Table of Contents Blog Post #1

This is my table of contents page, with 4 original photographs which I took (and I thought that the drawings on the cover and feature spread counted as original pictures, but they don't, and I didn't know that until very recently.)

The techniques I used to create meaning are essentially through the photos which I took (all 4 of them). For the 2 top pictures, I took them and then edited them using a depth of field effect to focus on and emphasize the main subject/object of the picture (for the top left, I focused on the CDs and the way they are stacked, and for the top right, I focused on the artist, Bad Bunny). For the bottom pictures, I went a step further and actually edited things like their saturation, color depth/intensity, etc. On the bottom left, I didn't use a depth of field effect because I wanted to encompass everything in the picture, even the background flowers that I set up on my table at home, and on the bottom right, I did use a depth of field to focus on the CD being held, as well as enhance some of the colors which came across, etc. For the pictures on the top and bottom right, I added the names of the artists, and the name+flag of the country that they come from, to add a sense of branding to my magazine. Overall, my magazine Table of Contents page most closely follows the codes/conventions of these two Rolling Stone magazines which I researched.

I could not incorporate some codes/conventions, like the fact that there's only one picture on the Rolling Stone TOC pages, because I did not know that the drawings on the cover and feature spread don't count as original pictures, so I had to fit in 4 pictures in this page to complete the requirement of 4 original pictures in the magazine. Another code/convention I did not incorporate was the fact that the lines dividing articles on the bottom, etc. are not black, and instead I made them navy blue/red. I did this to add a sense of branding to my magazine.

There is evidence of my research and incorporation of codes/conventions in other aspects of my Table of Contents page. For instance, the fonts used. Not only did I make sure to use Serif fonts, like on the Rolling Stone magazines, but I also made sure that article titles are bolded, I made sure that the quick descriptions of the articles are not bolded, and the Byline to not only be italicized, but also be in small caps ("By" is italicized, and the names of the authors in small caps.) 

For my audience, I wanted to make sure I used color schemes to attract both generations of Latin music listeners. The red color attracts more young listeners, like listeners of Reggaeton, Latin Trap, etc., while the blue is aimed at attracting a more older generation of Latin music listeners, such as listeners of salsa, bachata, merengue, etc. And I represent both generations of Latin music listeners in my magazine, as can be seen by the articles down below.

I also applied my research in terms of the page #s in the Table of Contents page. In the Rolling Stone magazines that I researched, they all had 60 pages, so I made sure to make one of the stories be on the 58th page to show that I did follow this code/convention.

The Rolling Stone magazines which I researched also had an abbreviated form of the name of the magazine (Rolling Stone) and the Issue #, so I also added that on the top left. Since my magazine is Latinx+, and it is the 394th issue, I made it "Lx+394".