Magazine Table of contents Codes and Conventions

Mother Earth Living Table of Contents Codes and Conventions

                                                                                                                                     Vivian Fundora

       
           As I continue to analyze the magazine, "Mother Earth Living", I also took a look at its table of contents. Since I will be creating one for my own magazine this will come in handy to facilitate how i come up with my ideas and what I would like to do differently.
           After looking at a few issues, this magazine tends to contain about a total of 60 to 75 pages; the table of contents tends to take up two pages. It summarizes the entire magazine into two simply laid out pages for the audience to get a glimpse of what is inside. In my the magazine of my own i think that i would like to stick to having 60 to 75 pages in my whole magazine because its not an overwhelming amount of articles and information but it still has a significant amount to offer.
                    There are often four images along the top of the table of contents, mostly taking up about one third of the page. They are pretty straight forward when addressing the top of the articles below them. For example, in the "Zero-Waste" issue, there is an article called "Bone Up on Holistic Pet Care" and the picture above it displays a person petting a cat , which appears to be a home pet. This directly shows a person caring about their pet and not having a complex picture but rather a picture demonstrating a clear idea on what is taking place. This also occurs in that same issue. There is an article called, "Picking Up with Preserved Lemons" and the picture that reflects this article is simply some lemons with some type of preservatives. This easy-to-read aspect is very useful because the reader can quickly know whats going on in the article; however I may like to add some more symbolic factors that arent so literal.
                 Natural lighting seems to always be utilized when taking the pictures. It also appears that additional editing was done to highlight the natural light and it appears that all pictures have this white light that makes the pictures look almost heavenly. They also give the audience a sense that even the picture is taken indoor, that sunlight is still coming in. It may appeal to this specific audience since they are looking for this natural lifestyle. The picture This all contributes to the magazines simplistic form of deign. Although this light gives the images an appealing aesthetic, I would prefer my images to have more contrast and colors that pop out.
          The mise-en-scene of the pictures create a sort of candid and casual disposition. This is highlighted in the "Elderberry". Since it was publicated in the holiday season it includes articles on holiday meals and tips for the winter and the images reflets this holiday spirit by displaying a family gathered on a couch, perhaps because the holidays are known as a time for families to gather and spend time with each other. The family is in a very natural pose and not really looking at the camera; the mother is even turned away. This come to outline how this magazine maintains it comfortable and relaxing look.  This image happens to take up half of the page, in contrast to the other designs because the pages are set out in the front in back, instead of side by side. We can also see that the natural white light is present in this image as well, as I previously pointed out. 
           Mother Earth Living plays with the fonts in the table of contents, as they have various types of fonts. On the one of images' corner there is always the word "Contents in very thin letters. This thin font also appears in the page number of the images; they almost dissolve into the picture. These fonts may be almost invisible as i almost didn't acknowledge them when glancing over the page. I would alter this font on my personal magazine because a large portion of the target audience is middle aged women, and i would think they prefer a more visible font that is easier to read.
          Beneath the images, the articles are sectioned in categories, although the structure may vary from issue to issue. They are in bold, cursive, sans serif font being easily spotted. I believe this is useful so when readers visit this page they can efficiently spot what they may be searching for throughout the magazines pages. Next to the titles of the articles, which are written in clear bold letters, there are page numbers that also very in font in each issue.
          Each article is accompanied by a brief summary on what its about or who would it is directed towards. In the "Traveling" issue, for instance, there is an article about making gift baskets but they are specifically made for people "who could use a little stress-relief". This summary directly stated who the article was trying to reach out to and this plays along with is to-the-point attitude. This may also display a sort of honestly where they are not just trying to lure in the audience with embellished and exotic works but really trying to reach out to the people who the content might benefit.
            There appears to always be two small sections somewhere on the bottom left of a page in the table of contents: "In Every Issue" and "On the Cover". The " In Every Issue" section seems to be where they state the page numbers of follow up articles that have been included in previous issues and have new information to offer readers. This really called my attention because they are repeated concepts that probably are popular amongst the audience. It's also a pattern that frequent customers can look forward to and familiarize themselves with. The "On the Cover" section is for the readers who are compelled to an article mentioned on the front page and wish to find it without having to look for it amongst the rest of the articles that weren't included on the cover.

              The table of contents contains several elements that would call to the attention of many women who seem to look for a simple but helpful guide on caring for things such as their families, pets and even preparing gifts and food. Considering this, I may like to add some issues related on how using alternate natural resources may solve issues occurring and damaging our environment instead of simply saying how using natural resources help strictly humans. Perhaps also addressing some statistic that prove going "green" has improved our plants and animals.