Textual Analysis of Contents Page 3

For my final textual analysis of a contents page I have chosen this contents page to analyse:

The Typography:

• In the top left hand corner there is the date and the heading of the page. The date is quite large in size and the black/grey colour stands out on the vibrant orange colour. Just below the date 'contents' is in a large font and the white colour stands out a lot from the background. This is used to tell the reader which page they're on, which is clearly the contents page. As these are placed on a bright orange background, the attention of the reader is immediately drawn to this part of the page. This is extremely useful as it lets the reader know what the page is about. 
• The masthead is also present on the contents page. 'Drummer' is written in a large, capitals, bold and black font. This is very effective as it allows the reader to easily notice it and easily read it, which is what is needed for the brand name. This is used to increase continuity throughout the magazine as well as reinforcing it, so the reader knows which magazine they're reading. This is an essential part of the contents page so therefore making it easy to read and so that it stands out shows the importance of this. The word 'drummer' can also indicate the genre and the target audience of the magazine. Drums are usually linked to the genre of indie or rock music. This indicates that the target audience of the magazine brand, will most likely be people who are interested in these genres of music. 
• The 'features' section down the left hand side of the page is also very effective. This section also follows the house style of the magazine - which is orange, white and black. The 'features' heading is in orange, which stands out from the plain white background. Evidently, making it easy to read and recognise what that bit is referring to. Underneath the page numbers are also in orange, again orange being a bright and vibrant colour allows the reader to easily locate the page number for each article. Next to the page number, in a slightly smaller font, is the article name. This has a bold and black typography which makes it easy to read and easy to locate. A lot of music magazine front covers seem to follow this kind of style of a list of contents, page numbers on the left, the article name just after it and a small description underneath. The article names are short and snappy. This is a common theme in magazines as they're more intriguing and makes the reader want to know more about it. An example of this is 'Santa's Sacked'. This is quite an intriguing name as the reader will think about the title and may want to read into it. Also this name has alliteration which also provides a big effect on the reader as it makes the article name sound more interesting. 
• Just below the 'features' section is the 'regulars' section. This also seems quite conventional on a contents page. The 'regulars' section seems to have a reverted colour scheme compared to the section above. The orange text has now been swapped with white text, the white background has been reversed to an orange background. This gives it the sense that this maybe not be as significant as the 'features' section as this section seems to reoccur every month, hence the heading 'regulars'.This also is conventional for a contents page as most contents pages have two sections which is split up to the features that only occur this edition and the features that occur every edition. The typography used also allows the reader to notice it, which does give it some significance to the page. It should catch the reader's eye so therefore, the reader will go to this part of the page and read it.  
• Next to the article 'Dave Lambardo' there is a label that says 'exclusive'. This is used to draw the reader to this article as it is restricted to this magazine, so therefore making it important to the reader as they will not find this article/interview anywhere else in any other magazine. This could potentially be an incentive to the magazine as this article could draw the reader into buying this particular edition of the magazine. 

The Images:

• In terms of the images used, this contents page is different, possibly unconventional compared to the other contents pages I have analysed. On this contents page there are 5 images. One of the images is a set of drums which is located to the brand name 'drummer'. This may be part of the house style and the masthead, as the heading along with the image may appear on every issue.
• The other images that appear on the page are screen grabs from different articles later on in the magazine. Each image has a page number in the top left as this will be where they can find the article that relates to the image. 
• The size of the image will relate to the most important article in the magazine. The main image with the drummer, will be one of the main article or most significant articles to this edition. This is due to the size of the image being a lot larger than the other images therefore connoting the significance of this article. The smaller images will most likely not be main articles, hence their size. 
• The mise-en-scene in these images connote the genre that the music magazine is. The largest image includes a drum set and a drummer. As previously mentioned, the drums can connote the genre of indie or rock. Two other smaller images also include drums which again connote the genre of indie/rock/alternative.

The Layout:

• The layout of this music magazine front cover can be seen as quite unconventional. Usually the masthead/brand name is at the top of the page. However the brand name is a little bit further down the page. The 'contents' title, however, is at the top on the left, which is also quite unconventional as this is usually located underneath the masthead. 
• Quite often, on a contents page, there is only one main image, maybe 2. However this contents page contains a lot of pictures and takes a different approach in showing what is on different pages (using screen grabs and putting the page number in the corner). Additionally the images are spread across the entire page, and above the masthead/brand name. Which again is quite unconventional compared to the other magazine contents pages I have analysed. 
• What is conventional about the contents page is the contents list. Most contents pages have a list of contents on one side of the page rather than scattered. This follows this style. Also most contents pages split their contents list into two sections, usually the stuff that appears every month and the stuff that is exclusive to this issue. This contents page also follow this style. 
• Another unconventional feature is the date. In most magazines the date is quite a small, in size, and additional aspect of the cover. However the date that is present on this contents page is very large compared to the others I've analysed. The 'contents' typography is also quite small in comparison to the other contents pages.