Textual Analysis of Contents Page 1

For my research I have decided to analyse this contents page from the music magazine 'Mojo'. By analysing this it allows me to see how music magazine contents pages are typically constructed, so therefore making it a lot easier to construct my own contents page.

Below is the contents page I am analysing:

The Masthead:

• On this music magazine contents page, the masthead is centered at the top of the page. The typography of this masthead makes it stand out a lot. It is bold, larger than the other text and also the colour of the typography (white) makes it stand out from the grey background. 
• This is just used to show which magazine it is and it is also there to show consistency to the brand as this masthead will most likely have been featured on the front cover of this particular issue. 
• The colour of the masthead is a plain white. This may connote that the target audience for this magazine is both male and female as the white is a generic colour so therefore opening the target audience to both genders. Additionally, as it is white in colour, it also implies that the magazine isn't specific to a certain genre of music. The simplicity of the masthead (and the entire contents page) implies that 'Mojo' is targeting a mass audience.

Date and Issue Number:

• Just below the masthead the date the magazine was issued for is present. In this case it was April 2012. This will most likely have been present on the front cover but it is used on this contents page to reinforce that. It also keeps consistency throughout the magazine. 
• The Issue number is also just under the masthead on the right hand side. This is used just as the same as the date. It will probably have been on the front cover but it is just used to reinforce it. 
• Both the Date and Issue Numbers are quite small in size. This is significant as it indicates that this is not a particularly prominent feature of the contents page. However, they do include it meaning that they want to make sure that the reader knows the date and the issue number of that edition. The date shows how current the edition is making it quite important for regular buyers so they know if they have missed an edition of the magazine and if they have they right one. 

The Image:

• The main image on this contents page is the main feature. Florence (the woman on the image) covers the majority of the page. This implies that her article featured in the magazine is one of the main articles as she is the only image on the contents page. The mise-en-scene makes her stand out from the rest of the content on the page. She is wearing a black dress and creamy-gold coloured jewelry which all stand out a lot from the grey background. Additionally her hair is red which is very eye-catching on this particular background. Again, this connotes that Florence is the main feature of this magazine. 
• The typography of the page is laid out so it bends away from the image of Florence. This makes it look more realistic and also indicates Florence's importance too, as the text is organised away from her image. This once again shows that her article is most likely the main article of the magazine as she is the only image featured on the contents page. 

The Typography of the Page:

• The typography used on this contents page stands out to make it clear to the reader what articles there are in the magazine and where they can find them (page numbers). On the left hand side the page number for each section stands out due to the bold red typography in contrast to the grey background. This immediately allows the reader to find each article easily in the magazine as the page numbers stand out so much. Next to the page numbers are the names of each individual article. The typography colour is white and it is also written in bold and quite big writing (compared to the rest of the text, also making it easy to read and easy to notice. However it is also the same size as the page numbers which implies continuity to indicate that the article is on that specific page (as they're placed next to each other and they're both equal in size but differ due to the different colours which makes it easy to identify which is the page number and which is the name of the article).
• Beside each article name is a small description of the article. This typography is in much smaller writing compared to the article name. This implies that this section of the contents page is less important than the article name as it is only there to provide information of the article to any reader who is unsure whether you read that article or not. However it is an important aspect to include on a contents page as gives the reader a quick insight of what to expect in the article and also allows them to decide if they want to read it or not before purchasing (as they won't have the time to read the entire article before purchasing).
• Additionally the words 'features' and 'cover story' are also in red showing their importance to the page but also allowing the page to be effectively sectioned off and therefore making it easier for the consumer to understand which section of the contents page is which. These are sub-headings. The cover story section is also sectioned off from the other features which means that's this particular article of the magazine must be more significant than the other articles as it is in its own section. This may be relating to the story that is featured on the front cover of this edition. 

The Quote:

• At the bottom of the page a quote is used. This quote is from Florence which underneath directs you to the page that it is mentioned on. This is used to reinforce this article within the magazine as it is obviously the main feature of this issue of the magazine. Also it says 'Florence Welch Explains'. This is used to, once again, attempt to get the reader to go to this page. The word 'explains' is used to try and get the reader to wonder about how she explains the quote and therefore getting the reader to go to that particular page to read the article. 

The Page Number:

• At the bottom of the page on the right a page number is present. This is used to allow the reader to identify the page they're currently on which then makes it easier for them to navigate to the page they need (due to the contents page containing all of the important page numbers throughout the magazine). This is an important aspect of a contents page as it allows ease for the reader.