Contents page analysis - Q

• This contents page for Q magazine covers a double page. Over these two pages the top halves are dominated by medium sized images relating to highlighted articles, and the bottom halves feature the regular articles and the cover story, without any attaching images. In general this contents page has a very clean and tidy layout, different sections are separated by lines, and although some images and text overlap, it is not too overcrowded or busy. Objects and text on the page are presented very squarely, nothing has been rotated at an angle, and this helps with the magazine continuing its professional and sophisticated style.

• There are many images on this contents page. Pretty much all images used associate with the one article they are presented with, and help the reader visually identify the contents of that article. Presenting images in this way makes the information simple to understand for the reader and may attract them to certain areas of the magazine. These images vary in size, shape and style adding variety and diversity to the page.

• The text on this page follows a consistent layout of article titles being in red and the info being smaller and in black. However, you notice how the article titles that are presented with images have larger font sizes and are in bold, suggesting these are the main articles designed to attract the reader to the magazine. Category titles such as ‘cover story’ and ‘regulars’, as well as the page numbers on this contents page are presented in boxes, ensuring they stand out from other text and are easy to read, making that information more accessible. The page title is simply ‘contents’ which is traditional and uncomplicated. Underneath this title you can see the magazine name and dateline which are in quite a large font, but this guarantees the reader will see it.

• The colour scheme for this contents page is quite basic but again, is consistent with the front cover. The contents page has a white background which makes information on top of it very easy to read, especially and all text is in red and black (bright, contrasting colours). This black, white and red theme also adds to the clean, fresh style of Q magazine and this small amount of different colour ensures the reader does not get distracted from the actual content.