House StyleThe magazines house style has been designed efficiently, as the information which it gives is presented clearly, and it isn’t too complicated for the reader to understand. Firstly, the masthead of the magazine is positioned in the top left corner of the page, and it is highlighted by a red banner which draws attention to it. The large bold page numbers are another main feature of this contents page which are positioned by the pictures of featured articles, this is effective as it makes it clear to the reader where they can be found. The colour scheme of this page, is red, black and white this is continued throughout the magazine, and this is useful as these colours contrast each other well. The text is positioned to the left of the page, and the titles of featured articles slightly larger and bolder than the other text, so they stand out.

ImageryQ’s contents page features multiple images, which cover the majority of the page. The main image is of the cover star, Dave Grohl which is positioned in the centre of the page, showing how he is the main focus of the issue. It is a full body shot image, which shows him to be carrying a black guitar over his shoulder, and also wearing black and red. This could connote his music genre to be rock, also to the right of the main image there is a slightly smaller image of the main cover, which has a close up of the artist with fire coming out of his mouth again referring to the rock genre. Towards the bottom of the right hand side of the page there are screenshots of the double page spreads that will feature in the issue, these are slightly tilted, as is the band image at the bottom left which gives the page a look of informality.

Design BalanceThe design balance of this contents page is informal as the page is mostly covered by images of featured content within the magazine rather than text. There is some balance though, as text is distributed on both the left and right sides of the page, and by having the number ‘72’ in a large font to the right, rather than on the left where the rest of the text is placed is effective as it is more likely to stand out to the reader, which is important as it is where the main featured article is.

Design PrinciplesThe Guttenberg design principle has been applied to this page, as the masthead and artists face feature in the primary optical viewing area, so that they are one of the first things the reader will see, which is effective as it is the most important information within the magazine, the number ‘72’ also fills most of the terminal area. The rule of thirds has also been used as different areas contain different pieces of information which could interest the reader.

Contents Page Analysis – Q Magazine Lily Wilkinson