Analysis of my Contents page Drafts 1-3

Draft 1

 

·         I included the conventional phrases "regulars" and "features" as subheadings for the listed articles on my contents page making it clear for the audience to identify pages in the magazine. I am finding it difficult to allocate space on the page for both headings therefore I have temporarily simply included the exclusive articles on the contents page.

·         From research into existing magazines I also found a useful feature is to include lines to separate the articles under sub headings. I achieved this by using the shape tool on Photoshop and simply dragging the tool to the appropriate area on the page. This has certainly made the layout clearer to the audience.

·         Although a skyline is typically found on the front cover of a magazine I have included it on the contents page to remind the audience the fundamental important aspects of the magazine eg, date, issue number and the website address.

·         The phrase "Discover great music" gives a clear message to the audience that below is where the customer can find different and specific articles for the LEAD magazine. This first draft is only partially finished as I still need to include another image however show the colour scheme and layout I want to uses for my contents page.

·         I have used a continuous colour scheme on my contents page as it conventionally appropriate and follows the house style of the magazine. I have included a small feature at the bottom of the page which tells the reader the article number, date and the official website for the magazine. As a customer to Q magazine I found this feature very useful and a good way of promoting the magazine virally on the internet and thought it would be appropriate for my magazine. It is important in my next draft I include a page number as this is a very obvious convention of a contents page and referred to by the mass audience of my magazine. Also to improve my draft I should make the overall appearance of the magazine more realistic in the sense it looks like a professional magazine contents page which my customers would pay their money for.

Draft 2

• Further research into the conventions of music magazines has given me more knowledge on the appropriate layout of the listed articles on the contents page. I am happy with the improvements I have made regarding the features and monthy section as the articles directly relate to rock music and follow a conventional layout. I can further improve the quality and realistic aspect of the magazine by creating more sub headings and changing the text font for the sub headings and text below.

• I have also included a subscription advertisment to promote the popularity of the magazine influencing customers to sign up. I included a website address on the page to enhance the viral aspect of the magazine- this is important as the majority of customers use the internet creating a useful way to promote the magazine.
 
• To highlight certain information on my contents page I used the shape tool to create black boxes allowing the advert to stand out and catch the reader’s attention. This is great improvement to my previous draft as the previous layout of the advert in the top right hand corner was hidden away and not as noticable.
 
• Clwarly I have also included another image- a medium shot of 2 boys with appropriate mise-en-scene (band shirts). The inclusion of this image magazine promotes the ideology of the target audience- suitable for both males and females.
• The house style has been continued through to my contents page and is heavily emphasised in my contents page- the faded background colour of grey and continuous use of similar fonts.
 
• The overall appearence and layout of the contents page is definitely improving however not completely conventionally accurate therefore more changes need to be made.

Draft 3

• To further improve the articles section I used different text formats to make article titles stand out against the brief summary below. I also included page numbers for all the articles in the colour red (following my colour scheme) so the numbers are noticeable on the page. Again following this colour scheme I used a red line to highlight the 4 main headings chosen allowing me to differentiate them from the text below. I also included a quote on the page with the article as it is conventional and influences the reader to become interested in an important article advertised with the image. As well I have made the title which belongs with the article have various effects to make it stand out. In Initially I was going to position another image parallel to the one with the 2 lads however due to timing issues I had to change my idea and include text which could go with the image instead. I am happy with this version of my contents page as I feel it is conventionally acceptable, and demonstrates the indie/rock genre of the magazine that I aimed for. Also I think I have successfully used a continues colour scheme throughout my magazine and followed the house style well.