Content Page Research + Development

 This part of my blog will detail my content page research and development

Research

As I struggle to find content pages online for my genre as it's very niche, a lot of my content page research will consist of content pages for similar genres instead

Fortean Times

Media language:

• The largest image on the contents page features a close up of a fish being held which alludes to the magazine's main article. This promotes the main article further and keeps it as the highlight of the magazine
• The typography here is bold and simple which makes the contents page easy to read. This is important as the contents page tells the audience what they can expect in the magazine and ensure they stay intrigued

Likes:

• I like how organized the content page is. It's divided into section which makes it easy to understand the magazine's format

Dislikes:

• I feel like the contents page is a bit out of place from the rest of the magazine as it does not feature the typical 'weirdness' that can be seen on the front cover and double page spread

Application:

• This content page has made me consider how I could organize my information to make it digestible for the readers

National Geographic (Gorey Details)

Media language:

• Green is a colour often associated with 'disgusting' things which suits the magazine as it discussing things that are typically thought of unpleasant and gory
• The image features slightly low key lighting suggesting mystery which intrigues the audience by subtly making them curious

Likes:

• I like the simplicity of the contents page. It only features one image yet still effectively alludes to the content of the articles by showing something that resembles a sort of lab (through props like an anatomy book and jars which act as codes). Using this, the audience can decipher that the content will discuss a lot of science

Dislikes:

• There's not really anything I dislike about it but I think it's ineffective that the section that showcases the content is placed below as the people typically read from the top. Placing it below could shift the audience's focus from the content

Application:

• I think it's interesting how one image could be used to effectively communicate to an audience through the use of media techniques like mise-en-scene. I think it's helpful to prioritize how effective an image communicating meaning to an audience over the amount of images shown

Paranormal Magazine

Likes:

• The magazine features multiple images that audience would be able to relate to the content information. This encourages the audience to think about the content of the article and may encourage them to go and read those articles

Dislikes:

• I am not a fan of how some of the text cuts into the images as I believe being obscured makes the images less impactful 

Application:

• This magazine makes me think about how I can use images to relate to the content of my articles so I can engage my audience

BBC History Magazine

Likes:

• I like the bottom image (the one with pigs) not being contained in a section and bleeding into the rest of the contents page as I feel like it makes this content page more interesting than other content pages which would create a better lasting impression on the audience
• The red text used to indicate which page each of the article can be found in pops out, making it easier for the audience to find the information they need which I find helpful

Dislikes:

• I feel like the text that provides more information below each featured article is quite smaller than all the other text on the page which may make it harder to read

Application:

• I think making certain text stand out could be a helpful tool for showing the audience what information to focus on that I can use to my advantage

Psychologs

Likes:

• The contents page is pretty simple to understand and direct. All the information a reader could need is presented in a way that ensures that other information does not clutter it

Dislikes:

• The image placement feels a bit random

Application:

• This contents page makes me think about how I could present my information to my readers so that it becomes simple and easy to understand. From what I can observe on the contents page, I think appropriate spacing and orderliness is a crucial aspect for this

All About Space

Likes:

• The contents page feels very straight to the point as, by making the images not too eye catching (through either size, colour or any sort of design), it brings the viewer's attention to the necessary information (text indicating articles featured and the page to find them on)

Dislikes:

• I don't like the placement of the images as they all mostly lean towards one side without being really organized in a patter which makes it feel cluttered

Application:

• As a science magazine, it's obvious that the contents of this magazine will feature a lot more well-researched factual information that a paranormal magazine (which mostly heavily relies on stories such as folklore or spiritual beliefs) so people would most likely read it for surveillance (uses & gratifications) therefore it makes sense that the contents page is straight to the point and focuses on necessary information rather than eye-catching designs. This made me think about how the uses & gratification of each media could affect the way it is visually designed. As my magazine leans more into diversion, I believe it would be effective to make my design more visually stunning for my audience

National Geographic (Secret Societies)

Likes:

• As a magazine about secret societies, the mise-en-scene of the single image featured on the contents page suggests that secret societies are a common thing for wealthy people. This is due to the fact that the there is a lot of gold used (associated with money) and the model, although much is not seen, is implied to be wearing a suit (associated with being high class).

