The document analyzes and compares the content pages of three different magazines. The first content page uses a single artistic black and white image of a woman as the main focus, with minimal additional information. This gives an artistic impression and breaks conventions. The second is the content page for a well-known music magazine, with a strict color scheme and image of a building. It plays it safe by not breaking conventions but is well organized. The third uses a technique of one image in color and one in black and white, reflecting its focus on older music. It has a simple layout like a blog for an older, wiser audience. Though different, it contains what is needed to be successful for its target

1. Ana Silva

2. Ana Silva
Compared to most common Contents pages, I believe this would transmit an artistic
image to the audience. The actual theme itself and the colours too are not bright, in fact
the colours are quite dull and simple although they all work together well. But the image
used speaks for itself and once again it’s not a common pose, especially for a contents
page. Most common contents page will go for a layout that enhances more images used
even if they’re quite small, whereas in this contents page, the artist is the main focus in
the page and all the features blend in around her. One of the best things about this
contents page is that, it’s not crowded with information which emphasizes the point that
the image actually does speak for itself and to the target audience.
Even though this not a contents page for a music magazine, I thought this would be a
very interesting existing piece to analyse as also said it’s very artist and this reflects on
music because music too is artistic and creative and sometimes even strive to be
different. Also the female in the image looks like a common Hip Hop artist with a
comfortable outfit to dance (As Hip Hop revolves around dancing etc.)

3. Ana Silva
Very differently we have a NME music magazine contents page, which strictly
follows the colour scheme (all based in white, black and red) even though at
the bottom of the page there's yellow bold writing. This is the section where
they offer stuff to the audience, competitions (basically where they speak to
the audience) etc. which would explain the yellow writing, because it makes it
stand out. One of the biggest differences compared to the previous magazine
is that instead of having an artistic image which stood up for itself, it actually
has an image of a building. This must have some sort of interest in the readers
or even represent something towards them, which smartly they both speak
for themselves but in different ways. Also this theme seems that it played
safely, whereas it’s not adventurous and it doesn’t break conventions the way
the previous one did and how it was different. This could possibly be because
their target audience is used to this layout even the colour scheme and this
way they don’t risk on loosing their audience. They’ve been successful like this
so either way it works for them. One of the positive thing is also that it is not
over crowded with information but somehow still includes more information
than the previous; it’s well organized and tidy in relation to the
information, the fonts etc. it all works together to create a contents page for a
well known magazine (NME)

4. Ana Silva
In this existing contents page, there’s technique rarely used, the way
one of the image (image at the side) is in colour whereas the bigger
image (middle) is in black and white. This reflects that this magazine is
related to old music so perhaps even older and more sensible target
audience, also in this contents page there’s no reference that it is a
contents page which highlights the idea of it being purposely made for
a older and wiser target audience. The layout and the format of this
contents page is so simple, the only colour you see is in the numbers
around the page, and it’s still a dull pink emphasizing the idea that
their biggest target audience is females. Altogether, personally I don’t
think this is a common layout for a contents page, it somehow looks
like a blog page; the bit on the side where you have information
included and then you have the ‘posts’ – the main image with a little
caption.
However, the contents page has everything needed to be successful:
all the features and all the little information needed, and it’s strictly
made for a specific target audience so whether or not it’s different
from the others it’s perhaps what makes it work.