Double Page Spread Conventions.

Masthead: The masthead tends to be big and bold and jumps of the page by using a series of techniques such as bright colours, bold and big text or by simply placing it on a plain background so it stands out a great deal more. The masthead of a double page spread is more than likely the main cover line on the front cover of a magazine there for the masthead must be related to what is said on the over of the magazine. This also informs the audience about what the article is about so they can then go on to read the article getting a general idea of what to expect.

Article: The article is probably the most important aspect of the double page spread as that is what everybody would expect to see and is also the article that the main cover line is generally about. The article informs the audience about certain events that have taken place and a reporter has made a story about. The text usually takes up a large quantity of the page and is accompanied by an image which relates to the story.

Image: Images are always contained within double page spread as they relate to the article that has been written about the person that stars in the image. The celebrity will usually pose in a certain way with a certain costume, setting and props in order to give off the image that is related to the article which is important otherwise the article and the picture would not make sense if they was placed together.

Page Numbers: The page number is on the page for a simple reason, it allows the consumer to notice which page they are on and makes it a great deal easier for them to find their desired page.

Contents Page Textual Analysis (3).

The contents page of this Vibe magazine is very dominated by the image to the point where the full page is covered by this one single image. The image is very sterotypical of the R'n'B genre as it represents the idea of gangs and how the majority of R'n'B singers are black. We can tell this by the costume of the models that are seen in the image as they are wearing slouched jeans as well as big thick chains with pendants on them. The colours used on the image are strictly black, whites and greys giving the image a very old fashioned feel towards it.

The masthead used on this contents page is not very large and dominant but is noticable due to the bold font and the bold black colour that is very sterotypical of Vibe magazine using bold colours and fonts to show the audience that this is the contents page. The other text that we see on the contents page are columns which tell the audience about the departments of the magazine as well as a column that says 'U style' which is very ambiguous as to whaty this could mean. The font used is also iconic of Vibe magazine as it is bold, elegant and in black which we see on most of the magazines issued by Vibe.

Contents Page Textual Analysis (2).

On this contents page taken from a drum and bass type magazine we can clearly see that the majority of the page is dominated by an image of Sam Sparro. The image represents the idea that he is at a concert which we can tell by the fact he is singing into a microphone, the colours that are present on this image are very party like colours being fluorescent pinks, blues and greens. Along side this image is the masthead which is not very dominant on the contents page, the font used is small and thin and is also yellow which stands out on the black background but is not blatantly obvious to the audience. The other image we can see on this page is an image of a woman who appears to be at a concert or party of some form. These images could inform the audience about who is it specifically targeted at, the image of Sam Sparro would attract any fans of him but would also attract women. On the other hand the image of the woman would more than likely attract men rather than women promoting the idea that this magazine is aimed at both genders.

We also see a feature section on this contents page which allows us to see what is present in the magazine. This is also accompanied by page reference numbers allowing the audience to find specific pages or articles that they may want to read. The font used is bold on the sub headings but is small on the caption that goes with this and is also in black. This would attract the audiences attention but not so much so that they do not recognise the image.

Running along the bottom of the page is a small banner that promotes a free CD that is related to the drum and bass theme of the magazine. There is also a small article that explains whose CD it is and the style of music contained with in the magazine.

Contents Page Textual Analysis (1).

This contents page is represented in a provocative way in the sense that the model is lied on the floor in fairly revealing clothing which produces the idea for the audience about the model and her style of music or it could also produce the idea for the genre of the magazine in which she has appeared. The colours used are all natural/stone like colours which are subtle and give the magazine a elegant and modern look to it. The masthead is very quirky in the sense that it is very jumbled up and on different levels. The font is bold and and takes up the full top right hand corner of the page. The colour white connotes innocence which clashes with the image of the woman but stands out on the stone coloured background.

Running down the right hand side of the page is a list of features what the consumer expects to find in the magazine. The name of the feature is accompanied my a page reference number so create the chance for the audience to be able to find the specific page in the magazine that they would like to look at. Underneath this is another column named fashion which expresses to the audience that this magazine is targeted at young women which contrasts to the idea audiences would get from the image being that the male audience would more than likely be attracted to this magazine due to the picture that has been placed on the contents page.

The colour of this typography is black which continues the theme of elegance and the theme of the stone like colours but it stands out on the lighter background. The actual font itself is a very elegant font which we can tell by the swirls that we see in the writing.

Conventions Of A Contents Page.

Article Names: Article names play a big part on a contents page as they tell the audience what they will see in the certain issue of a magazine allowing them to make a decision whether they want to buy it or make a decision on which article they want to read if they don't want to read the full magazine. All types of magazines have article names in them because if they didn't then the magazine wouldn't make any logical sense as you wouldn't have much idea what the article is about and whether you are even reading the same or a different article.

Page Reference Numbers: Page reference numbers are generally found next to the article names so the consumer knows which page to turn to for a particular article that they want to read about. It is a quick and efficient way of finding certain articles rather than flicking through the magazine looking for what you want.

Images: Images are frequently used on contents pages as they relate back to the article names and what is in the magazine, the images also add colour to the contents page. The colours that are contained in the contents page usually relate back to the colours on the front cover in order to keep a theme going that is suitable for the magazine and suitable for the intended target audience.

Subscriptions: On a contents page there is sometimes a subscription section in which the consumer can subscribe to the magazine so that they don't miss any of the issues rather than just going to the shop and picking them up randomly, they can have them delivered to their houses which is sometimes and easier way for people to buy this magazine. In the subscription there will generally be contact numbers or forms of addresses so that the consumer is able to ring/email or send letters to the company.