Genre Research Day 5: Style Guide

     For today's research, I took a look at the style guide (typography, color, design) of contemporary lifestyle and luxury fashion magazines. 

    https://www.designyourway.net/blog/category/design-resources/typography/best-fonts/ 

Regarding typography; high-contrast serif fonts like Didot and Bodoni are often key staples when it comes to luxury fashion branding in the headlines and feature titles. Characteristics of the serif fonts include elegant curves and sharp lines, with sophisticated and iconic moods. For subheadings. captions and plugs there are clean geometric sans-serif fonts such as helevetica now, futura PT, avenir next, etc. These are often minimalistic and crisp with contemporary moods.

< Harper's Bazaar magazine cover

There are often wide margins and asymmetrical layouts; aswell as oversized dropcaps for feature stories.

Muted backgrounds allow photography to create contrast.

Regarding the color palette, colors used most significantly are typically neutral tones; like charcoal, ivory, grays and taupes, serving as the base for majority of fashion layouts. Colors used more sparingly, particularly and especially for emphasis include metallicy accents; like gold, champagne and rose gold to create highlights. 

    There are also seasonal color palettes that remain pretty recurring every year; like Spring:pinks, sky blues and sage, Summer: Corals, sandy yellows and turquoises. burnt colors for fall and icey colors for winter.

https://fashionuptoday.com/creating-a-fashion-magazine-layout/

https://yesimadesigner.com/anatomy-of-a-magazine-layout/

https://www.flipsnack.com/blog/how-to-make-a-fashion-magazine-like-vogue/

    Regarding layout; magazines often use a 12-column grid and wide margins for a modern look. Whitespace is a luxury symbol, often prioritizing visual heirarchy; or in other terms allowing for generous space around headlines and allowing photography to dominate when necessary. 

    Photography varies based on what the aspiration is. Ex: editorial photography uses high-fashion cinematic lighting with strong shadows and rich textures. product photography uses minimal backgrounds, occasional real or conceptual styling. Lifestyle photography incorporates natural light and warm tones.

    There are often minimalistic line drawings or abstract shapes; aswell as collage-style compositions on trend pages.

Genre Research Day 4: Target Audience & Demographic

     For today's research I focused on determining a strict audience to know what this particular magazine is attempting to appeal to; given that appeal is subjective to interests. 

    Elle is a magazine that I really like the layout of and I've been deriving a lot of my extracts from observations. I went onto the website today and attempted to get an idea of their audience demographics;  considering that the inspiration/layout for my preposed magazine is going to be largely influenced by big brand magazines like this. 

   ELLE - Digital - ELLE  Demographics show that the magazine is most popular within the female population, with the print audience having almost 90% women buys. The print editions are also significantly more popular within younger generations 16-24; when compared to digital editions which spike within the 25-34 year old range. However, the magazine has purchases within the elderly community aswell. 

    A speculation not necessarily pertaining to the research is an assumption that the societal standards and unrealistic expectations coupled with the "fear of aging" is likely why the  24-54 y/o age range has substantially more buys; which influences why I want my magazine to be raw and authentic, without such harsh editing that contributes to expectations that can be potentially damaging and hinderers of self acceptance for many women out there.

    Understanding the Elle Magazine Target Audience | AMPLIFY XL Elle (magazine) - Wikipedia Fortunately, the magazine I'm analyzing is to be percieved as authentic and unbiased. Apparently there are over 70 MILLION readers in over 60 countries; and reaches 1.2 million women monthly in the UK.

    Regarding frequency of publishing, some magazines release weekly editions; and majority of big fashion magazines publish monthly. Some even have subscriptions as an option; typically offering discounts for recurring buyers.

The target audience is varied but simultaneously concise, and is essentially targeted to women who have an interest in fashion and art/culture enthusiasts. People who have an interest in keeping up with the latest trends and are open to new trends and innovative ideas.

Fashion magazines often accumulate large followings on social media platforms, and sometimes feature influencer collaborations, boosting engagement. 

They are often accessible in supermarkets, libraries, airports, and other common commercial areas.

Genre Research Day 3: General Codes and conventions

     For today's research I dove into the codes and conventions for different fashion magazines, similar to my previous blog. I wasn't entirely adamant on what it was in particular I was going to research; but I decided to focus on high-fashion and luxury magazine general codes and conventions; because that subgenre pertains best to my interests and previous knowledge. 

    There are key elements that helped me identify high-fashion and luxury magazines; including: Mastheads often being partially obscured and in elegant, audience appealing fonts, "direct gaze" looks from cover models, high ad to content ratios, and aspirational language to boost engagement and buys. 

