Construction Of Contents Page

Step 1) This is the first step I took for constructing my contents page. I started off with a blank white canvas as the backbone, because you don't want to overcomplicate the page with fancy dazzling colours. My aim was to create a page that was simple, yet appealing to my target audience. The first things to be added to the blank canvas were the header and the footer, of which I did by creating a text box and writing out each piece I needed. Once they were written out I moved them them into position at the top and bottom of the page. Finally, this step concluded by importing the masthead/brand logo into the file and shrinking it so it fitted within the boundaries of the header. This kept a flow to the magazine.

Step 2) I then added the first photo to the contents page, I did this by importing it into photoshop where it was resized and cropped until it fitted into position. I made sure that the photo fitted into the same boundary line that was created by the header and footer, so that both text and photos fitted into equal sized columns. I made sure that this image was largest because it was was almost identical to the one used on my double page spread. This is purely because the larger image is more eye catching and will show the reader what they are looking for when looking through the magazine.

Step 3) This stage of the construction is very similar to the previous stage. I imported more images into photoshop and resized them to fit around the main image. After they had been cropped and made into the desired size, I simply clicked and dragged them into position below and above my main contents page image. I have used a selection of images that have a variety of colours to make my contents page seem more diverse and interesting.

Step 4) Again, like the previous two stages above, this step included importing and resizing the two final images that I needed for my contents page. These photos represent other articles in my magazine. Once these were in place my photo column was almost complete, par a few numbers. I made sure to include photos with different sizes and shapes because it makes the contents page appear more imaginative and appealing to look at. Overall I feel this is one of the best layouts for photos on a contents page.

Step 5) In this step I added the first selection of text onto my page, this included the sub-headings and page numbers. I did this via the "Text Tool", which I created a list of numbers spaced out with ideal amounts of pages. I used the "Text Toolbar" to change the colour and font of the numbers so that they stand out from the list of contents and the sub-headings. This all makes it easier on the eye.

Step 6) I finished off the list of contents in this stage by finalizing the final textual column. I placed a new text box on the left had side of the page and wrote out all of features that will be included in my magazine, leaving equal spaces to the ones dividing the numbers. This made sure everything lined up to perfection on the left hand side column. I used the "Text Toolbar" to include two different styles of font for the list of contents, one style being for the actual feature and the other for a short blurb underneath describing the page.

Step 7) I then completed the construction of my contents page by adding the final page numbers onto the images and the backing paper behind the list of contents. These numbers correspond with the ones given on the list of contents, as the images represent stories in my magazine. For the numbers I created more text boxes, just like in the steps above. I wanted to have all my numbers white, so that I could put them on the edge of the photo and blend them in with the background. However, on one photo this couldn't be done because there was already white on the image, which made the text hard to read. So I decided on using black for that particular number. This looked equally as good as the white font. I pasted the backing paper from another document and duplicated it and put it behind the text on the pager. I did this to continue the torn paper theme throughout the magazine and once they were all in the correct position, concluded the construction of my contents page.