Contents Page Comparison To Vibe Contents Page

The image on the left is my contents page so far. For my contents page I was taking inspiration from a Vibe magazine contents page. I wanted to make the words 'contents' like how vibe magazines was. I wanted it to have an abstract, edgy feel to it which I feel I have incorporated on my contents page so far. I have chosen to put the image on the left hand side and all the writing on the right hand side as it has a simple layout just like the vibe contents page and just how I wanted my contents page to be. Unlike the vibe contents page, I have put a section that says 'exclusives' to make my main artist on the front cover stand out as she has her own section. I have decided to put borders around the subheadings unlike the vibe contents page as I feel it makes the contents page stand out more and make the issues more noticeable on the page. The vibe contents page decided to choose all black writing whereas I chosen to have gold writing on the subheadings to have readers distinguish between the features and the descriptions of it. My main title is the burgundy colour that I used from my front cover, I wanted to link the contents page and front cover well together so that it's noticeable to readers that they are part of the same magazine. The vibe magazine has chosen to go with a black and white colour scheme and I have chosen to go for a burgundy, gold, black and white colour scheme. I have included a website and date at the top of my contents page unlike the vibe magazine one.

Contents Page Changes To Layout

These are four different images of changes that I have made to my contents page. The first image shows a border around both 'exclusives' and 'features'. The second image shows the border being only around 'exclusives'. The third image shows border being around both 'exclusives' and 'features' but this time features is in captial letters. The last image the border is around all three subheadings and the subheadings are in capitals. I decided to go with the fourth image as the borders being around the subheadings make the words stand out and differentiates from the other writing on the page. I have put 'exclusives' 'features' and 'fashion' in capital letters as it stands out and is more effect to see all the different sections of the magazine. It gives the contents page more of an edgy feel as some of the colours are in gold, black and white and some are in capitals.

Contents Page Text Choices

The font that I chose was 'LA Headlights BTN'. I used this same font on my front cover so I wanted the same font on my contents page as they would link together. I used size 16 for the subheading and I used size 12 for the description as it easier for readers to distinguish between the subheadings and descriptions. I was debating whether the subheadings should be all black or all gold or make the numbers gold and the rest black but in the end I decided to have all gold. From the above image I have shown how it would look for each of them and I found the gold stood out on the page more. The first image to the left shows how it looks all in gold and I think it's effective in making the different features stand out. The readers would be instantly drawn to the colours on the page so the gold makes readers draw towards the subheadings easier so they know what they are reading about for the magazine. The second image to the left shows the 'contents' words. I have used the same effects on my title contents that I used on my masthead on the front cover. Bevel and emboss, drop shadow and inner   shadow were used to make the title stand out to readers and   look similar to how the masthead looked.

Contents Page Colour Scheme

For my contents page I have chosen to keep with the same colour scheme that was on my front cover. The contents page here is not finished but the colours are evident. I have chosen the same colour from my first models lipstick to be on the masthead again. The lipstick colour is similar to the one on my second model so it all links. The gold colour is from my first models gold chain and again the colour is similar to my second models gold chain. I had both my models wear similar things as it would be easier to link together. I have stuck with 4 main colours: black, white, gold and burgundy. It's evident that the contents page comes with the front cover from the colours that I have chosen. I have made the main feature subheadings in gold to make them stand out. The description of them are in black so that readers can differentiate between the subheadings and descriptions. I have made 'fashion' and 'feature' be in black so that it stands out and readers can tell the difference between the different parts of the magazine as there is a fashion section and a section more to do with what goes on.

Contents Page Image Choices

I chose between the image on the left and the image on the right to have for my contents page and I decided to go with the image on the left. I felt as though the image on the right was too light and didn't seem right for the contents page. I wanted the makeup to be a prominent part of her face on the contents page and that couldn't be seen well with that image. It didn't seem engaging to readers and the positioning of the image took up too much space on the page so I barely had enough room to write down all the features for my magazine. The image on the left is a medium close up so it allows readers to see her face and her clothes more clearer. She looks more engaging in the image on the left so that attracts more readers than what the image on the right would've done. I asked people from my target audience which image would look better and all of them said the left hand image as her face was clearer and the jewelry stood out more.

Contents Page Photo Manipulation

The image on the left shows her before I used any tools on her face. On the right hand side I have used the burn tool to brighten her eyes and make them stand out on the page. I made this change because I feel as though it would draw in more readers if the eyes looked brighter as you are instantly drawn to it. The face looks more awake and more engaging. The brightening of eyes draws more attention to the makeup she's wearing.

In this picture it shows the transition from a light shade of lipstick to a dark shade. I chose to darken the lipstick as it draws more attention to the model's face. It made the look more edgy and bold which is a look I wanted on my contents page. The lipstick allows the whole face to stand out and this makes a reader pay attention to her. From seeing Hip-Hop magazines, the females usually wear dark lipsticks to make their selves stand out on the page.

In this picture I started playing around with the lighting of the image. The original image is on the left and the altered image is on the right. I wanted to see which would draw more attention to readers in so I asked my target audience and most said the image without the changed lighting. I feel as though the lightened image looked too peaceful and not bold or edgy and that's not the look that I visioned for my contents page. I stuck with the original image as the lighting was better and it made the features in her face stand out more than if her face was covered in bright light.

Front Cover Feedback

Sharna - I really like the colour, i love the colour scheme, the use of colour is really good and it matches the main image well.

Jhineil - I like the use of colours and how you have sampled from both her lips and necklace. I really liked that you have put the + sign in, looks simple but effective. Your cover is very minimal but it is very simple and gives a feel of the genre.

Dawn - I like the colour scheme and I think the image matches the genre. The masthead attracts the reader in.

Theo - I think the magazine cover is very effective because it emphasises the usage of minimal/ basic colours to grab the readers attention. Having the logo as well as the artist/similar colour to her lipstick is very effective and also having some of the artists name and pull quote in a shade to the chain, shows usage of colour sampler.