My First Contents Page Deconstruction

Contents Page Deconstruction

The contents page overall has a very messy layout; this shows that it appeals to the target audience of teenagers. It lays the articles out really well into sections so it’s really easy for the readers to find. The masthead is located across the top third and says, “In Rock Sound this Month.”  The masthead isn’t particularly large or eye-catching but it’s in capitals and in bold white.

It includes some necessary information on the page. It has a website link on the bottom of the page (rocksound.tv) and includes the page number (5); these are both situated on the bottom right third. However no information such as an issue number or date are included on the contents page which is unusual.

There is a lot of text and numbers used on the contents page; this is good because it lays out exactly where the articles are. The colour of the text is yellow, black and white; these contrast really well with the red background. It is laid out in sections that include subheadings, for example, there is a section located in the top third just including articles that were featured on the front cover. Down the right third there are articles all about new bands and along the bottom third there is a section all about live reviews and album reviews.

There are various fonts and sizes used across the contents page; this is so certain articles and areas of the page stand out more than others. There are larger sized fonts used for subheadings and then much smaller fronts used in places for things such as website links; they also aren’t in bold unlike the main text.

There are five images used on this page and they are all of bands that are featured in this issue of the magazine; some pictures larger than others.  The size of the image suggests how important a certain band is to this issue. There is text on the pictures that tells us who the band on that picture is and includes captions; so these images are anchored.

The composition is very messy overall but this appeals to teenagers. There is framing used around the images and subheadings; some square and the others circular.  Layering is used for the images; they are laid over each other. The text sections are very organised and neat however. The images have a lot of relation to the text so they are used well.

There are many puns and jokes used; this relates back to the target audience. It’s good that puns are used as it makes the magazine more enjoyable and light-hearted to read too. There is no use of alliteration or assonance however.  

The colours used make the magazine really stand out and the effect of these colours is to draw attention to articles from the reader and can even encourage them to buy the magazine.

The same four colours, (red, yellow, black and white) are used on the contents page. The colours of the images aren’t particularly bold; they feature quite dull colours but the bold colours of the frame are what attracts people to look at them.