Analysis and Research of Contents Pages

This magazine contents page has a clever visual metaphor – the facts on a drink carton, which reinforces the fact that it’s a “nutritious weekly magazine digest” for art lovers. The page is simplistic and modern due to the typeface, this projects a professional image for the magazine. The variety of bright colours is appealing to the younger audience as well. Personally, the use of an orange background is interesting as orange has a psychological effect that increases a person’s appetite which links well with the drink carton, making us “want more”.  There are minimal distractions with no photos, the carton is purely white which supports the idea of the text “100% Pure Art from Concentrate” and implies that all that it’s clean and purely good for you. Artists might be interested in this because the white carton could represent a canvas. There are little details, and it is artists who tend to gravitate to these which contribute to the design as a whole.  The use of humor is also there with the “warning” label – this suggests that it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which will attract the youth more. I have noticed that often some art and culture magazines that are aimed towards the younger demographic tend to have designs that tend to be just as creative as the art they’re writing about, usually in unique and unexpected ways.

This magazine cover however, is slightly more conventional even though it still looks modern. There are clear, distinct headings and the page numbers are positioned vertically on black strips, making that make it easy to read. It also has images to sustain audience interest. The small copy of the front cover is also there, which is typical in mainstream magazines.

To create my final magazine contents page I aim to incorporate a clean design, but still including enough detail like the last one to make it more substantial.