Contents Analysis'

Vibe Magazine

The contents text is fitted around Ciara's picture, as is the colour scheme. The outline of the 'V' keeps the idea of the Vibe theme, Ciara's legs also being in a V shape keeps the theme running. The magazine continues to be quite 'out there' by putting the word Contents on three different lines. The white block writing for the word Contents stands out as it is the biggest, and only white writing on the page. The subheadings read 'Features' and 'Fashion', using alliteration keeps an organised feel to the contents page. The subtitles font is also quite neat and classy, which would how readers would interpret Ciara, as the contents page is based around her, by using Ciara's image it shows the reader there will be a further feature about her, which is the first one under the 'Features' column. I like the idea of the contents page being based around a model as it keeps a theme running throughout, as Ciara was on the cover of Vibe in October 2008 - this issue. The colours used are quite neutral and relaxed, which again represents Ciara's music.The layout of this page is formal, and easy to find information, rather than a busy page which could have un necessary information and confuse the reader. This page looks simple, as less than 50% is made up of text.

Q Magazine

This page is set out in boxes, which gives it an organised feel and contains all of the information neccisary in a non cluttered way. The colours used are the staple colours used in a music magazine, and are the same as the front cover. The columns are aligned to the left which is where the eye would be drawn to, as the main features are underneath the Q logo and the title 'contents' , which is the biggest and most contrasting piece of information on the page. The two titles which would then draw the eye are the 'Features' and 'Every Month' columns, the features column would interest a regular buyer more as the articles will be new and different, compared to what they are used to reading every month. The picture of the courteeners used is following the black/white/red colour scheme, by the members of the band dressed in monochromatic clothes. The lead singer is in white, standing out from the others implies his importance. There is a text box on the picture saying the page number and 'The Courteeners' which immediately tells the readers who they are. The review box is also easily identifiable at the bottom right hand of the page, giving more subheadings of the different reviews available in this issue. This page looks quite busy compared to Vibe magazine as their is a lot of text, I think it is too much information and makes the page look cluttered. I like the idea of putting more than one picture on the contents page as it is more aesthetically pleasing than just words. I don't want to use staple red/white/black colours as a theme throughout my magazine as I want mine to stand out.

NME Magazine (picture quality is bad due to poor lighting)

A instantly recognisable similarity between Q magazine and NME is the three colours used; red, black and white. This contents page uses these colours more strictly, as the images chosen are using predominantly black and white. Colour wise the page seems to be vertically split in half , the left half has more red and the right half has more black. The only other colour used is the yellow 'subscribe today' text at the bottom, to advertise to readers the subscription service they offer. Again, this contents page is more similar to Q's content page than dissimilar, the layout is structured to look tessellating, which would give a more organised feel to the contents page. I wouldn't agree that this works as I think the page is too busy and there is too much text and information to look through. There are more subtitles than in Q magazine, 'News' 'Radar' 'Reviews' 'Live!' 'Features' which I think adds to a busy page. Although the band index is a good idea it makes the page look cluttered and that it has an overload of information. Judging this layout I would say that this magazine is aimed at 15-35 year olds, as there aren't any images or colours to attract younger people, and the layout is too busy for older people.

Billboard Magazine
I decided to analyse this magazine as the bright colours and cleaner style is the type I'd like to use for my magazine. This page is separated into two sections vertically,therefore using two colour schemes. The left hand section is a music chart, giving the readers information on who is at number 1 etc, this continues the theme of it being a contemporary mainstream pop magazine. I think that doing it in a more ' clean cut ' style this chart is a good idea, and adds more relevant information to this page, rather than the band index on the contents of NME which makes the page look cluttered. The two thirds on the centre and right side of the page use more contrasting colours; black, white and blue. The outfits of the artists are matching this colour scheme which gives the overall look more classy, the artist in the centre on the right hand side's outfit contrasts with the background, which makes it the divide between background/picture clearer and makes the page easier to look at. The writing is quite small and no text apart from 'Contents' and 'No.1' stands out, this encourages the reader to read through the articles to find out what is in this issue. I like the idea of using bright colours with grey/black/white to create a certain theme on the page. I also like the use of the inserted pictures with page numbers on, as this gives the reader an image to base their opinion on what the article is going to be like. I also like how nothing is overlapping in this contents page, as it makes it easier to identify certain information.