Reflection Point : What Have I Learned About Magazine Contents Pages?

Through my research and analysis of magaine contents pages (music and non-music), I have seen that they are tidily organised either into sections or by page number. The masthead of the magazine is almost always at the top of the page to signify what magazine it is with its code for what edition it is and the date of publish. Typically, contents pages are only one page but some magazines like Vanity Fair challenge this convention.  

The layout is simple and designed to not confuse the reader when they are looking through the contents pages. The sections are often divided by lines across the page like borders or bold numbers or letters that signify a change of topic or content. 

There is a range of content featured on the page which is supposed to entice the audience into reading more articles in the magazine. The topics also target a large variety of readers who will most certainly have different preferences and views; this maximises the potential readers the magazine could receive which would increase their revenue. However, not all the articles in the magazine are featured in the contents page because the page would be overcrowded and it leaves some discovering for the reader to do. 

The colour palette is typically minimal with black and white and if there is a pop of coulour, it is usually from the images or masthead. For example, the images in The Wire's contents pages are multicoloured and in Vogue, the masthead is in its iconic red colour. This furhter simplifies the contents page to ensure that there is no confusion when naviagting through its content or page numbers. 

The typography is consistent through the contents page and aligns with the font and colour of the rest of the magazine to have a fluid and compatible feel. It can be argued that the typography reflects the magazine's views on itself: Vogue is an iconic and traditional magazine so it uses serif font which reflects that view whereas The Wire considers itself to be modern and ground breaking so they utilise sans-serif font.