The Battle of the Genres

Research, research, research... that is all that is on my mind right now. I am inspired by all of the unique, different magazine covers that I have been seeing all over the internet. I am really motivated to create something so original and intriguing, making my audience go "WOW!" but creating something extremely different is very hard to do when you have reoccurring ideas and themes in your head that you try not to copy. I believe that I will be able to create something so amazing, and I am so excited to see what it shall be. Through my research, I came across a very potent sentence that stuck out to me and made me focus on my task at hand even harder. It reads: 

"Remember, your magazine only gets one chance to make its first impression." 

After I saw this, it motivated me even more to make a statement for my magazine. The two genres I have in mind are food and cooking or woman's lifestyle. I enjoy reading both of these types of magazines genres, however, I was unsure of the specific characteristics of each genre and what makes them there own, until I did my research to help come to a decision. So, lets dive right into the surmised version of everything I gathered: 

  Food and Cooking:                           v.s.             Woman's Lifestyle:       

- Many high definition images                              -Cover image of a celebrity

- Use appetizing colors such as                              relating to feature article 

  reds, greens, yellows, whites                            - Use feminine, chic colors 

- Promotional panel that features                          (pinks and reds with blacks

  something for free, or a "bonus"                          and whites)

  section (recipes/cookbooks)                               -Direct mode of address  

- Flashy cover lines                                             -Many styled fonts, often use

- Various bold fonts                                              of handwriting font

- Large picture of a decadent dish                        -Content covers fashion,

  with 2-3 text columns is a typical                        beauty, health and fitness,

  layout for two-page spread                                 love, and life 

-Barcode displayed on cover                                -Barcode displayed on cover                                                                               

   

                   



Some of the conventions for these two types of genres are very similar because they share a common target audience: woman around ages 25-50, mainly in the middle class. I also gathered that the content and the layout have similar patterns regarding the consistent formula each one does. The table of contents for each flows in the same manner for each issued magazine, creating familiarity for the target audience. 

Alright, so in order for me to go full throttle into my project, I am going to have to make a decision on which elements I have more of a passion for. 

Stay tuned!!


Citations:
Media texts. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2016, from http://www.katpad.co.uk/media08/page2.html
MagazinePublisher.com. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2016, from http://www.magazinepublisher.com/designtips.html
Magazine. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2016, from http://www.cookinglight.com/magazine
Marie Claire Covers. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2016, from http://www.soguemoments.com/2015/02/marie-claire-covers.html