Firstly, a Contents Page is arguably one of the most important pages in a magazine. This is because it carefully informs the reader on what the magazine contains and what to expect on each page when reading. The Contents indicates page numbers with a catchy headline to entice the reader in, also giving a small description of it’s content. It helps the reader navigate multiple documents and articles easily. Your Contents Page should be clear and easy to read to allow the target audience to locate pages quickly, this means that the Contents needs to provide the right information. The conventions of a Contents Page include;
- Specific page numbers
- Catchy coverlines
- Images
- Editors hello
- Hyperbole and superlative headlines
- Mission statement
- Image and word clues
- Design elements such as colour, graphics and typography to engage with the specific audience and to overall undertake the purpose.
Below are my six inspiration images with what I like about them individually to help me understand what a professional Contents Page should look like and how to lay it out. All Contents Pages are unique in their own many different ways, when researching I found a particular one I liked best. This is the very last image, below on the right. I like this one the best as I am able to place four of my own images relating to my genre. There is also two columns where I can place my writing, page numbers, headlines and any other key information I feel is necessary. This design was very different to any others I had looked at, which makes me eager to experiment with the layout to see if it works well with my front cover and genre.
Research on different Contents Pages;
After selecting these six images, I then created four hand drawn layouts of my top favourite magazine Contents Pages. When drawing these out it gave me a visual insight of how these will best fit my genre, images and text. I also considered that I need to able to include AIDA (attract, interest, desire, call to action) into my Contents Page to ensure it’s entertaining as well as informative.
Hand Drawn Layouts;
Five Catchy Headlines to include in my Contents Page;
- How has music changed since the 90’s?
- What are the Artists doing now?
- 90’s pop fashion coming back?
- Was image as important as it is now?
- Comparing new bands to the old
I have decided on these five catchy headlines above as they really sell the contents to the audience, whilst keeping it short and informative. Thinking forward, my research has been very useful to me as I have gained a wider understanding of all elements relating to a Contents Page. I am now aware of what I would like my Contents Page to look like including the positioning of all my images, text and headings giving me a clear picture of how I’m going to create it.