going to place my main image
which will be the largest of the three images and on the second column, I am go to place the two
supporting images which would be under the heading marked “What’s to come”. My contents page would
not include a plain background but would have a certain colour which might just probably be grey so that
the audience would see the contents page as being slightly effective as grey is not the brightest of colours
but does show a page fill which is slightly eye-catching.
• The heading marked “features” would sit beneath the main image and the minor stories and
miscellaneous topics would sit under this heading. The heading would be in a black or red box which
would look good on a grey bacground.
4. WHAT type of images, graphics (i.e. Boxes, borders and rules) will you be using to make your
Contents Page easy to navigate by your target audience and WHY?
• I would be using three images on the contents page which will be a break of convention seeing as the
contents pages I have researched contains one main image only. I’m going to position my main image on
the first column and the two supporting images on the second column which will be smaller than the main
image. The main image would consist of a brief cover story and a large folio so it will be more visible for
the reader to pick out and because the text is going to sit on the picture, space on the contents page
would be conserved slightly as the text would not be sitting underneath the main image. The two
supporting images would contain a folio and a cover story which will sit in a box beneath it and would then
be followed by a list of reviews. On top of the supporting images, a box will state “What's to come?”
which the supporting images stories and reviews will review. Having more than one image on the contents
page will grab my target audience’s attention as we have a better eye for viewing images than reading a
piece of text and also a picture paints a thousand words so the reader could figure out what the images
represent. The photo credit would also be present.
• At the top of the contents page there would be a box which will include “THE PAR’s” corporate identity
and would include the word “CONTENTS”. The background colour would be grey which will probably mean
that the bodycopy would be black which is a combination of colours which will be easy for the reader to
see. The colour of the folio would be red and as this is a bright colour which is easily seen on a grey
background and would alarm my target audience making it easy to navigate to the pages where the
articles are on.
• I would use rules to neatly separate the first column and the second column and to separate my
supporting images from each other so the reader would not get muddled up and think the page is scruffy
and have no organisation. This is going to be done to make my contents page look attractive.
5. WHAT image shot types will you be using for your Contents Page and WHY will they appeal to
your potential target audience?
• The content of the article could be represented by the image shot types on the contents page. If I used a
low angle shot, my target audience would see the artist as having some sort of status, that they are
powerful and have authority which are common connotations of rappers within the hip-hop genre. This
makes a low-angle shot a great shot for me to adopt.
• However, the predominant shot types I would be using for my contents page would be a medium close-up
shot as it shows you a slight fraction of the background which makes the person the real focus of the
image. The other elements we identify in medium close-up shots are the persons emotional state which is
gathered through their facial expressions. If the facial expressions link with the cover story, the audience
would possibly think that the article which is going to be based on the image will be interesting and
reflecting on how the artist lives or used to live or if the artist is serious or not. Medium close-up would
appeal to my target audience as they could see some of the clothes and accessories the artist is wearing
and their emotions which paints a lot of pictures.
Image of the hip-hop group
D.O.N.S which will be one of
the supporting image
The girl group The Cheetah
Girls would be another
supporting image mainly
appealing the male crowd
6. WHAT stories will you be including in your Contents Page and HOW will they be related to the
images?
• I would try to relate the stories on the contents page with the images via the facial expressions and postures shown by
the artists. For instance, one of my supporting images I would be using would include three artists who are smiling
which means that they are elated or that they are celebrating something. A suitable story I would include would read
“On to the next one”. The audience would know that from this story, the group D.O.N.S have previously done
something successful and are ready to progress to another level. My target audience could also assume that the group
has been signed or that hey are releasing a gold or a platinum album. The image of the three artists smiling shows that
they have done something to be proud of which will easily relate to the cover story I have chosen.
• Another story I would be including in my contents page would state “The Cheetah girls” and this would be related to
my second supporting image as two brothers would be the focus of the image. The audience would be intrigued by the
story as the groups name possibly represents their behaviour which they might evoke in the article based on the story.
The images which is related to the story includes three glamorous girls which will attract the male audience rather than
the females as they could be physically attracted to the “Cheetah girls” and would possibly see them as models Instead
of rap artistes.
• My main cover story would state “A MESSAGE TO THE FALLEN SOLDIERS” and this would be followed with a small
caption which gives a little insight of what the story is about. The image I will be using is a medium shot of an artist
who would be placing their hands together in a prayer sort of manner which will create a sense of faith towards a
higher being in which he is paying his respect to his friends who have recently departed.
