1. Lydia Platts
Contents Page Analysis
Navigation: The page numbers of
each article have been placed in
the bottom right corner of each
picture that corresponds with the
article. I like the idea of the
because it shortens down the
amount of text on the page would
could be seen as off putting to a
reader also if a reader likes the
look of this picture they are given
the page number straight away
rather than them having to
search the page to find the text
corresponding to the image. This
is something I may consider when
creating my magazine. As well as
there being images with the page
numbers on, at the bottom of the
page there is a list which contains
the rest of the page articles and
numbers, I really like the idea and
layout of that particular feature
and will consider it when creating
my own magazine.
House styles: In some ways I believe that there is a certain house style in relation to the font style
however not in colours, this is because the colours used on the front cover of the magazine have not
been used on the contents page. However the same formal text has been used which is found on the
front cover. Also the front cover star is Florence from Florence and the machine because she is the
front cover star you would expect the main image on the contents page to also be Florence however
it is not, it has been placed in a corner of the magazine. This is something I will not consider using in
my magazine as I wish to follow a certain house style as it gives the magazine consistency.
Promotion: This is an advertisement to subscribe to the magazine, this has been used to attract and
ensure that the reader buys the magazine again. This has been placed cleverly as it follows the
Gutternburg Design Principle as it has been placed in one of the optical areas, in fact the last optical
area. By placing it here means that it more than likely to be seen by the reader. However to make
sure that the advertisement gets seen it doesn’t follow the house style and stands out hugely on this
page as the advertisement it inside a bright red box, where as other information on the page has
been placed in plain white boxes.
Text: The font styles used are quite formal, this is due to the target audience of this particular
magazine as this magazine targets mainly ages 20-35 therefore it is appropriate to use formal text.
When creating my own magazine I will take into consideration whether to use a formal or informal
2. Lydia Platts
font type. The use of bold and italics have been used for the article titles, these font styles have been
used to attract and grab the attention of the reader and encourage them to read this particular
article. The article titles are either pull quotes from the full article, or the columnists view, these
quotes could be said to be quite extreme as some of language used could be offensive to some
people. However the use of the language does attract peoples attentions and therefore meeting the
aim of its purpose. I will not personally use this language in my magazine as I do not see it as
necessary however I will use pull quotes from the article to attract the reader attention.
Navigation: Unlike the NME
magazine, the MixMag magazine
contents page only contains one
image which has the page number
in the bottom corner and then the
rest of the magazines contents are
listed down the right hand side of
the page. By having only one image
on the contents page it indicates
that this is the main article in the
magazine, whereas in the NME
magazine it is not clear which is
the main article. I like the layout of
this page as it isn’t over crowded
making it look contemporary and
modern which is appropriate to my
target audience as the younger
generation are modern and like
modern things. This navigation
layout is really appealing to me
and I will consider this layout when
creating my own website.
House Styles: The Mixmag magazine has followed the house styles from the front cover unlike the
NME magazine as the same colours of black, yellow and white that were on the front cover have
been used on the contents page. Similar to the NME, Mixmag have also used the same font style
that is found on the front cover, on the contents page, following the house styles of the magazine,
this gives the magazine consistency. As I want my magazine to have consistency I will too like the
Mixmag magazine will follow a certain house style within my magazine.
Promotion: This is a promotion offering the reader of the magazine a free CD, this advertisement
has been used to attract the reader and also to gain a rapport with the reader so that they purchase
the magazine again. In comparison the NME magazine this promotion has been places in the bottom
left corner and is the same colour and style of the rest of text on the page. When following the
Gutternburgh Design Principle the bottom left corner is seen as a dead corner meaning that the
3. Lydia Platts
promotion may not be seen and also because the colours and fonts used for this promotion are the
same as everything else the promotion may not also be seen. If I was to add this feature to my
website I would follow the style used in the NME magazine and make sure it stands out and is in a
place where it can be seen.
Text: The use of informal text has been used on the contents page, the reasons that informal text
has been used is because of the magazines target audience, which is from ages 16-25, therefore
using and informal text would be appropriate. As my target audience is similar to the target
audience of Mixmag magazine using informal text would be appropriate for my magazine as well.
Similar to the NME magazine the use of different font styles such as bold and italics have been used
to make information stand out, and in relation to the use of font styles in this magazine, bold has
been used to indicate each article. Underneath the initial article title the use of pull quotes have
been used to attract and draw the reader in. As I have seen the use of bold and italics used in both
magazines this is something I too will incorporate into my magazine, my reason being is that I
believe they are successful in the job that they do. I will also incorporate pull quotes benefit the
article title as these too have been used in both magazines and are successful.