When making a magazine, the table of contents (TOC) is one of the most important aspects to designers. Since it is often the first page inside of the magazine and is a central hub that directs the readers to the exact topics they are interested in, it is very important that it is kept appealing while still doing its job for the readers. The TOC can be made with any elements that the designer desires such as a new color scheme, images, and even choosing if it takes one or two pages. There are many different layouts of TOCs depending on the genre, but for this post there will only be tech TOCs being analyzed and created.
Analysis -
The first of three TOCs that will be broken down is one made by PCMag, which can be seen to the right.
To begin with, they obviously both take up a two page spread instead of just one page. This is likely to make sure that everything is not too clustered together to prevent the reader from feeling overwhelmed.
The color scheme makes a good combination with the masthead's color scheme. They included a red line on the top, black text for body text and category titles, a white background,and red letters for the title of each story that is in the magazine. This is a very effective use of color manipulation because since the colors match the color scheme of the masthead, the table of contents is able to achieve a consistent and clean look. Additionally, by choosing colors like white and black, it not only allows for the red letters to stand out but also makes the color scheme appear very simplistic. These same techniques can also be seen in the Mac Life magazine in the image below, where instead of using red there is blue with the rest being similar.
As for the images, PCMag uses images that are relevant to the topics in the TOC. For example, in the first topic on the left page, it is about "The 75 Best Apps For Your Phone". Above it, there are a large group images of a phone screen on various apps to make the viewer feel more interested in the topic. Another reason that these images are put there is because viewers do not want to only be reading in the TOC. It is better to have many pictures to prevent the reader from feeling overwhelmed. These images are also used in the same way in the Mac Life magazine.
In both TOCs, there is a use of a sans serif font. This is very generic for tech magazines as a whole and not just the TOC as it is a very modern looking.
Layout Creation -
For the three TOC layouts that will be created, there will simply be a sketch on paper. Additionally, each layout is a two page spread.
Sketch #1 -
For this sketch, the idea was to create a very simple design that I would base my other designs off of.
Layout -
For the layout, I begun with adding the masthead in the top left as that is very common among tech magazines, however I made it so that it bleeds from the left page to the right page for a more unique design. I also added a little bar that goes off the right just to fill up extra white space and because it is used in many tech TOCs just for added style.
I put the image of the cover story right underneath the masthead and made it very large. This is because it is the first thing that readers will see after the masthead, which is necessary since it is the most important story of the magazine. As for the other images, there were two smaller images added on the second page since they are not as important and just there to add more space where there are not any words. These pictures are also there to give an image for viewers to see for the stories on the second page.
As for the actual text itself, there are page numbers, article titles, and body text to act as a descriptor for the titles. To begin with, the titles are put above each other in a simple manner on both pages, the page number will be above these titles, and the body text will be underneath the titles.
The layout of the TOC encourages for the reader to begin reading up to down, starting on the left page.
Color Scheme and Font -
The color scheme for the TOC will be the same as the cover, light blue, red, and white. The background will be light blue, the masthead and titles will be red, and body text and page numbers will be white. The fonts of the TOC will be a sans serif font. One font that can be used is Mont, as this is the font that was used in the cover of the magazine. The reason why the color scheme and font were chosen to be the exact same as the cover is to promote consistency. As researched in previous posts, it is best to keep a consistent look throughout the entire magazine for increased appeal.
Images -
For the images, there will simply be three of them. Each image will be tied to a nearby article so that the reader has a visual on that they are reading. The one image on the left page will be larger as it will be tied to the cover story. These image plans are very typical for a tech magazine and is used quite often.
Article Titles and Ideas -
For each article featured in the TOC, it is obviously important to start think about what they will be about. For the articles on the left page, they will likely be about a monitor. For the articles on the right page, there will be computer parts in the left column and computer accessories such as keyboards in the right column.
Sketch #2 -
This design had many differences from the first sketch.
Layout -
For the layout, I put the masthead in the same position in the top left, except it does not bleed on to the next page. I added a thin bar underneath the masthead for a more interesting design.
As for images, the cover story image was kept on the left page again, except it is a portrait image instead of the landscape image and is aligned to the right instead of centered. The images on the right page are kept in a column shape with each image on top of each other all the way to the bottom of the page. This was to increase the uniqueness of the TOC.
For the text on the left page, it is kept on the left of the cover story image, with two smaller stories underneath the cover story. On the right page, there is one wide article on the top, with three smaller ones besides the images to talk about the topic that is featured in the image. The format of article titles, descriptors, and page numbers are kept the same.
One new addition to this design is that there are borders around the pages. On both pages, there will be a red border around the top, left side, and bottom of the page but not the left. The reason why there is not any on the left is because since the masthead is there, it would either have to overlap it or make a stop before the masthead. This was added to have the magazine feel more modern and have a more appealing style.
On both pages, the reader is encouraged to read up to down.
Color Scheme and Font -
The color scheme and font are kept the exact same as it is in sketch #1. This is to increase consistency, just as it is in sketch #1.
Images -
For the image on the left page, the idea is to put a picture of a computer and have the three articles beside it include relevant information. On the right page, the images that go down in a column shape are supposed to be tied to each article that will be on their right.
Article Titles and Ideas -
For the articles on the left page, they will be featuring parts of the computer that will be on the right of them. The articles on the right page will feature miscellaneous information that will be tied to each image.
Sketch #3 -
For this design, the main goal was to include more images.
Layout -
For the masthead, it is located in the same position in the top left, except it is quite a bit smaller. There is a small bar coming off of the masthead to the right for added design.
The two images on the left page were positioned underneath the masthead and right next to each other. On the right page, the images are in the right side of each one of the rows. These rows feature both an article and an image in each one which are both tied to each other. This is to increase the level of uniqueness of the design all while making it more appealing.
The text of the left page is kept simple with two boxes underneath each of the images and one larger text box on the bottom of the page without a corresponding image. On the right page, there is a row design as mentioned previously with text for each article inside each one.
Overall, the main change of this layout was the second page and the row design.
Color Scheme and Font -
The color scheme is the exact same as the previous sketches.
Images -
The images on the left page will likely be something that is related to what the cover story is but not the exact same. For example, if the cover story was about a computer, these two images on the left will each feature a computer part. On the right page, there will be various different things with the goal of making each one of them very different from each other. This will add on to the design of the rows because when a reader sees that each row is different, it can prevent them from feeling overwhelmed and instead feel pleased when they see how each row is neatly separated from each other and they are different at the same time.
Article Titles and Ideas -
The articles on the left will likely be about something along the lines of computer parts such as a graphics card and the articles on the right will have computer accessories such as headphones or a mouse.
Conclusion -
After this process has been completed, sketch #3 appears to be the most fit to be implemented into the final TOC. This is due to the fact that it is a simple design that does not feature too many words and instead has many pictures. By doing this, readers will not feel as if they are taking part of a marathon whilst reading the text, and instead can look at the pictures with brief descriptions. This follows the conventions of the tech genre of TOCs because of how simplistic it is.
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