Music magazine: Contents page research.

I will look at the features, advertisements, layout, fonts, colours and images used on Sugar's contents pages, to establish how my own music magazine contents page should look.

Each issue of the magazine has a section on the contents page, where the editor talks about what the new issue holds, and other news related to it. It's short and to the point, offering the reader a quick overview, and allowing the reader to become more involved with the magazine by knowing what the process was like. There is a small image placed next to the text of those that have written the text, usually the editor. There is also a small advertisement on the left version, which is something that i would like to incorporate into my own contents page, as i would prefer that to an image of a person. I will also write a small amount of text on what the reader can expect within my music magazine.

The title Contents is usually at least partly hidden by the image, and so it is put in a big font, with alternating colours on a plain or black background, so it sticks out. The month that the issue is for, is placed above the title, in small text to ensure attention isn't taken away from the model and the text. This is also something that i would like to incorporate into my own contents page, as i think that it is quite effective, but the readers attention remains focused on the main articles of the magazine.

The main image itself is usually 3/4 of the models body, so about down to their waist. The clothing is quite plain, so again the attention is focused on the models face, rather than her accessories. Their poses are often creating angles, and their faces are mostly visible, with the picture being well lit. The expressions on their faces are usually quite plain, usually just a small smile, as their image and personality would be essentially focused on when their main article appeared further on in the magazine.

The title is put on a slant with a paler version of the background colour placed behind it to make it stand out. The subheading below it follows a similar theme, but in a smaller font, and darker colours. Overall, the titles are kept to a much smaller size compared to the Contents title, as the main title has already been used in a large font on the front cover. The page number of the main article is placed in a big font, and a pale colour over the model, which is effective as it makes it clear where exactly in the magazine the main article is.

Underneath the Contents title, and next to the main image there is a small amount of text, giving the page numbers and titles of various articles within the magazine. The titles of the articles are put in bold, next to a coloured page number, with text in a small font underneath, giving a brief summary of that article. This is also another idea that i would like to include on my own contents page, as i think it fills empty space, as well as providing the reader with some important page numbers of popular articles.

At the bottom of the page, there are more page numbers of other articles that the reader may want to look at, as well as advertising other things within the magazine. A few images of others mentioned within the magazine are placed down here too, with the page numbers placed over the image in a bigger font than those page numbers around them. The colours throughout the page follow the same theme, and so on this issue, the colours used the most were black, white, and different shades of pink, which is something that i would like to add to my own contents page.

After evaluating Sugar's contents page, i will try to combine their ideas with a few of my own to create an effective contents page that would appeal to my target market.