Third Contents Page Analysis

The colour scheme of "Vibe's" contents page focuses on three main colours, which are; grey, black and red. These three colours have all been chosen for specific reasons on the contents page. Grey is the main colour used on the whole of the page, its presence is seen on the background, on some of the text and on the main photo. The shades of grey differ greatly throughout, ranging from very light/almost white to a metallic mid ranged grey, creating a contrast but within the same colour spectrum. Black has been chosen because it is a dark, bold colour that stands out from the grey background. The use of black on grey is a very clever combination, they both compliment each other because they are in the same greyscale spectrum, yet set a contrast that isn't too 'in your face'. This ensures that the reader will be easily able to read the font on the background. Also, by using different shades of the same colour, your eye's are able to glance over and pick out the information easier. The small bit of red on the contents page is the only colour outside of the greyscale to be used. The reason for using such a small blotch of colour is to put a bigger emphasis on the meaning of which the red is denotating. The red represents passion, love, desire and lust, which is why the lady is holding a red heart over the point at which the man's real heart would be. So if the contents page used lots of bright, outstanding colours, the true meaning of the red heart would be lost, either glanced over or just ignored as part of the colour scheme. The page designers want you to focus more at this red patch and understand the meaning of it, which is why no other bright colours are located on the contents page. This has been achieved due to the of the existing contrast between red and the greyscale colours. So by using a bright and vibrant colour like red on a very plain background, your eye's can easily jump and focus on that key point, because it stands out tremendously.

The design of "Vibe's" contents page comprises of a bold headline which has been cut down into segments, "CO" "NTEN" and "TS" and is located in the top left hand corner of the page. This clearly states to the reader that they are on the contents page. The title "contents" is in a bold, black font and is easily noticeable at the top right hand side of the page, due to the contrast between the light grey background and dark black text. The articles and features in the magazine are displayed down the right hand side of the page, in the form of a column. This is rather small and takes up about an eighth of the page. There is a big image of a man posing, which fills up about half of the contents page. As the image is meant to attract the fans, instead of the text. This informs the reader about which musician will be focused on in the magazine. Many people tend to prefer looking at images instead of reading a lot of text. Which is why there is a big visualization. In the background there is a "V" which represents the capital letter of the brand name, "Vibe". It is coloured in a darker metallic grey, which stands out from the background, but is still light enough to avoid being too similar to the pigmentation of the main image. Overall, the features on "Vibe's" contents page are easily recognizable, with very little overlapping taking place as everything is very rectangular. The main reason for this is that there are 4 main features on the contents page; Image, Contents Column, Title and Background Image. They avoid overlapping, apart from the background image, which goes behind the main image and title. Thus making it easier for the audience to read and locate.

The image on this contents page is a medium shot photo of a Kanye West, with an arm reaching around his neck. The image roughly uses up about half of the page. It's purpose is all in the pose and the message that it is portraying across to the audience. As the arm coming from behind is clasping a red heart shaped object that is being placed on the Kanye West's chest where his heart would naturally be. Showing passion and love which the audience are supposed to pick up on, as the heart is the only coloured object that is out of the grey scale spectrum. This creates a bigger emphasis on the connotation of those emotions. This represents the audience because it is showing feelings of romance of which the reader wants to experience. As this is the only the only image on the contents page, it is telling the audience that this musician will be a big feature within the magazine.

The pose of the image on this contents page is represented by a position that promotes love, passion and romance. This attracts both a male and female audience because the romantic sensation appeals greatly to both genders, which is why in the image a man has been used with a woman's arm around his neck and onto his chest. The overall expression portrayed on his face is stern and blank, as if he is just staring into space whilst looking out of the page into the reader's eyes. The reason for using such an image is that it creates a sense of mystery as to why he is looking so serious, when there is a romantic feel in the picture.

The use of words on the contents page of Vibe Magazine are again simplistic and follow the conventions of a typical contents page, just like the NME and Kerrang Magazine contents pages I analyzed below. They are there to show the audience what is in the magazine, although the title saying "Contents" is broken up into sections to make the page seem more hip and funky. The title "Contents" is much larger, darker and bolder than the other text on the page, signifying it is the title and is one of the most important features on the page. Words are used on the contents page to direct the reader from feature to feature, within the magazine.

The language on the contents page directly addresses the reader, just like the other two contents pages I analyzed. The language is simple to read, making it much quicker for the audience to glance over. This in return makes the magazine more appealing to the reader, as they don't have to study the writing in depth in order to find what they are looking for.

The overall expression of Vibe's contents page is modern and mature, due to the way the image represents love and passion. Some younger audiences may not understand the meaning of it fully. Therefore Vibe's contents page is designed to appeal to fans of Kanye West and R&B music, because it uses one large photo of him to appeal to his fans that will want to read about him. However, many other people may be drawn into the magazine even if they are not fans of Kanye West, due to the large image of him on the contents page. The audience will want to read on to see if there are any more intriguing pictures of Kanye West in the article. The overall expression comes out as very positive, attracting more than just the fans of a specific artist. Many more people will decide to give his music a chance by the quality of a magazine review or feature