Contents page analysis, Lucy Marshall

What is the purpose of a contents page?

The purpose of a contents page is so the reader, or potential buyer, can see what is included in the magazine, and where they are. It also helps readers to jump to pages they want to be.

Contents page analysis

The contents page of Mixmag February 2009, has a very simple layout and colour scheme. The colour scheme is made up of black, white and yellow. There are similar colours on the front cover, and there is also a similar house style. The page numbers are done in a large yellow font with no serifs, this makes the text easier to read but still makes it stand out. Also it gives a professional look.

The big picture draws attention to the main article inside and urges the reader to buy the magazine, as it looks interesting and unique. The contents text is split up into different sections with titles which also makes it easier to read and gives it a more busier look, which is what a good magazine contents page should look like, busy and interesting.

The title 'Mixmag' is presented in the top right corner, in the same font and colour as on the front cover, this acts as some sort of logo of which people will recognise the title for the magazine. The main article of the 'Dj's shoes' and the very masculin man may put off female characters, so to balance this out, there are two smaller pictures including fashion shoots which would make sure the female group would also want to buy the magazine.

The actual colour scheme is relatively simple, leading the reader to focus more on the actual content than the appearance, but this, as a consequence, could put off people as it doesn't look very exciting. A way of doing this without changing the colour scheme would be to include more in the magazine, make it look more busy.