Making the Contents Page

Zachariah J. Rowell

Stage 1 - Drafting

• I started out by making three rough drafts of my contents page. It was my intention to take the one that appealed to me most and develop a digital mock-up from it.

• I would select the best draft based on its likeness to other contents pages seen in real media products, what I believed to be the requirements of my target audience, and the overall layout.

This is the design that appealed to me the most.

Stage 2 – Digital Mock-up

• I made a basic digital mock-up of the draft using an image I found on the internet so that I could identify potential stumbling blocks in the process of creating the contents page and get a rough idea of how it might look.

• This is the mock-up I made. It isn’t incredibly detailed but I found that I should have no real issues laying things out. One thing I did realise was that having the inSync logo, issue number and date under the “contents” header didn’t work very well, and so I shifted it to the left instead.

Stage 3 – Final Draft

• As a final part of the planning process, I produced a hand-drawn final draft taking into account discoveries I’d made in the making of the digital mock-up. From this draft I was to make the final contents page.

• This is my final draft of the contents page. I outlined a rough colour scheme which would follow on directly from the house style established by the front cover.

Stage 4 – Contents Page (Attempt 1)• This is my first attempt at

creating the contents page.• I felt that this contents page

was unsuitable for my final product, but that it offered me a solid layout on which I could build.

• Criticisms of this contents page include the greyscale photo, which I believed to be too dark relative to my final front cover (I was initially hoping that it might provide an interesting contrast, but instead I considered it to look drab and a little boring); the brightness of the yellow orbs; and generally the lack of colour present.

Stage 4 – Contents Page (Attempt 1)• Similarly, the greyscale

photograph of the artist on the bottom left provided no real distinction in terms of style – it seemed too easy to mistake the main photo and this one for related artists. The pink tinge to the photograph I also thought simply didn’t work as pink is nowhere to be seen on the colour scheme.

• I think my spacing here is unprofessional, too – the top right of the page around the logo and issue number seemed too plain, and I could not think of anything to fill the huge chunk of unused space next to the reviews section.

Stage 4 – Contents Page (Attempt 2)• This is the second version of my

contents page.• I actually considered this to be

more of a regression than progression. In my attempts to address some of the previous issues I felt that I had worsened the appearance of the contents page.

• My biggest problem lay with the header. I had switched the font for a more blocky one similar to the one used on my digital mock-up so that the font weights between the issue number and the “contents” text did not clash. I also changed the colour to the beige colour featured elsewhere. I felt that these changes didn’t work.

Stage 4 – Contents Page (Attempt 2)• I also disliked the issue number I

had added because along with the lines it seemed like a poor attempt to put to use unused space. The logo at the top right I thought now looked out of place.

• The addition of the editorial was also something I didn’t like. It seemed reminiscent of something from magazines aimed at a younger audience and I thought that my audience might consider it cliché.

• Finally, the sepia tone of the main image was something I did actually like, but I believed it simply didn’t fit in because the full-colour image by the review section attracted more attention.

Stage 4 – Contents Page (Final Version)

• This is the final version of my contents page; the version I found myself satisfied with.

• I solved the issue of spacing around the header by adjusting the width of the “contents” text and black bar underneath, and by slipping in an image of the front cover at the top right to kick off the “features” section. I had seen similar design features in Q magazine.

• I changed the main photo to full-colour with edited contrast and lighting effects. I coloured the “contents” text with a gradient to match the circles on the page.

Stage 4 – Contents Page (Final Version)

• Because I felt that full-colour overpowered sepia tone in the attempt I made before this version, I changed the reviews section image to sepia tone. I felt that this worked well because it matched the colour scheme and the main image was the main focus.

• I extended the regulars section, removed the editorial, and inserted a revamped subscription advertisement in its place. The subscription area was improved through the addition of a blue colour similar to the blue on one model’s chequered shirt. This therefore matched the colour scheme and drew attention to the advert.