NME Contents page- inspiration.

As I looked at NME's front cover, I decided I would continue to look at their contents page as well. I wanted to see what features may continue from the front cover on to the contents page and what layout will be used. This may inspire me with the creation of my own contents page and it will allow me to discover the codes and conventions of a music magazine contents page.

When looking at the NME contents page for the first time, it appears that there is a lot going and a lot for the reader to take in. This could be to emphasise the fact that there is going to be a lot of content within the magazine which will engage the reader and there will be something for everyone. A predominant feature on this contents page is the NME logo in the banner along the top. This has to be an eye-catching feature as although it is obvious to the audience what magazine they're reading, it is repeatedly used in order to build a relationship with the reader and makes the logo well known, iconic and identifiable. Beside the logo it says 'THIS WEEK' in a large, capitalised font. This immediately tells the audience that this is a contents page and that they will be lead to certain articles within the magazine.

The colour scheme is green and white with splashes of yellow and red or the 'NME colours'. Again, the use of one or two colours makes the page look organised and easy to follow although the layout isn't necarsarily using such an organised style. The use of red in the bottom right hand corner is establishing the fact that it is 'NME' magazine as it is the same colour as the logo and although each issue may follow a slightly different colour scheme, the use of red will be familiar to the reader and it may seem as a comfort to them, especially regular readers.

There is a long column along the right hand side of the page with headings and page numbers with a small bit of descrpition. This layout is a typical code and convention of a music magazine and is a format that I will go on to use on my own contents page. The purpose of a contents page is to make it simple and easy to follow for the audience and I think this purpose is achieved effectively as it is giving the reader direction. The column is split into sections by sub-headings, this allows the reader to identify what sort of thing they are looking to read whether it is a story on the front cover or whether they want album reviews. The page numbers are in the colour red which links it back to the NME logo which gives the reader a sense of consistency as this will be featured in each issue no matter what colour scheme is used. Another aspect of the contents page, which is using the same technique by using the colour red is an arrow with text in it pointing to the right of the magazine. This persuades the reader to turn the page and encourages further reading of the magazine. I think this is an effective technique as the contents page is the first page of the magazine that the audience will look at and it needs to be able to prompt readers to turn the page as well as giving direction and a guide to the magazine.

The central feature of the contents page suggests this is the first issue of a new year as it says 'ALBUMS OF 2009' it then goes on to say 'EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS YEAR'. This makes the reader believe they are getting first exposure to new bands and newly released albums and they will believe they will be the first ones to experience this. This is a good technique to use as this furthers the readers need to continue to read the magazine as they wouldn't want to miss out on any new releases or talent. The images below the headings gives the reader an insight into what to expect from this particular issue or future issues and they could identify certain bands they are a fan of and immediately want to read about them. The fact that images of the bands alone weren't used and they instead used pictures of double page spreads will make it recognisable to readers that this is actually within the magazine.