Contents Page Analysis 2

This contents page is from the popular teenage magazine 'Top Of The Pops'. The masthead is subtly displayed by showing the front cover on the contents. This magazine, although aimed at both genders, is mainly aimed at females, as shown by the vibrant pink which is a consistent feature throughout the contents page. Pink is commonly known as more of a feminine colour which is why it is used so much through the details in the page. The pink is used in a banner across the top where the page title is written in white, the san-serif font used is swirly and girly and will more attract a female audience as this is the type of font teenage girls would typically use, it also looks as though it could be a girls handwriting which makes it more personal. The pink is also used for most of the page numbers as it is a very bright colour and so will demand the audiences attention and therefore create more chances of the reader looking at those articles. Another way the pink is used is to shadow the title boxes of all the categories on the contents, this breaks up some of the white space because there is a lot of space that is white with no colour, even if there is text covering it.

Red is also used for some of the page numbers for the features shown on the front cover which is shown on the contents. The articles that the red page numbers point to are ones where male celebrities are mentioned, this is because red is more of a masculine colour but it also signifies love and hotness which would be how the majority of the girls that the magazine is aimed at would see these celebrities. The red colour used also links to the bright red of the jacket that Zayn Malik (who was at this time a member of One Direction) who is also an attractive male celebrity.

  

 

The red page numbers are also highlighted in a yellow colour, as shown above. The other articles around the contents page which are highlighted are those which also mention male celebrities. This shows they are trying to separate the articles that would probably only interest girls to those which may interest boys. The yellow used to highlight this text is also the same yellow used in Selena Gomez's top on the front cover creating synergy to link the pages together. This use of Selena Gomez would attract a male based audience as she is a very attractive modern star.

 

The features in the magazine that the publisher feels are the most important or will get the most attention are more prominent to the reader as they are the ones which have pictures to accompany their article titles and their page numbers are bigger than the rest of the text. They are also separate from the rest of the articles on the contents as most are in a list under category headings but the main features are scattered around the page. For example below is two screen captures of the contents page, one shows some normal articles in a list and one shows a main feature.

The main feature is larger as it is about One Direction, one of the biggest bands in the world and they are very popular with this magazines target audience which is why the producer will have thought to have made the image of them bigger and given the article more importance. To give the main articles more attention it is also featured in one of the lists. 

The article name of 'One Direction get flirty' is also sure to attract female attention therefore securing the target audience.

By separating the articles into categories it makes it so much easier for the reader to be able to find things that would appeal to them to read. The different categories are used in the same way in every issue of 'Top Of The Pops' and so this has become a recognisable convention of this brand. The categories are all things that teenagers are interested in like fashion and gossip so this will again secure the target audience identity.

This is something I would be highly likely to use in my own magazine as teenagers would get bored reading an entire contents page if they do not have an interest in all of the articles and this is likely to happen as not every article will please every reader.