The contents page of the magazine "We Love Pop" follows conventions of typical magazine contents pages. It includes a short letter from the editor to set the tone, brief details and page numbers for articles, and related images. The main title stands out in bold black letters, and the magazine logo helps maintain brand identity. Images of featured artists help guide the reader's eye around the page. The list of articles is brief but intriguing, leaving an element of surprise. Through direct address, informal language, and a focus on topics of interest like music and fashion, the magazine aims to feel like a friend to its young female readers.
1. We Love Pop
We love pop’s contents page follows conventions of a typical magazine contents page by
having a short letter from the editor. It has short details about the articles, labelled with page
numbers so that they are easy to find and also includes images relating to the article.
The title of the page is “We Love This…” it is written in bold black letters, making it stand out
very clearly on the page. Next to the title is a small version of the magazine's masthead/logo.
This helps the magazine to maintain brand identity, as well as by using the same title on
every contents page that they publish. By using the word “we” it makes the reader feel more
included, as if the magazine is addressing them personally, and informing them of what they
“love” the same way that a group of friends would.
The contents page features images of the artists who have been interviewed. There is one
big image in the centre and smaller images along the right hand side and along the bottom
of the page. This makes it easy for the eye to travel from the biggest picture, which is the
main article, to the smaller pictures, because this is the way that people read in the western
world. The images are all of artists that a young female reader may like, such as Justin
Bieber. This will attract their attention to the article and make them want to read it.
The list of articles is brief, it gives a page number with a small bit of information about the
article. The list has its own smaller title “inside this month...” The list of contents does not
give an article for every page. This makes the magazine more simple to read and leaves an
element of surprise for the reader. The reader's interest is sparked by the magazine being
full of topics that they will enjoy reading about, such as boys, fashion and their favourite
artists and bands. Articles that are accompanied by pictures also often have a quote which
will draw in the reader and inspire them to find that page and read the article. The magazine
uses direct address, words such as “you” and “We” speak directly to the reader, making the
magazine feel more personal, like a friend. The articles are displayed in black and pink
writing, the pink will make the magazine appealing to young female readers, the black helps
to keep it easy to read and prevents it from becoming too overpowering.
The editors letter is placed on the upper left hand side of the page this is the first place on
the page where the eye will naturally travel to, meaning that it is the first thing the reader will
read, so the editor will be able to set up the tone and mode of address for the rest of the
2. magazine. This also uses direct address, and informal language and slang that will appeal to
young girls, such as “wow mazing.” the editor sets up a rapport by acting as if they are
friends with the artists themselves, which makes the reader trust that the magazine has only
the most exclusive information. They have had a picture taken “snuggled up” with the girl
band, the Saturdays. This picture looks natural and unposed, which emphasizes the idea
that the writer is friends with the band, further convincing the reader that the magazine has
secrets that nobody else knows. The letter is signed off “Emily x” in what must be her
handwriting, giving the editor's name makes the magazine feel more personal, the
handwriting also giving it personality, so that the magazine feels like a friend to the reader.
The layout of the contents page is almost identical on every issue of the magazine, although
the colours always vary, however they are always bright colours such as pink, blue, green,
and orange. This maintains brand identity whilst also preventing from becoming boring, like it
would be if it was always exactly the same. The contents page has a lot of pictures which will
make it more appealing to a younger reader, they appear to have used as little text as
possible, to make it very easy and pleasing for a young reader. The text is very bright and
bold, short concise sentences are you used to draw in the reader's attention quickly. A line of
pictures at the bottom shows posters which the reader can find in the magazine, these
images will catch the reader's eye and encourage them to find the page to see the full size
version of the image. In some issues of the magazine puffs with things such as “for your
eyes only” written in them make the reader feel as if they are being shown and told
information and pictures that nobody else has seen.
Overall the magazine is simple and easy for a young reader to understand, it is brightly
coloured and busy to keep their attention yet it is not overpowering. The magazine has a lot
of features that encourage the reader to feel like it is a friend who they are spending time
with. The magazine maintains brand identity by being very similar in every issue, and also
having the logo/masthead at the top right hand side of the page. The magazine is fun and
youthful, and relatable for the young female target audience.