Table of Contents Conventions and Sketches

Introduction

After finishing my cover in the last blog, it is time to turn my attention to one of the most important aspects of a magazine: the table of contents. Throughout this post, I will not only be exploring the conventions of my genre in relation to this crucial part of a magazine but I will also be going through some possible sketches. For my sketches, I am choosing to continue using Canva, the design platform that I have been using throughout this project. To create my designs, I used a poster template on Canva and started emulating designs from magazines that inspired me. Below is an image depicting the place I started from in my process of designing a table of contents. Note that this was a Canva template that I had edited a bit before documenting it. Before I begin, it is important to note that this blog is not set in stone and the designs presented will be edited and I will add information to my blogs as I learn more throughout this process. 

 Conventions 

 News magazines, though their covers vary largely in style, their table of contents do not. The first convention of a table of contents is one regarding its length. A table of contents from a current affairs magazine tends to be one to two pages long at most. Usually, the table of contents will be a one page spread, unless the issue is a special edition issue. At the top of the spread of the table of contents is always the masthead of the magazine. The font of the masthead will match exactly with the masthead displayed on the cover of the magazine. This can be seen for the image below which displays a table of contents spread from Time that has the shrunken masthead of the magazine at the top of the spread in its iconic font. The size of the masthead will vary from magazine to magazine but it is present nonetheless. The next convention of news magazines connects to the date, a pinnacle component of this genre. Underneath the masthead, the date will be featured in a font size that is smaller than that of the masthead. How small the date is in comparison to the masthead changes from magazine to magazine but the location and presence of the date is the same. The date is usually written out with the day, month, and year being clearly displayed. An example of a date in its conventional environment can be seen in the table of contents from Bloomberg Businessweek, where the date is small and right underneath the masthead. 

                                                            

The next part of the conventions of a table of contents involves the content itself. Current affairs magazines tend to section out the different stories based on their purpose or what they discuss. How the titles are separated into their categories is dependent upon the magazine but the idea that the magazine titles are separated into sections is maintained. Some magazines such as Time and Newsweek will label their features and separate them from the rest of the articles while other magazines like The New Yorker and Bloomberg Businessweek will not. This can be seen in the images below. The next convention is regards to the reference to each article and what it tends to include. Many magazines in this genre will have a label next to the title of each article detailing what type of topic it addresses. This label will be either above the title, next to it, or in the general vicinity of the title. Some magazines including Newsweek will break this convention however because they feel as though their initial separation is enough or they could not incorporate it well into their design. The next part of the content is the title of the articles themselves. Titles that are not the features of the magazine will usually be placed off to the side in comparison to the titles of the featured articles. The titles are usually the same size as their labels though this convention is sometimes broken by magazines such as Bloomberg Businessweek. The font of the titles is usually a serif font while the labels for the articles will usually be a font which is similar to that of the masthead. 

                                                         

For the main titles, they are usually placed somewhere in the center of the page as they are the focus of the magazine. They are in a larger font in comparison to the other titles, attracting more attention. The fonts used for the title and the article label are the same. The titles of feature articles, unlike the titles of other articles, will usually get a subtitle that helps elaborate upon the content of the story. This can be seen clearly in the image of the table of contents from Time Magazine and the image from the New Yorker. Some magazines such as Bloomberg Business will choose to break this convention completely while others may edit the convention in order to best fit their needs. The font of the subtitles is usually much lighter and less bolder than the font of the title. Next to the title, almost all magazines in this genre will have a page number next to each title, usually the left. This is a convention that aids readers in the navigation of the magazine and helps make the table of contents more effective. Depending on the magazine, the authors will be credited in the table of contents for all of the articles, some of the articles, or none of the articles. This differs on a brand-by-brand basis, meaning that there is not really an overlaying convention for this aspect. An example of all of the articles haveing an author next to them can be seen in the image of the table of contents from The New Yorker. An example of none of the authors being included can be seen in the table of contents from Bloomberg Businessweek. An example of some of the authors being included can be seen in the image from Time Magazine. 

