For this post I had to research contents pages and the way they are designed. I found many contents pages from other titles in my genre and looked at the conventions and other features in order to find inspiration for my own. Below is a slide of the contents pages that I found.
Contents pages are very good as they give an insight into the contents of the magazine and they excite the audience by teasing what’s inside and a lot of contents pages show the audience the next edition which makes them want to buy the next magazine. Contents pages generally include index numbers which say what’s on each page and they include teasers and things to entice the audience.
I think that these are some cool designs which I can use in my own work. I noticed that the magazines use AIDA in order to draw the audiences attention towards the coverlids and Index numbers.
Here are my drafts of the layout for my contents page.
I think that these are safe and conventional but they are effective and catchy. I think the layout is conventional in the lay out and the picture placement. I think the inclusion of pugs is conventional of the punk genre and the inset images are also common. I think these are effective as the picture is quite big and eye catching and the the index numbers are clear. The pugs and inset images are also there to grab the audiences attention.
I think I will pick the big sketch with the most detail as I think it represents the genre the best. I think the crowded energy helps convey the genre best and it works well.
Here are some of my ideas for eye catching titles for my contents page.
- New punk music on the horizon!
- 4 Amazing pop punk artists new on the scene!
- Punk breakthrough incoming!
- How to breakthrough in the pop punk scene? (exclusive interviews)
- The secrets behind your favourite artists are finally revealed !
Contents pages are generally
- Eye catching
- Informative
- Attractive
- Gossip/ juicy
- enticing
- Factual
These are some pf the conventional features which make up contents pages. By being enticing and eye catching the page grabs the audiences attention and sparks curiosity which makes them want to read the magazine. By adding a question in the title it implies that there is an answer inside which makes the reader curious. By being informative and factual the audience knows that the information is true and relevant. By adding gossip and other things it can also spark a readers interest.
Overall I think that this task was useful as by planning and researching I have discovered conventions and features which I would not have originally thought to use. This task has helped me improve my planning skills and has helped me to visualise my own contents page.