Dislikes:

• Although using different typefaces is essential in creating a dynamic design, I feel as though that here the typefaces do not work well together as their connotations clash. From my typography research, I learned that sans serif fonts are associated with informality and modernity due to the fact that they are much newer than serif fonts while serif fonts are associated with the opposite (formality and history). However, this contents page used both types of fonts which I feel creates a clash in the meanings they are trying to create. If I were designing this magazine, I would choose to use serif as it suits the genre of the magazine (history) and the formality could relate to the formal, wealthy feel of the image

Application:

• This of course made me consider the sort of fonts I could use in my magazine, not just in the contents page but overall, how could I use fonts to communicate my purpose and theme to the audience? Since my main article will be about the history of ghost hunting, I will be considering my design based on this fact. Ghost hunting is associated to be a foolish thing young people do so could fit sans serif fonts and moreover interest in paranormal topics are often not looked well upon by older people so this could fit the magazine overall. However, since my topics are about history and since the paranormal is associated with old age, serif fonts could also do well. I think this could do some experimenting with.

Development

I started by brainstorming ideas for my contents page through sketching. I kept in mind the ones I had researched earlier so that they could act as a sort of reference that helped me understand what kind of compositions worked best in a content page

These were the ideas I came up with. I find I personally enjoy the bottom right most but, before adding the third row, people noted that they enjoyed the simpler ones in the second row most. So I proceeded by creating more detailed sketches digitally to explore both these ideas and understand what I wanted

Simpler Ver. Mockup

For the image, I wanted it to relate to one of my articles. Since the front cover main image already relates to my featured article, I wanted this one to relate to a different one. Since we had a 'Monthly Monster' article, I think it would be nice if in my magazine, the image on the contents page related to a each month's monster. Since this issue would be the jiangshi, I thought about how I could create an image that relates to it. I felt like it would be better to have an image that alludes to it rather than directly represent the creature as it would be hard to create a photograph that illustrates the creature since it would require a lot more time and resources I simply didn't have (for props, costumes etc.). I also think this would engage the audience better as it doesn't tell them how this relates to the creature which would encourage them to find out by reading the article for themselves. I think a bamboo forest would be a good connotation for the jiangshi as it is said to hide in forests. I chose a bamboo forest specifically since jiangshi's come from Chinese folklore and China has a lot of bamboo forests so people often associate China with bamboo. It's also simply more convenient to select bamboo forests as they are common in Indonesia too

Less Simple Ver. Mockup

In here, I tried to make it appear like a paranormal investigator's research board as I felt it fit the theme of my magazine's main article, which is about ghost hunting. It would be made to appear as if this was a blackboard for an investigation so it would be a cultural code to a conspiracy theorist's board. The images would be polaroids, as if the images were taken by a paranormal investigator to log their investigations. The images would be purposely slightly blurry/unclear so it would appear as if it was taken in a rush due to perhaps fear which would create a sense of urgency in the audience. I want some sections to appear as if they were written in notes and pasted on the board for the investigation. The rest of the text would be in a handwriting-like font which would make it appear as if the board was messily written by a paranormal investigator investigator, as if they spent hours trying to piece together their notes. I also wanted it to be I wanted a two page contents page as so that it would have enough space to highlight all the articles clearly.

Layout Experimentation

After asking from feedback from multiple friends (who fit the criteria of my target audience), I concluded that the contents page that appeared like a paranormal investigator's blackboard suit best.

I then went on Canva to try and experiment with the layout. I changed my mind about and decided that a single page would work better as according to my research most magazines only had one paged contents pages and that I could in fact fit all my text properly on one page after all.

My very first draft of my contents page was mostly monochrome. However, recalling my typography research, this doesn't create an effective hierarchy of type as it doesn't lead the audience's eyes to the content I want them to focus on (which are the articles and their pages in order to get the best audience engagement). I changed the colour of the article titles and their pages to green which not only helped me achieve my intended effect but also created better branding as it was one of my house style colours.

After that I changed the margins and made the text into columns as this better followed magazine conventions. The images were changed to appear slightly tilted to make it appear messier so it would resemble a investigation board better. I also changed the page numbers to be larger and in a different font, creating an even more effective hierarchy of type. Website and page number was added in the footer to fit magazine standards. For the jiangshi article, I struggled selecting which part of the text to turn green but ultimately decided with turning 'Jiangshi' green as it made it uniform with the rest of the text.

Reflection:

• I struggled to get my contents page to structure more similarly to the way a magazine typically does. I frequently asked for feedback from my teacher and he provided me with a lot of helpful advice and suggestions that I gladly took into consideration