Contents analysis q
- 1. Imagery: An image of Simon Pegg fills the upper left hand side of the page which suggests that an article about him is one of the main features of the magazine. The image shows him riding a bicycle and drinking tea which portrays him to be fun and the article light-hearted. This is reinforced by the bright colours and high-key lighting used in the image. The rule of thirds has been used on the larger wheel of his bicycle which draws the eye towards it, again, reinforcing the light-hearted mood. The secondary images are of other articles in the magazine which let the reader know who the featured artists are. The image which supports the main cover story is very small in comparison to the image of Simon Pegg which is unusual as it is the main article in the magazine. It has been edited so that it is in grey-scale which insinuates the rock genre of the magazine. Design Principle: The primary optical area has been filled with the masthead and a large image of one of the main articles in the magazine. As this area is the first place that the reader will look to, this is an effective use of the Guttenberg Design Principle as it draws attention to an important article. The terminal area contains information on articles which appear monthly in the magazine which regular readers will be aware of and will recognise so may not read. This is the last place that the reader will look to when they look at the page and the position of regular articles in this area is effective because it leaves room for new articles in the primary optical and strong fallow areas where the reader will look to first. Overall the Guttenberg Design Principle has been appropriately applied to this page. House Style: The colours of red and black are continued on the contents page from the cover. This follows the rock genre as they are strong, bold colours. The main cover story is separated from the other articles to depict that it is the main story of the magazine. Bold, serif font is used on the masthead and sans serif fonts on the article names. This is similar to the fonts used on the cover, serif fonts for the masthead and sans serif for the cover lines. Regular articles are also featured on the contents page which lets the reader know that they are monthly articles which they will expect to see in every issue. The contents page has a clear, formal layout which the reader will expect from Q as it follows this style or a very similar style in each issue. This makes the magazine recognisable to the reader. Design Balance: The page has informal balance due to the large image on the left side; however, the right side has a greater text content which could arguably balance out the high image content on the left. The line that divides the large image on the left from the two secondary images on the right draws the eye to it as the dividing line, as this is not down the centre of the page it is not balanced. The use of the large image on the left draws the eye directly to it which makes it stand out as one of the main articles of the magazine. It is also in the primary optical area which is the first place that the reader will look to on the page.