Final Contents

Preliminary Work Contents Page

Peer Audience Feedback

COVER

For my cover I have received a lot of positive feedback, which I will take into account when designing my final piece. Firstly I have been praised a lot for my successful use of colour palette. The blue/back/white ‘draw attention’ immediately and the boldness of the masthead has the same effect as well which is something I should definitely take into account when designing my final piece. On the other hand there are aspects that I can improve on my cover. For example I should ‘consider moving the text body’ and also make the image fit better so it is a higher resolution. Doing this would insure the magazine has a more professional, sharp look which is important.

CONTENTS

My contents page was what I was most happy with in my draft; I put the most detail into the layout in this page to make a conventional complete look. I received a lot of positive feedback about the ‘style and layout’ of the page, looking ‘very professional’ and a lot of text. However I was advised to use a web address to make the magazine appear more authentic, this is good feedback because a lot of magazine use this feature to attract a bigger online following as well. Along with this I was advised to change information in the text, some of it was false information, which isn’t useful.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

I feel there is room for a lot of improvement on my double page spread so I was intrigued to see the improvements I was suggested along with the positives. A positive of the pages where that the image looks good with the blue/white/black colour palette again and it ‘creates continuity’ along with this the bold lines I have used under the title ‘The Everything’ is good because it grabs the readers attention well. Some negatives in my double page spread where that the article and text was crammed in because of the sizing of my picture, this has made me think that I need to use a portrait image so it fits better and allows more room for text to look professional. Along with this I have left a lot of free space on the magazine that could be filled with useful information, however I want to keep the page looking minimalistic.

Overall I am happy with my feedback I have received for both positives and improvements which is important for me to take into account.

Final Draft Contents

This is my final draft for my contents page. I am please with the overall look because it is simplistic and conventional. It also uses a neutral colour scheme consisting of black grey and white, which adds to the minimal look. In addition the colour palette used allows the photos to stand out more, which draws attention.

I like the overall layout of my draft contents, this is because it looks smart and professional, and this is something I could take into account when doing my final pages. I felt putting the information on the left of the page was a good idea because in general people read from left to right. I chose to put the most important features of the magazine at the top because that’s what will most likely want to be seen first, and the regulars will be something that appears in most issues.

For the title ‘contents’ I used courier in bold for the font, I chose not to have ‘contents’ in very big writing because people will be able to tell it is a contents page anyway, however it is still eye catching because it is the biggest font on the page. The style of the font looks very formal which is what I wanted. For the main texts I chose to use Helvetica because it is a sharp easy to read font. Therefore it will be simple for the audience to read comfortably.

I decided to use subheadings for each of the three photos I used; this is so the audience can instantly interoperate the photo. I underlined each sub title as well, I believe this drew more attention to them and also made the overall look neater. Along with this for each photo I used a circle and page number, it tit this so it is clear what page the audience will be looking for, and it also fit in with the neutral colour scheme very well.

For my official piece I will spend more time on writing articles to make it suit the genre of the text more, for example ‘the new ride’ text information is irrelevant to the magazine and what people will want to read. Along with this I will put more focus into the lining of my photos, some photos aren’t 100% in line, which can give it an unprofessional, and slightly tacky look. In addition I will try to fill the whole page, for example I could include twitter ads and email links etc. I think I will keep the overall layout and scheme but just make vast improvements in making it look professional, while still keeping the simplistic look.

Magazine Drafts

DRAFT COVER

DRAFT CONTENTS

DRAFT DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD

These are a few mock drafts for each of my pages. I haven't used my own photos for these drafts because i want to get an idea of the style of the image i use and how it contrasts/compliments my overall layout. I am not completely happy with any of these because they are drafts and ideas. For my final pieces i would want to change these a lot and put more effort in to give a sharp and professional look.

Contents Analysis - Kerrang

The kerrang contents page consists of their conventional colour scheme black yellow and white. Readers of the magazine will be used to this colour scheme therefore information that they want to stand out more significantly can be used in a different colour, for example the subscription of the magazine is advertised behind a red box in the corner to grab attention.

