Analysis of similar products- Contents page

 

Cornwall Today:


Cornwall today have chosen a scenic sunset picture for the background of their contents page. The layout is simple yet effective. I feel that the magazine is setting an example of the true beauty of Cornwall with the display of this main image. The Purple combines the calm stability of blue and the fierce energy of red. The color purple is often associated with royalty, nobility, luxury, power, and ambition. This gives you a feel for the county. The text is kept simple as to not distract from the image in the background, but yet to still give information to the reader.


The typography of the text itself is in a simple san serif font. This font is used throughout the page to keep with the house style. The only things written in serif is the month map title. This is as to not distract the reader from the background again.


The magazine has kept with a sea theme as the front cover features and man and his dog stood by the water. Cornwall is well know for its beaches and coastal walks. This may be why it feature the sea a lot. The background image is of a good quality an on matte paper. I think this gives the picture a better look.


The text is over two pages which doesn't follow common codes and conventions as contents pages are normally only one page. I feel the reason why this contents page is over two pages is because it gives a better perspective of the background image.




Cornwall Life:

Again this regional magazine has used a coastal image as their main image and another for their minor image. This again shows that Cornwall has connotations of a beach/surf lifestyle. People who read these regional magazines about Cornwall want to know what it is all about and the places you can go. The audience for this magazine tend to be people who don't live in Cornwall or people who are looking for something to do in Cornwall.

In terms of typography the font is a simple san serif again to not distract too much from the images. The text is simple and informative. The colour palette is kept very neutral with black and beige being the only two colours really used. This contents page has less information than Cornwall today yet it has two images which conforms amore to common codes and conventions of a magazine contents page.

The image quality isn't quite as good as Cornwall today yet there are two pictures. The images are on matte paper again making the magazine look less expensive and of a lower quality. The colour palette is kept to blues and greens along with the sandy beige for some of the text, keeping with the beach style theme.

Runners world:

This runners world contents page fits with common codes and conventions as it is over one page. The amount of images is somewhat less than usual for a normal contents page because there is only one. This magazine includes a plain image. I would not use something like this for my contents page as I feel it is boring and unattractive to the reader.

In terms of colour palette the only colour featured apart from the colours of the background in the image is the red from the man's top. the page itself is very dull and boring. The image quality isn't very good, I think this may be as it is an older magazine issue. The image is on matte paper, this reflects the cheap magazine price. The magazine is prices at £4.50. For such a specific magazine, this is a cheap price. The text is highlighted with bold and a light blue colour in certain areas to show important information.

Analysis of contents pages:

Cornwall today has a large background image as its main feature. It is of a sunset in Cornwall and has been slightly edited to make its main colour purple. This sets the colour palette for the page. This contents page goes against common codes and conventions of a contents page as it is across two pages. The image used in this contents page is only slightly different to that of Cornwall life magazine, which also features a sea image. Because of its large background image, and the fact it is spread across two pages, Cornwall today features the most information of the two regional magazines. Again, the colours of ‘Cornwall today’ magazine are very dark and fit with the colour scheme set on the front cover. This leads us to think that this will be the colour palette throughout the magazine. In terms of the contents page colour for Cornwall life, we are seeing it follow the same codes and conventions of Cornwall today magazine. It has kept its bright colours and writing to a minimal. I think this makes the page easier to find information for the reader.

Runner’s world has kept its page simple and factual yet again. It is key for the reader to be able to find exactly what they are looking for. In terms of colour palette the page uses a white background with black and pale blue text. The only real colour used is blue. We saw this used on the front cover. blue connotes sadness and cold. This is very different from the front cover which featured that warm 'track red' colour. I like how simple the layout of the page is. It follows the common codes and conventions for a contents page of this magazine style. However it is very boring and I would not have something like this personally for my contents page.

Cornwall life and runners world are the only two contents pages here that really stick to common codes and conventions completely. It features more than one image and has minimal but informative text that relates to the magazine style. Runners world however has one image. I like these contents pages, but I feel they are somewhat boring and would not take ideas from them for my magazine.

For my magazine I think I will stick to the idea of Cornwall today and runner’s world and have one image. This somewhat goes against common codes and conventions but in some way I feel this suits the style of magazine I am going for. I like the idea of using yellow to highlight text. I feel this does grab the reader’s attention and would draw them in to read the magazine. However this is not as important for the contents page as it is inside the magazine. I think that my contents information will be straight to the point and informative like runner’s world magazine. I would like to keep my colour palette the same throughout my magazine and stick to the colour I decide on for my front colour. I hope to feature a shade of yellow and hopefully neutralise it with white and possibly pastel colours. The typography of my magazine will match my front cover. I think I will stick with common codes and conventions and use a simple san serif font.