Planning - Table of Contents

    Hey guys since we talked about feature article I want to talk about the part that makes up the magazine. That part is the table of contents. So, for this post, I want to explain my process for planning my table of contents.

    To start, I want to break the pages down through sections. This way it shows the start of each different section so that the reader can follow where they want to read. I will utilize different colors between the section name and the page number. This will help the reader understand the information more clearly. As for the layout, I will use a vertical column. This layout is considered the most common layout of a table of contents and follows the general conventions of a table of contents. It also helps make it easier for readers to follow top to bottom. 

    I also wanted to use a photo from the restaurant that is going to be the feature article as the background of the table of contents, since it is the focus of the magazine. I also want a rectangle shape behind the text that looks like a google map. The reason why I want it to look like a google map is because the magazine is focused on showing new restaurants so the map can create a visual look of where these restaurants will be. Another option is making the box behind the text be one color that matches the palette of the background image while still standing out such as an off-white. The off-white color would make sure that it is readable and wouldn't take over where it is hard to read the text inside the box. Now that I've explained some of the ideas of how I would plan my table of contents, let's look at some inspo that I would use for my own.

Inspo:

    For inspiration, I wanted to look at the table of contents from the magazine “Better Home & Gardens” from the issue “Soups & Stews.” I want to take certain things from this layout for the table of contents, mostly the box that places the information on the pages. The choice to create a little text under the section to explain briefly about the section was something I would want to use in my magazine; it can help give an idea of what content is in this section, which helps readers. They also utilize a variety of colors to help differentiate between the page number and section name. This helps with the readability of the table of contents. They also provide a slight caption for the background image explaining that it is part of a section further in the magazine. Overall, I would take inspo from the font colors and the little text below the section name. 

 

    Anyways, I hope you liked this post about my ideas and inspo for my table of contents and I am excited to post later about the production of it.