7. WHAT do you want these images to tell your audience and WHY?
• I want these images to tell my target audience that there is a lot of young striving real success in the hip-
hop industry and that there is some artist of have already peaked at an early age. My target audience
would feel that the images on the contents page relates to them as they are of the same age group which
the artists are on and could possibly feel motivated because of that. I want these images to tell my target
audience that the magazine will be featuring vibrant stories for example, the image of the Cheetah Girls
features different colours red, white, black and purple/blue which illustrates a vibrant image so will depict
a vibrant story.
• My main image will tell my audience that there is a sense of peace and hope in the image due to the body
language shown by the rap artist. The audience would feel that the artist is trying to change or is trying to
respect someone whether it is God or if he is paying homage to someone he has lost through death or
relationship-wise which the audience would take rather seriously. This image would also be backed up
with the story which relates to it as it say “A MESSAGE TO THE FALLEN SOLDIERS” which shows that he is
respecting his friends who have died recently.
• Another supporting image I’ll be using which of the hip-hop group D.O.N.S would tell the audience as
discussed before that they have done something successful in possibly achieving something which is music
related. The story which is included “On to the next one” justifies the image as they have previously
achieved “something” so they are getting ready to go to the next platform.
8. WHAT colours will you be using and WHY?
• My background colour of the contents page will be grey which is the same colour of my background on my
front cover page. I’m making my background colour grey so that the colour of the text could be black and
read easily whilst the colour red which I’ll be using for the boxes could coordinate successfully and will also
give a serious approach as to the level of content distributed by the hip-hop genre. The box which the
masthead and “contents” will be sitting on will be red to keep the corporate identity notable and would
also keep the sense of danger or blood as the theme of the contents. Beneath this box, another box called
“what's to come” would appear making the box distinct from the contents box and this would be in black
to spark the difference between the two boxes. There would be another box which will label “features”
and this would sit beneath the main image.
• The colour scheme is going to be primarily grey, red and black which are three colours that’ll combine well
together in creating a product that will attract teenagers and young adults who are looking to read
something with a strong level of content hence the reason colours such as pink or yellow were are not
going to be used as they are bright colours which would suit a females gossip magazine. If the background
colour grey was left by itself, the audience would find the contents page quite dull as that is the
connotations of the colour grey so I added red because it is quite bright but fierce which will give life to
the page.
9. WHAT essential information will be included in your Contents Page and WHY?
• My contents page will include features of all the top stories which are related to the hip-hop scene in
the UK or which are related to the hip-hop genre. The folios would be in the colour red to make it easy
for the reader to navigate to and the features would be easy to read with a clear and short description
of what stories are going to appear in the articles. The reviews box would be ruled of beneath the
supporting images so the can be separated and then a list or a box would contain all the reviews which
will be appearing inside the magazine.
• Other minor information which will be included in the contents page are horoscopes, quizzes, galleries
and crosswords and it would tell you what pages you could find them on. This would be all hip-hop
related and would sit at the bottom of the page as it will be seen as less important especially as the
target audience I’m attracting are young adults and teenagers who are interested in reading the
magazine to find out more about the hip-hop scene rather than play games.
10. WHAT type of fonts and font sizes (style of lettering used) will you be using for your Contents
Page and WHY?
• The font I’m going to use for my contents title will be “Impact” since I have used it successfully on my front cover page
in creating a serious affect and my main target audience would take the font seriously and in doing so take the
contents page seriously. In keeping the title in the font style “impact” the corporate identity will be kept and the
reader would know that the contents page is associated with THE PAR magazine as that is the main font. Wherever
the impact font is used, a swatch would be used to make the text come of the background to give an eye-catching
affect.
• The main cover stories would also be in “impact” as it stands out and appeals to the reader because the font is bold
and I would be using a swatch to surround the text so it could come off the page slightly and appeal to the reader. The
rest of the text which are linked to the cover stories or are beneath the features list would be in either an “arial
rounded”, “arial black” or an “arial narrow” font so that the reader would find it is easy to read plus taking the
font stories seriously because if the font was more fancy it would possibly be attract children rather than young adults
and teenagers.
• The font size for title of the contents page would be one of the largest piece of text on the page so the reader could
be able to realise that they are on the contents page. The main cover story on the main image of the contents would
also be in a large font size so the readers would notice this story will be the most important story of the contents page
with the stories relating to the supporting images being in a smaller but noticeable font size making my target
audience know that the stories are less important to the main cover story. All the minor features would probably be
within the font size 11-14 since the stories are of no real importance but will be in a clear font type so the readers will
be able to navigate to the pages quickly and easily.
CONTENTS
