This is my second Contents Page Analysis.

1. Contents Page Analysis
This contents page for Q magazine
follows general layout conventions
of a standard contents page as it
has a main title, it has a main
image that takes up a lot of the
page, and it contains sub-topics of
the different articles that are going
to be featured in the magazine. The
title on the contents page is ‘Q
Contents’. The mode of address is
simple and to the point. The title is
presented at the top of the page
and is written in simple, serif black
font placed on a red banner.
There are two images that feature
on the contents page, the main
image takes up half of the entire
page and stretches from top to
bottom and the smaller image is
placed towards the top left hand
corner next to it. The main image is
a medium close-up shot of the
artist it shows him standing in front of a blank background. His facial expression
makes him look very sombre and thoughtful as if he is pondering something. He
has a messy bowl hair-cut which suits the Indie Rock image. His costume is a
military-style jacket which is casual as you could see him wearing it on a daily basis.
The other image shows an Indie Rock band performing at a venue. The image is in
black and white and it shows the band with their instruments in a performance.
These images will be used to draw in the audience as they would recognise the
Indie Rock iconography and they would recognise the band and it implies that they
feature heavily in the magazine somehow. Both of these images would appeal to
the target audience as they are of popular Indie Rock artists and the target
audience would recognise them. Also they reveal that the tone of the magazine is
quite dark and muted to fit the Indie Rock genre.
The articles inside the magazine are presented to the audience in a column on the
left side of the contents page. They are divided into topics based on the main artist

2. that features in them or the topic of the specific article. This suggests that the
readership is interested in many famous Indie Rock artists and news related to
them. The readership’s interest is sparked as they see the names of the famous
Indie Rock artists and they would want to read on to find out what the article is
about. The text and page numbers are presented in a list/column going down the
page according to what page they are on.
The layout of the contents page is the same in every issue of Q magazine and this is
used to maintain brand identity as the audience would see the contents page and
realise that it is in fact Q magazine. On the contents page, the main image is placed
on the right hand side of the page and takes up half of the page. The text is placed
on the left hand side of the page and goes down in a column.
The layout may have been placed like this because the reader looks at the left side
first so they would read the information first then they would recognise the artist
in the main image and it would make them want to read on more. The layout is
simple and structured so this could suggest that Q magazine as a publication is also
quite structured in the way they present their articles and content.
The colour scheme of the contents page is white, red and black. This is featured in
the background, on the text and in the title. These colours are typically used in the
Indie Rock genre of music and it implies that the audience are simple yet edgy but
can also like the alternative side of Indie Rock music. The colours are used to
maintain brand identity as they will probably be used throughout the magazine on
articles and on the front cover. They are also probably used because they stand out
on the white background and make it look modern and current.
Most of the information on the contents page is put into blocks or boxes and this
gives the impression of the hard rock side of Indie Rock music and also the
magazine and readership. The font used is ‘Times New Roman’ and a simple sans-
serif black font. The ‘Times New Roman’ font gives a sophisticated effect to the
magazine and makes it look more professional. The fonts and typefaces used on
the contents page are used to maintain brand identity as it will probably be
consistent throughout the magazine and on the front cover.
The mode of address of the magazine is quite formal and direct as if they want you
to know quickly what is going to be in the article or interview so that you would
want to read it soon after. This is shown where it says that Adele is a ‘pre-eminent
soul diva’ and this would make the audience want to find out why. The magazine’s
name ‘Q’ is presented in a larger, script, white font at the top of the contents page.
The name of the magazine was originally ‘Cue’ but was changed to ‘Q’ and this was
meant to represent the cueing of a song or getting ready to play a song. This shows
that the magazine is prioritized in celebrating music.