Music Magazine Contents Pages

Q Magazine Contents Page AnalysisAfter looking at a few examples of contents pages from Q magazine, I can see a few characteristics which I like.

• The design is quite simplistic and very organised. The text and images are organised in boxes.

• There is a definitive colour scheme, of red, black, grey and white, which adds sophistication to the contents page.

• The page numbers are coloured red, which makes them stand out. They are also accompanied by a bold title of the page. Beneath the page number and title is a short description of what can be found on that page. I like this, because it’s simple and effective.• The page is split into 5 main sections: The title, a list of main features, the main story, the regular parts of the magazine that appear every month, and finally the part of the magazine dedicated to reviews. I like this, because it is clear and organised.

NME magazine contents page analysisBelow are some features and characteristics of the

contents page from NME which I have noticed and like:

• The page is typically split into 9 sections below the title. 8 of these 9 sections feature an image, a page number, and a short description of the featured story. The page numbers are bold and stand out, making it easy for readers to navigate around the magazine. The 9th section is called ‘Plus’ and lists extra features of the magazine without an accompanying photo and caption.

• I particularly like the use of multiple photos to illustrate the content of the stories, since I think it makes the page more interesting and attractive.

• I also really like the use of quotes in the captions to the photos. Since this gives you a hint of what is to expect in the story, and adds quirkiness to the page.

• Similarly to Q magazine, I like how organised the contents page is; how it is separated into boxed sections.

Other examples of contents pages from music magazines

I also looked at contents pages from other music magazines. I found that magazines such as Mojo and Rock Sound went for a very different approach compared to Q and NME, instead of everything being organised into sections and having multiple photos, these magazines typically used one photo as the background. The background photo was usually of an artist who is featured in the magazine. This made the page look simple and less busy in comparison with other magazines. The contents were typically listed to the side of or above the image. Similarly to Q and NME, the page number was a different colour and bold in order for it to stand out, and the contents are made up of a heading and then a short accompanying description of the story.

Typical Features of Music Magazine Contents Pages

After researching into contents pages from a range of music magazines, I can identify some typical characteristics which I should take into account when designing my contents page. They are:

Title: each contents page I’ve looked at has had a title. They are typically smaller than the masthead on the cover, but big enough to stand out.

Images: the number of images used varies depending on the magazine, however, they are typically used to illustrate what and who features in the magazine.

Page numbers: On all contents pages I’ve looked at, the page numbers have always been formatted to be bold and stand out, whether that’s done by using a different colour font or by making the font size bigger.

Headings: A selection of headings are included in the contents page, telling the reader which stories are featured.

Captions: The headings are typically accompanied by a caption, telling the reader more about the story, making them want to read it.

Date: the date of the issue is also usually featured, but not very largely.

Organised layout: Most of the contents pages I have looked at have had fairly organised layouts; usually split into boxes and sections, making it clear for the reader.

Colour scheme: In contrast to the front cover, the contents pages seem to have a much more organised and regimented colour scheme.