Contents Page AnalysisResearch: Indie Rock Magazines

Research: Indie Rock Magazines

They have put their magazine title at the top so that people know it’s NME’s magazine and they have included it with the ‘This week’ To create a sentence out of the two titles. They have put ‘This week’ in big bold writing because it is the headline of the page and this shows the reader that they’ll be reading featured articles ‘This week’. Also they have put ‘week’ on the head line which shows that this magazine is sold weekly.

They have continued on their house style by using a black block background at the top of the page to back the white text an the red text with white background. This is so that the writing is legible and it is also appropriate to the magazine.

This magazine has their main image however the main image is split into two, with this it creates columns to the whole layout of the magazine. Typically a magazine would have 3-4 columns on their contents page.

They did not over do their contents page by adding a lot of images but they have use one big image to fill most of it however they have made their contents page to fit other factors as well such as the band index, the contents page pages and some paragraphs with the main article.

They have put a band index onto the contents page, by doing this makes the reader buy the magazine because it shows that there are other artist featured in the magazine as well and the artist that they like or follow might be there therefore they would buy the magazine because of it.

For the magazine they have used red on the pages so it stands out and differentiate from the other texts and so that the reader would also pay attention to the pages more as well. They have used red on the index as well to give importance to the index section because people would normally disregard the index section/page therefore to showcase the other bands that are featured in the magazine they put an index section on the contents page. This also helps the reader look for the bands and artist that they like reading about or listening to.

They have put a small advert to advertise their magazine, this is very common in any magazine because it is the only place where they can remind people to subscribe to their magazine. The advert is quite large because they want it to be prominent.

They have also put titles on each section to help break the magazine up. This is useful because the reader can find what they're looking for immediately and this makes the magazine look more professional.

They have used an arrow that points to the next page, they have done this to direct the reader to the page that has the story that is attached with the arrow.

They have put a plus section at the bottom as well to show the other bands that are featured in this magazine as well as them being on the index page.

Research: Indie Rock Magazines

The Q magazine has got their magazine mast head or title on the top left. It is subtly placed along with the title of the page which is the ‘Contents’ page.

They included the date and the issue number on the top right of the magazine as well. This is compulsory for many magazines this is so that it shows when the magazine has been published. And what issue they are on.

They have kept their colour scheme of red and white with the other colour scheme of the magazine which is red and white

They also have black for the background of the white text for the title and the other white writing on the page.

They have used the black block to separate sections, this has also been done with the red rectangular background on the left column. They have done this to section the articles and so that there us order in the contents page. Also they have done this to keep the colour scheme consistent and to separate the section from either being featured or regular.

Similarly like the NME magazine they have also got the page number in a different colour than the other text on the page. By doing this makes they numbers more noticeable by the reader.

The main image takes up most of the page. This is usual in any magazine this is so that it wont make the contents page look boring and filled with text. They have also done this so that it would draw the reader in and make them look into the story more by putting a big picture that would relate to that story.

They also have a secondary image that relates to a different article or section on the magazine.

They have sectioned it off as featured, every month and reviews. This is so that people would know what type of articles they are so that if they are looking for the new information in the magazine or what are the usual articles on the magazine.

They have used white for the title or headline texts to differentiate them from the other texts on the contents page. They have used bold text for the cover lines and normal and smaller fonts for the added information on the contents page.

They advertise themselves in the contents page as well however it is quite subtle. They have put their websites are the top right of the magazine below the issue number and the date. Compared to the NME magazine where they self advertise at the bottom of the magazine Q magazine advertise themselves at the top right and they do it subtly. This is so that they do not ruin their theme or house style.

Research: Indie Rock Magazines

Mojo magazine includes 3-2 columns in their magazine contents page. This is because its conventional to have more than 1 column to set out their page

The Mojo magazine title or the name of the magazine is at the top of the column where there are text this is because they want to separate the texts from the images clearly. They have also done this to remind the reader that it is Mojo magazine.

Mojo magazine has more than one images that relates to the magazine on their contents page and images are dominant which takes most of the page. They have one column filled with information

They have a white, red, black, blue and yellow colour scheme on their contents page. The colours yellow and the blue are linked with the images that has the same shade of the colour as well. By them doing this it links the images and the text together so that the whole contents page is consistent

They have also put information on the images about the picture which is also paired with a page number as well which anchors the image to the story. The colour of the text is white against a dark background so that they are able to read it

The headlines are colour white as well and they are against coloured background such as red and blue banner. They have paired the colour of the banner with the colour of the page number as well this is so that the reader can know which articles are which. They have added headlines to break up the contents page as well because it will look boring and plain with out the headlines against coloured background.

They have made the white box that makes the writing legible on the right column translucent so that the image at the back that has been extended over the right column to bee subtly seen.

They have also put the author/editor’s statements who are the top contributors on that month, most magazine also has the authors input on the contents page. However it rarely includes it in music magazines such as NME and the Fly magazine.

They have used bigger and bold letters for the cover lines on the contents page. This is so that the reader wouldn't need to read all of the text to understand what the page is about.

Research: Indie Rock Magazines

The Fly magazine has not included their magazine name or mast head on the contents page. Compared to the other music magazines.

The quality/editing of the image looks quite white washed therefore it blends well to the white background.

They have put the date in large fonts and has become the main text on the contents page. This has made the contents page of the magazine look like a calendar.

They have titled the contents page as ‘contents’ on the top left of the page so the reader will know what page they are reading.

They have one main image on the contents page. Which is the image of the artist that is mainly featured on the magazine. The text colour of the date is similar colour to the lips of the artist. They have done this so that there is a colour scheme throughout the page.

They have only used black and white except for the their colour scheme throughout except for the date.

They have only put the cover lines on the magazine with the page number, this contents page looks more like an index page for artists. Which is usual as this magazine is only to advertise new indie bands.

The page numbers are also big and bold so they are noticeable to the reader and they would immediately know where to turn to look at that band/article next to the age number.

They have included the issue number on the contents page as well however it is very subtle as it is just a number that is present with the image. The readers would get confused on what that number is. In this case the issue number is 21.

Research: Indie Rock Magazines

Kerrang magazine has included the editor/author’s comments on the page, many magazine do this however through out the magazines that I have research a couple of them did not include the editor’s comments on the page.

Kerrang magazine did not put their mast head or name of the magazine on their contents page compared to other magazines like Q magazine or NME magazine.

Similarly like the other music magazines and typical magazines they have filled half of the page with image/images. This is so that their layout wont look plain and boring. They also don't need a lot for the text because it only fills one column.

They have also used columns for their layout of the magazine contents page. They have done a 4 column layout to their page and one main big image fills two columns like in thins contents page. They have made that image big because it is the main image which implies that it is the main article in the magazine

They have also put the page number either on the picture on under the picture on this contents page to anchor the image. So that the reader would know where to look for it in the magazine and what it is about. They have used the colour scheme of black, white and yellow to continue their chosen colour scheme throughout the magazine because they have done the same colour scheme on the front page as well.

They have used black background text box behind the yellow text so it is legible and they have done this to acts as the headlines and separate the sections on the contents page. This is so that they have a structured layout and it is much easier for the reader to find the section(s) that they want to read in the magazine.

They have made the page numbers bigger than the cover lines so that the reader would know what page to go to in the magazine.

They have also used self advertising at the bottom right of the page because it is where magazines typically use self advertising. People would go to the contents page more frequently to find the article they want therefore by putting it there reminds them about subscribing to the magazine because they have self advertised themselves on the contents page.

They have used headlines such as This week, features, reviews and news in their contents page to break down the content of the contents page.