Magazine Contents Page Analysis

Empire Magazine

Target Audience – The primary target audience for the Empire magazine is people that are interested in film generally between ages 15 - 30. This magazine is aimed at a large target audience, as there is a wide range of people who are interested in films of all ages. The majority of people reading this magazine will fall into the audience demographic at band C1 – D.

Layout – This contents page has a fairly simple layout. It is split into two sections; on the right it has a list of what is featuring inside the magazine, and on the left there is a large picture that overlaps some of the header with smaller pictures of the magazine covers related to this film that can be collected. At the top of the page, the word ‘contents’ is written in a bold, red font that stands out from the background, which makes it clear to the reader what they are reading. This layout gives a lot of information to the reader without looking too busy.

Colour – The colour scheme is quite simple – it has a black background with mostly white text, and red text where there is more important information. This is mainly plain with a splash of colour; it makes it eye catching and keeps a professional look to the whole page. The background is plain, but is lit up around the image.

Typography – The typography in the text is effective as all the fonts used are similar to each other, which makes the whole page flow together. Having similar fonts makes the page less busy for the reader and gives them all the information they need. Also, because there is different coloured text for when there is more important information, it makes it look more interesting as well as separating the different parts of writing. This makes it easier for the reader to find the section with the information that they want to know about.

Images – The use of images are effective because there is one main image to the left that overlaps the header, and the text fits around it. There are also other smaller images at the bottom that advertise the other magazines related to this film. The main image is a main character from a film that the magazine is advertising – this will catch the eye of the reader if they are interested in this genre of film.

Conclusion - Overall, I think this contents page works well for its purpose of giving the reader information they need before they continue to read the magazine without looking too busy, and keeps its professional look. The use of colours and imagery works well together; it is quite plain and simple but also captures the reader’s attention without looking boring. The contents page looks interesting and invites the reader. The more important parts of the text are written in red, which stands out to the reader.

Cosmo Girl

Target Audience – The primary target audience for the Cosmo Girl is for females who are over the age of 15. Also, as this is a prom issue, people who are looking for prom ideas would want to look at this magazine. Most of the people reading this magazine will fall into the audience demographic at band C1 - D.

Layout – The layout of the contents page is quite simple and is not crowded making it easy for the reader to get the information they want. The background is an image of a girl clearly representing this issues topic: prom, sat in front of a fairly plain back drop. The header is bold and is in a traditional colour for girls to wear to prom: pink. On the left side of the page there is a column that includes the contents information clearly for the reader; the page numbers are larger than the text and are of a different colour, as well as the title of each page to make it easy for the reader to get all of the information. There is also another small piece of text to the right of the girl explaining information about the background image – this allows the reader to get more information of the image if they are interested in the dress she is wearing or the story about it.

Colour – There is a rather plain colour scheme; pink, red and black which goes with the background of mainly white and gold. The header is written in pink: the same colour as the dress the girl is wearing in the image, which keeps with the topic of this issue. The main other colour for the text is mainly black, which makes it look professional. The colour red is used for the important parts of the text; this does make it stands out, but red and pink are two colours that are generally not put together in a colour scheme. However, it does seem to work in this case. The gold in the back drop of the image also goes with the topic of proms. This colour scheme keeps the reader interested in the topic because the colours used are traditional colours for proms. The red highlights the more important parts of the text so the reader can see the information they want to know easily.

Typography – Again, the fonts used are very similar to each other which makes the typography effective because the page flows. The makes the contents page look tidy and professional because it is not overloaded with information. The different coloured text makes the page more interesting as well as highlights the more important parts of text. This ensures that the reader can find the information that they want to know easily.

Images – There is only one image used in this page which is used as the background. This makes the page look effective and professional without looking busy. The colours in the image also work well with the colour of the text and the topic of this issue. Although there is only one, the image gives the reader an insight of what will be included throughout the magazine; this draws their attention to the imagery and is more likely going to get them to continue reading the magazine.

Conclusion – Overall, I think this contents page serves its purpose very well as it gives all the information that is necessary without too much text or images and still looks professional and tidy. The colours work well together, although I personally wouldn’t put red and pink together. It is a very simple layout and design but does not look boring or dull. This design would keep the reader interested and gives all of the information needed.

Comparison – The two contents pages are of a similar layout; they both include the necessary information without looking too busy and have a professional feel. They both have ideal aspects; different coloured text to highlight the more important parts, a bold header, a main image that catches the eye of the reader, a column of contents information that looks tidy and a small part of text that describes the main image. The topics of the magazines are completely different, and therefore they also have different colour schemes. Personally, I prefer the Cosmo Girl magazine because I think the layout is more professional looking and I think the background image works better.