1st Contents Analysis: Q 20/2/16

Q is a music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It covers popular music and was founded in 1986. although this contents page is dated back to 2010, it still has a simple and informative layout which is typical of the majority of magazines. 

The overall design of this contents page is well suited to the rest of the magazine. It is also very typical of every issue created by Q as creating a brand identity with the same red and white colour scheme and fonts will make the magazine more recognisable and unique. It also prevents any possible confusion when reading the contents page and allows the reader to visually separate the page into clear categories that include: features, masthead and the main image and accompanying images.

The main image, is a face to face close up shot of lead singer from U2 'Bono' and lead singer from Muse 'Matt Bellamy' which immediately connotes rivalry between the two music legends and therefore becomes the main focus on the page.  There is little information on this contents page as to who these men are but due to their high power in the music industry almost every reader will instantly know who they are. There are 2 other images that accompany the main image although these aren't as important due to their size and.

The layout is relatively simple but the jaunty angle of the image and text gives it another dimension. the writing is sectioned off from the image and there is no overlapping of text apart from page numbers and a single circular text box. the red underling of the stories in the magazine also help the text to stand out as it makes the writing more prominent and eye-catching.

With regards to brand identity, the contents includes the name of the magazine in the top left corner of the page as well as traditional fonts and colour schemes. The magazine company are represented as original, simplistic and creative due to this effective contents page.

For my own contents page, I would like to follow some of the conventions this one follows. Firstly I will have one main image to immediately draw the attention of the reader and create excitement. Additionally, I will continue to use the fonts and colour scheme that I will use on the  rest of my magazine to create a sense of brand identity. Finally, I will clearly section of the text and writing so that it is easy to read and visually satisfying- perhaps using lines.