Music Magazine: Contents Page Analysis 2

This NME magazine contents page has the basic boxed layout, with a single image in the middle split into two, to garner the reader’s attention. The text and feature surrounding the image follows a red, white and black colour scheme which compliments both the NME logo, which is positioned as a banner at the top of the page in bold capital letters, and the photograph in the middle, which includes predominantly these three colours. These colours are emphasized by the filters and style of photograph. The photographs depict a band on a dark stage illuminated by red stage lights which compliments the colour scheme of the magazine, which is probably why they chose to use this image on the contents page, as it is aesthetically pleasing.

The band index is pushed to the left side of the page, while the contents index is pushed to the right. The slightly larger fonts and wider columns make the right side stand out more than the left. But the feature which catches the readers eyes is the mini article underneath the photograph, as it is positioned in the middle and the chunk of text is larger than anything else on the page. The large capital 'O' at the beginning of the article helps the reader find where to start reading the article, as it may be difficult to see among the clutter of this busy contents page. Page numbers are supposed highlighted in red so that they stand out beside the headings, but because the colour red is used so much on this contents page, whether it be in the photograph or to colour the typography, it lessens the effect the red has against the predominantly black and white colour scheme, meaning it's harder to distinguish page numbers and text.

There is also an advertisement in the middle of the page at the bottom, advertising the subscription service NME has to offer. This ad breaks the standard Red, white and black colour scheme by incorporating yellow text, which can be distracting when there are so many other colours on the page at once. There is also no colour to compliment the red, blue would have been a good choice but then there wouldn't have been anything for the blue to go with. This highlights the importance of sticking with a simple colour scheme and not cluttering your page with too many different and conflicting colours. This is definitely something I will be taking into account when choosing the colour scheme for my music magazine.

At the bottom of the page is a box describing the magazine’s subscription service. The text is in yellow, making it unique to the rest of the page and it stands out compared to the rest of the page.