The document analyzes and compares the contents pages of several music magazines. It finds that Kerrang uses a busy, scattered design to seem bursting with substance while using bold typography to represent its rebellious style. NME uses a more structured, sectioned design aimed at an older demographic. Its lack of color and focus on substance over appearance shows it targets a more serious audience. Spin simplifies its design around a single famous image but risks relying too heavily on that celebrity's fame.

1. Contents Page Analysis
Ava Patel

2. The design of this contents
page is busy and all over
the place. This makes
Kerrang seem as though it
is bursting with substance.
The majority of the typography
is bold, sharp and jagged. This
typography was chosen as it
represents the rebellious,
defiant standard of living that
this magazine idolises. Also,
black, white and yellow have
been used respectively in order
to make this page easier to
navigate. The reader can easily
see the choice of articles.
The editor’s letter helps give a
comfortable, informal mode of
address. She writes with a
colloquial manner which proves
that she is trying to form a bond
with the reader. Thus, the reader
feels relaxed whilst reading the
magazine and so to re-establish
this feeling, they will buy the
magazine again.
The main image is positioned on
the top half of the page which
ensures that it is the first thing the
reader sees. It is a picture of Ollie
Sykes (lead singer of the band
Bring Me The Horizon). This
image will attract fans of the band
to Kerrang as Bring Me The
Horizon are very popular and
have a wide fan base. Also, the
mise-en-scene of the image
insinuates that the photo was taken
at a gig. This gives the reader a
sense of community as rock
concerts are where they all come
together to enjoy their favourite
music. There is also the idea that
in order to be a part of the rock
culture you must go to gigs as that
is the social norm for people who
take pleasure in this type of music.
The Bring Me The Horizon
Banner covers the photo of
the lead singer which helps
recognise who he is and
where he will appear in the
magazine.
The contents have been split up into sections. There is a news section which shows immediately
where the readers can find up to date news regarding the rock industry. There is also a feedback
section which shows uses and gratifications. Kerrang has made the reader feel like they are a part of
the magazine by letting them submit reviews which are published.

3. The typography is quite
plain and bold. The article
titles are simple written in a
list with a short description
underneath each one telling
the reader what to expect
from the magazine.
The page numbers are written
in a different colour compared
to the rest of the text as they
then stand out to the reader.
The biggest piece of text on the page is 01’05. This displays the issue number and year
which is unusual as this kind of information is normally positioned on the front cover of
the magazine.
This is a very simple,
minimalistic contents
page. It has only one
main image which all the
information centres
around. Yet there is a lot
more text and detail than
normally expected.
The main image is of Billie Joe from Green Day. He is a popular singer and well known
by those who like and dislike his music. By having just him on the contents page Spin is
depending a lot on just his fame to entice people to read this magazine.

4. Rather than naming this page Contents, the NME has decided to go with the masthead
‘Inside This Week’. However, the readers still understand that this is the page where they
can navigate the magazine from.
This contents page
from the NME is
structured and well
sectioned as opposed
to contents pages from
magazines such as
Kerrang which have
random pictures and
pieces of text scattered
haphazardly on the
page. This shows that
the NME readers are
probably older and
more mature. They
seems more interested
in substance rather
than appearance.
Also, the lack of
colour shows that
this is aimed at a
more serious,
grown-up
demographic.
The main image on this page is
the band Kings Of Leon. The
editor of this page thus
presumed that they would be
most read about out of the
whole magazine. The other
images are selected carefully as
those who are just browsing this
page will see an artist they like
and thus buy the NME again to
see if they can spot articles
about their favourite musicians.
Each picture has a page
number anchored to it
and there is also a small
sub heading or quote to
summarise each article.
By having a subscription box, the NME are aligning with codes and conventions
of a contents page. Also, due to the fact that this issue was produced around
Christmas the offer needs to be more eye-catching than normal as buying a
subscription for someone is a simple and easy gift.