                                                            

The featured articles in the table of contents usually match the cover lines that are on the cover of the magazine. When it comes to color schemes, there are two ways that news magazines will usually go. The first way is having a generic color scheme that follows through every issue of the magazine. For example, Time Magazine has a generic color scheme of red, black, and white that is present in every magazine cover. The second way magazines go about their colors schemes would be to have a color scheme that is connected to the main image present on the cover of the magazine. For example, the table of contents from the New Yorker has a color scheme which is also red, black, and white but this color scheme is not present in every issue of the magazine. The color scheme of the table of contents changes as the cover of the magazine changes. When it comes to images and the table of contents of a news magazine, there is not a very solid convention regarding their inclusion. Usually, magazines will go about this situation in two ways. The first way would be to not include any images, as Bloomberg Businessweek and the New Yorker does. The second way would be to include one to five images, as Time Magazine and Newsweek does. Images and their inclusion change on a brand-by-brand basis with no solid trend being present. The images, if included, are always related to the main cover and article titles that are in the table of contents. 

                                                         

Though some aspects of a table of contents in a current affairs magazine tend not to have standard conventions, the layout is one thing that is uniform throughout this genre to an extent. All of the articles are almost always organized into columns, similar to that of a newspaper. This is usually done as a way to further convey to the reader the purpose of the magazine. The number of columns differs from a magazine-to-magazine basis but they are included nonetheless. It is important to note however that there are some magazines like Bloomberg Businessweek that chose to subvert this convention. The subversion of this convention though it does exist is not extremely common in this genre. The issue number of a magazine is one that, according to conventions, is not present in the table of contents of a magazine. Time magazine does include the issue number but most magazines choose not to. Finally, the table of contents is usually a spread that has a white background. 

Sketch One

For this sketch, I decided to emulate the table of contents of Time magazine. I did add some other twists but mainly stuck to the design I noticed throughout this brand. Following conventions, I placed the masthead of the magazine at the top of the one page spread in the same font as used on the cover of the magazine. Underneath, I placed the date that was on the cover of the magazine in a smaller font which was the same as the one used on the cover, following conventions. To separate the masthead and date from the rest of the spread, I took a page from the table of contents spread of Newsweek and used a black line to create said separation. Underneath this line, I decided to use one image in the center of the spread. Due to the fact that I am emulating the table of contents of Time magazine, I thought that it would be useful to see whether including a focus image similar to the one I am planning to include would work well with my design. My focus image will most likely be one that is connected to one of the featured articles. Underneath is the featured section which is labeled as such. For this, I have the titles of the main stories in a large font, similar to that used on the cover for the cover lines, and subtitles which is the same font used on the cover of the magazine as well. The overall fonts used in the magazine table of contents for this design were all pulled from the cover in order to create a sense of uniformity. Similar to the Time magazine image displayed in my inspiration section, I decided to have two columns, one on the left and the other on the right. Both columns will have a heading for the section and four articles listed underneath. Each article will have a label above it which will have a page number to the right of the label. Underneath the label, is solely the name of the article. This layout is one that matches with the conventions of my genre. Thus, I included it.  For the color scheme, I decided to pull a color scheme from my cover. So, I decided to use the colors red, white, and black in my table of contents color scheme, sticking with the conventions of my genre. In my expression of the color scheme however, I subverted the conventions of my genre. In current affairs magazines, the color of the background of the table of contents is usually a plain white. Instead of using lines to create columns like Time magazine does, I thought that it would be interesting to do the same using colored sections. Thus, I used red sections of the thirds of the design that were on the edges of the spread. For the names of the articles, I pulled all of my featured stories from the completed cover of my magazine and added a subtitle to the two that did not have a subtitle. I am not quite sure what the other article titles will be but they will most likely refer to things that I have recently heard about on the news. 

Images of Inspiration

  

