Billboard Contents Analysis

This analysis is on Billboard magazine’s contents page. This layout is used in all issues of the magazine so will give me a good idea of how they regularly layout their magazines. However, Billboard doesn’t just use their contents page to show the readers where the articles will be in this issue. They also use it to list the latest rated albums and singles, this appears on the left hand side of the page and with the large title it stands out to the reader and brings in the reader’s attention.

The contents title is the first thing that catches the reader’s attention. This is because of its large chunky font and also the use of black on white which really contrasts and grabs your attention.

The three pictures of artists below the contents page are used to promote the artist that feature inside the magazine and is a quick way of the reader navigating to their desired page. The images aren’t just trapped in the box they’re positioned in and come over the top of them, giving the magazine an informal look. The use of the white text to show the page numbers on top of the pictures makes it easy for the reader to see them and makes it a good tool for the readers to use.

Below this the contents page is split into three sections, the titles have been coloured in black to stand out on the plain white background. The featured articles in the magazine have been written in blue. This makes them stand out and quickly points out the big articles in this issue to the reader.

Underneath is what we presume to be the feature article of this issue. The large picture of the band draws the reader’s attention in and then draws them to the article page for them to read about the band. In the picture they’re wearing casual clothes which shows they are a laidback band and shows there personality. They have no real expression on their face that could also show their personality or play a part of what genre of music they create. The background is fairly plain and ensures that the attention is on the band itself.

The layout of the page is very neat and well structured. All the sections seem to be organised into squares, therefore the page seems very well structured and neat. This gives the page a very professional look while also being very simple to read and making it easy to navigate the page.