Textual analysis of contents cover

Q magazine contents page -
The first thing that grabs your attention on the contents page of Q magazine is the picture of one of the many featured bands, The Courteeners.  The picture is bright and clearly shows the four band members which is good as readers may not recognise the band name, but individual members in the photo which will increase interest in the artricle and magazine.  The next thing that caught my eye is the clear title "Contents" in a bold and attractive font.  The title is white against a black background which not only looks good, but stands out above the rest of the text on the page.  This is clear and leads the reader onto reading the contents and therefore to grow his/her interest in the magazine. 
The layout of the contents page is clear, un-cluttered and organised into easy to read and simple blocks of information.  Together with the attractive colour scheme, this is a splendid contents page.  There are several sections such as "Every month", "Review" and "Features".  Having the contents in several sections is a nice change from the usual predictable contents layout and keeps the readers interest.  There are only two pictures on the contents, both being of featured artists.  These particular photos are nice and bright and do not reveal much about the genre of music to expect (unlike over magazines, for example, kerrang). 
The font sizes are reasonable and controlled.  There are many different sizes for example, "contents" and "features" are big and attention grabbing whilst the majority of the text below is small as it is less important.  
There is an excellent use of colour on this contents cover and it is kept throughout the magazine in all issues.  The colour scheme of grey, red, black & white gives the magazine a glossy and profesional look.  This will undoubtably attract the reader.  Again, the colour scheme does not give away the genre of music covered in the magazine but maybe they have done that to signify that they cover all sorts of genres of music, not just specialise in one. 
Overall, as a reader this looks like a beautifully layed out contents page for all ages with a wonderfully attractive colour scheme and very informative, without looking boring as the information is in blocks of small and easily digestiable information.  The trademark "Q" gives the final professional touch.










The first thing that strikes me when i look at the contents page is the cluttered and messy look of it.  This reflects on the genre of music the magazine is based on, rock/punk as it is messy and un-organised, just like the people who will be reading the magazine - teenagers.  However, with so much on the contents page it the reader will think that they are getting value for money as teens will probably be more concerned about quantity rather than quality.  The contents page has little text and the text it does have is short and informative as so as to not "bore" or "overload" the reader.  The page numbers and text is kept to the side because the pictures are the main source of information on this contents page, a page number and picture is all that is needed for the teenage audience!  One critisism i do have is over the size of the font.  Looking at the contents i feel that the words and names of featured artists and bands need to almost jump off the page and look vibrant, energetic ect.  This, i feel, would work as it would fit in well with the rock & roll/punk music featured in the rest of the mag.
There isn't a particular colour scheme on the page but the use of many give it a very vibrant and energised look.  This will appeal to teenagers as it relates to the typical teenage lifestyle. 
The various pictures stand out as they have an energised look, the colours are different and vibrant and they show all of the different artists featured inside.  I feel that they have done particularly well here as the typical teenager tends to "scan" the page rather than read and pictures are a much better way of informing them of what to expect inside, too much text will put them off reading it and the rest of the magazine, as they have short attention spans or in other words "can't be bothered".  The vibrancy of the page is good as well as a dull contents will put them off reading the contents.  The pictures keep in code with the genre of the magazine as they look like punk/rock artists.  
Overall, this looks like a hectic, teenage-styled and energetic contents packed full to the brim with information and youth!  The lack of control about it all adds to the punk/rebellion feel and the lack of control in the colours department does too.