Contents Page Analysis - Respect & Hip-Hop Weekly

This is the contents page for "Respect", a hip-hop music magazine. From a first glance you cannot tell that it is a contents page because it does not have the typical layout of a contents page. All the text has been put in the bottom third of the page, with the image of the cover artist taking up the main focus. The only way to tell that it is a contents page is because it is directly after you open the magazine and this is where the contents page usually is.

At the top left-hand corner of the page it says "Order of Operations" which can be related to as the contents page. The text is neatly laid out in neat columns in chronological order instead of all over the place. This makes it easier for the reader to find the articles they are looking for.

The colour scheme of the contents page is very dark and bland. All the text is white, which has been layered on top of the dark colours of the artists clothes. The colours relate to the hip-hop genre because it is not related to bright, loud colours like in a pop magazine. The image used is of the cover artist Woka Flocka Flame, this is continuing from the cover of the magazine to show continuity of the theme of the artist.

This is the contents page for Hip-Hop weekly, and from a first glance this looks more like a contents page in comparison to Respect. The layout instantly gives off the feel of a contents page with two main columns, again chronologically ordered to make it easier to locate articles. There are two images on this contents page, however they are not of the cover artists, but instead of artists that are not the main focus but gives the reader the chance to locate their article. Both images are distanced from each other so that it does not look to cramped.

There is no over-crowding, the layout is extremely neat and organised. The most text is for the summary of the articles for the three main cover artists and after that, there are short sentences to summarise the remaining articles. 
The colours used are mainly red and a washed-out light brown colour, which compliment each other. The red is used for the page numbers which stand out and is easily read against the washed-out brown of the background which is carried out throughout the rest of the magazine.  There is no title saying Contents Page, or anything of that nature therefore it is not 100% clear that this is a contents page. However the general layout makes it obvious that it is.



Both contents pages show two very different styles of laying out a contents page, however there are also many similarities which can be related to the hip-hop genre such as the chronological order, the organised layout and the simple colours. This will help me to know what to include and what not to include in my contents page.