Sketch Two

For my second sketch, I decided to emulate a cover from Newsweek magazine while making some tweaks to fit the design I would like to create. At the top of my spread, in the left corner is the masthead of the magazine, which is in the same font as it is on the cover. Directly underneath the masthead in a much smaller font is the date when the magazine was published in the same font as used on the cover of the magazine. I stayed with conventions in the inclusion of the masthead and date but decided to place them in the same way that Bloomberg Businessweek does. In the center of the spread is the features section which is cornered off by lines that frame the corners of that section. I decided to frame the corners of the section instead of using brackets like Newsweek does in order to add an extra level of elegance to my table of contents. I decided to include three images, sticking with conventions as I noticed that table of contents from The Atlantic and Newsweek tend to. These images will most likely be related to featured articles in order to better communicate with the reader regarding what the magazine is about. I continued to follow conventions with three columns that featured article names in them. The first column is on the left and has an image on top. Underneath is a label for the section. After this section label comes information that corresponds with three different articles. For each article, the topmost line has a label. To the left of the label is the page number in a bolded red font. Under the page number and the article label is the title of the piece. This format is one that follows the conventions of the genre as it emulates a structure used by many magazines including Time. Underneath the three article titles is a box that is a placeholder for an image. On the bottom of the spread, below the featured section is the next column which has two articles that are in the same format as explained above.  The third column is similar to the first column with four articles being listed underneath the name of the section. At the bottom, is a section that is closed off by lines which has a figure and a caption. This idea stemmed from a technique Time uses which has a person with a caption next to them in a format inspired from the way that Newsweek organizes their table of contents, something can be seen below in the images of inspiration for this sketch. Like my last design, I am sticking with the conventions of my genre when it comes to the color scheme of my table of contents. I pulled a color scheme of red, black, and white from my cover and tried to incorporate it by having black font on a conventional white background with only the page numbers being red, adding a pop of color. For my article titles, I pulled the cover lines I used on the cover of my magazine for the featured articles and placed placeholders for the rest. I am planning to include some articles about other topics as well including the Olympics and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Also, all of the fonts have been taken from the cover in order to create a sense of unity in the magazine. 

Images of Inspiration

 

Sketch Three

This magazine sketch is one that is extremely unconventional as it emulates the New Yorker. Following the conventions of my genre, there is a masthead that matches the one on the cover of the magazine. Underneath it, is the date which is also in the same font as displayed on the cover. I decided not to include any images as I wanted to take the unconventional route of the New Yorker and see where that would take me in terms of design. I did include columns following conventions but I somewhat subverted them as well. I created a one column listing, again taking inspiration from the New Yorker. There are three sections in the column. The first section lists the author of each article, which subverts the conventions of my genre. The reason I wanted to subvert the conventions in my genre, in this case, is because I wanted to see how including the author would affect my design and how I would need to lay out my information. The next section in the column lists the page numbers for every article. In this design, I included the page numbers for all of the articles including the main one because I realized that it would increase the functionality of my table of contents even more. The page numbers, similar to sketch two, are in a red bolded font that has been pulled from the cover of my magazine. In the final section, the first three articles have a title and subtitle instead of a label and title as they are the featured articles. Underneath the featured pieces are the other articles which have a label on top and the article title itself underneath. The fonts used for this, similar to the rest of the table of contents, have been pulled from the cover in order to create uniformity and unity throughout the entire magazine. I decided to use a generic color scheme for my genre which coincidentally coincided with the colors of my main image. The colors I used were red, white, and black. I used white for the background, following the conventions of my genre, red to highlight the page numbers, and black for the rest of the writing on the page. For article titles, I pulled the cover lines from my magazine cover in the last blog for my feature articles. I have yet to figure out what should be the content for my other articles but I am thinking about addressing political issues and environmental ones. Inspiration for this entire design can be seen in the image section. 

Images of Inspiration

Conclusion

My sketches are spread across the board in terms of conventionality. Sketch one and two are extremely conventional designs with multiple images and columns while sketch three has absolutely no images and one column that lists all of the articles. I am leaning towards either sketch one or two. This is because they are mostly conventional but do have a twist. For example, sketch one is conventional except for the fact that the background is both white and red. Sketch two on the other hand is conventional except for the positioning of the masthead and the general layout of the spread. I do have some qualms about both of these spreads as much as I like them. One example would be the fact that neither design has page numbers associated with the feature articles. One thing is certain, though I am not sure which design I will end up choosing, I will be editing them in order to make my decision. 

Works Cited

Jose, Maria. “Designing the Perfect Table of Contents: 50 ... - Learn.” Canva, https://www.canva.com/learn/table-of-contents-design/.

Friedman, Vitaly. “Table of Contents: Creative Examples.” Smashing Magazine, 7 July 2008, https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/07/table-of-contents-creative-and-beautiful-examples/.

Rasheed, Anushka. “Newsweek Preliminary.” Anushka Rasheed Media Studies Foundation, 28 Mar. 2019, https://anushkarasheed123.wordpress.com/2019/01/13/micheal-jackson/.