I like the use of the image which takes up roughly half of the page, this adds more interest to the page, rather than it just simply stating what will be inside. The iconic kerrang logo is used on the page a couple of times, this is just a use of repeating the name so it gets into peoples heads more, and they are consistently being reminded of the name.

Contents is written in the top left corner of the page in yellow behind a black fill. This allows the title to stand out clearly so the reader knows what page they are on.  A unique feature of the page is this how the contents page shows a small image of a double page spread and indicates what page it is on. This makes the contents page more filling and adds more interest yet again. Kerrang don’t go for a conventional simplistic look, they have more of a messy look that compliments the type of music the magazine is based on. Sub headings for each section are written in yellow block font clearly behind a black fill, this looks professional because it is easy to see what will be involved under each heading.

Kerrang use a lot of images on their contents page, this is to give a more sophisticated look. The main image is a man crowd surfing; this interesting image can show passion for the music which is what the readers will enjoy seeing. The overall use of fonts is good because they are all clear to read, there isn’t any writing which you struggle to read which makes it more comfortable for the reader, this is something I can think about when designing my magazine.

Contents Analysis - NME

This contents page is a lot more filling compared to the Vibe contents page. There is information about all of the pages inside the magazine everywhere; this allows the audience to find and look at everything specifically, which is better than having to go through every page. A main contents headline is positioned under the main image which clear bold black font saying ‘artic monkeys’ this instantly allows the reader to see the band, which compliments the photo.

The page is titled NME contents, this consists of the conventional NME logo and contents written in clear block font, it is very easy to read which is affective.  All of the feature titles on the page are in white block capitals behind a black fill, this makes the font stand out a lot more which allows the audience to notice each section more comfortably.

NME use the same black red and white colour scheme. This scheme matches the logo, which allows the magazine to bring across a more professional look. However they break their colour code with the use of a box at the bottom of the page. The colour scheme for this box includes yellow font on a black fill, the yellow will instantly catch the audience’s eye because it’s the only colour difference. They are advertising a subscription for the magazine; this is affective because it is eye catching.

The image the contents page uses is quite conventional for NME because the majority of their contents pages use a medium sized image in the centre of the page. Writing is positioned around the photo, which allows more focus on the image itself. All of the page numbers are printed in red font, this sticks with the colour scheme and allows it to stand out next to the titles; this is so the reader instantly knows where to look for their page. The date is positioned under contents, which stands out clear on the black fill behind it.

Contents Analysis - VIBE

This is a contents page for music magazine vibe. The contents page consists of main colours black and white. These are conventional colours which are used time and time again as a basic colour scheme.

The main content list is on the right of the image with seems quite conventional for a lot of vibe contents pages I have seen, this is something I can take into account when designing mine. The contents list consists of two head cover lines features and fashion. They are bold which allows the audience to easily see what is involved in each section clearer. They have seemed to take a risk with a font which can be seen as difficult because of some of the letters, however this is conventional for vibe and the overall look of the font is interesting and compliments the image used.

The main image used on the contents page is very effective and significant. Firstly the long shot of the woman laying flat allows the audience to see her whole body language. Vibe have used different coloured shoes on the woman significantly so they stand of compared to the basic black and white scheme, this is because this allows the audience to see the position her legs are in, which symbolise a V shape for Vibe. To compliment this there is also an outlined V which is put behind her legs, this allows the audience to interoperate the letters more which will make them think of vibe, this allows people to remember the magazine name more for when they see the logo.

Contents is written in clear block writing which is which in contrast to the darker background which allows it to be more eye grabbing. It isn’t written on one line, it takes over three lines in a big font, this still allows it to be read clearly. The use of the dots which separate each bit of information is an important feature which allows the audience not to get mixed up with different pages .A negative of the page is that it doesn’t indicate everything in the magazine and what page it is, this is what contents pages are supposed to do to create a clear interoperate for the reader.