    These magazines use specific language and visuals that communicate aspirational and idealistic living and products. Examples of these include terms like "exclusive, curated, definitive, essential," etc. The visuals evoke elite and expensive vibes.

    Images are normally very good quality, normally taking up the majority of the cover and having minimalistic writing; using high key lighting and photography. Models are vibrantly dressed; often following idealized beauty standards, but sometimes having exclusive editions featuring bold and diverse looks that defy typical standards or introduce progressive looks & ideas.

    The bold color palette and varied fonts look are especially appealing for the audience; language is fashion specific and emphasizes beauty/life improvements.

Magazine Covers | Codes and Conventions Elle - Apa Aesthetic Doja Cat Overload

Masthead partially obscured by model; minimalistic writing, idealistic langauge like "unstoppable" and raw feel using diction like "unedited".

Bright, modern color schemes and trendy styling

Secondary cover lines pertaining to feature

High quality images, model looking straight at the camera and gazing down eloquently; using more aspirational language like "The future of ____"

Genre Research Day 2

     Given that the genre I feel most comfortable and intrigued in is Fashion/Beauty magazines, today my research consisted of looking into some subgenres of women's magazines; and successful examples within these categories that I can observe extracts from and take inspiration to eventually incorporate these within my own. The majority of the information provided is concluded using realistic observations from the denotations and connotations of different subgenres and comparing them.

    The first subgenre I explored were those of high fashion and luxury. These are most mainstream in my opinion, or most culturally significant in the fashion industry. Typically the content of these magazines consist of high end photography, luxury insight and brands, and have a general focus on luxury lifestyles, designer drops and celebrity cover stories. Examples of these include vogue, business of fashion, etc. The layout is dense, with multiple sell lines and popups. The tone is sophisticated and formal. The photography uses highkey lighting, extreme retouching, and direct camera-eye contact.  Harper's BAZAAR - Your Source for Fashion Trends, Beauty Tips, Pop Culture News, and Celebrity Style

    Another major subgenre I encountered was the category of niche and independent magazines. These value art and culture rather than the first example, which focuses on art and culture rather than commercial advertising. These are typically regarded more highly, or less disposed of like a monthly magazine. These are more focused on photography, underground culture, and long-form essays on identity. The layout is very minimalistic, and the tone is intellectual and artistic. The photography looks grainy and raw. They often use natural lighting and diverse models. Dazed & Confused Magazine | Fashion, Art, Music, Film, Ideas | Dazed The Gentlewoman 

Something I noted to differentiate the two is looking at the advertising-to-content ratio; as it is additionally a major indicator of the subgenre of magazine you may be reading. High Fashion magazines are often 50% or more advertising, when in contrast Indie magazines typically prioritize art and photography over brand placements.

Genre Research Day 1

 Today we were instructed to research different magazine genres and conventions. To help me choose which 3 genres I decided to select, I used my notebook to date back on previous notes we've revised and taken as a class, and I looked up different magazine genres to get a better idea. The three I decided to research were fashion, home, and sports.

    Firstly, I researched the conventions of fashion magazines, as it is the one I took the most interest to. Fashion magazines use stylistic and high fashioned photography and imagery. They often represent the relevant beauty standards and have models. The mise-en-scene is controlled and intentional, to communicate luxury, beauty, new or diverse innovations within the industry, and vary from one brand/magazine to the next. They often use intriguing and trendy puffs and headlines and use confident and stylish language, often including celebrity/designer interviews, beauty advice, and style ideas. Conventions of a Fashion Magazine | PPTX Vogue (magazine) - WikipediaElle (magazine) - Wikipedia

Second, I researched Home and interior magazines. The audience is normally interior designers, homeowners, or renters. The purpose aims to inspire and guide readers. The visuals often include closeups of furniture highlighting texture or other details, comforting/neutral/homey color palettes, and imagery is realistic. Headlines often have solutions or home advice and captions are detailed. There are lots of DIY content, product reccomendations and rennovation advice, home transformations, and room features. Magazine Writing: Adapting Style by Genre | Magazine Writing and Editing Class Notes Ideal Home - Wikipedia Ideal Home - Wikipedia

Lastly, I researched sports magazines, which I often don't pick up, so I thought would be interesting to research something I have less familiarity with. Sports magazines are designed to inform and analyze. The audience are often sports fans so they have previous knowledge of players, sports, rules, teams, etc. Images often capture highlights of players in games and lighting/color palettes are bold and draw engagement. Language may be informal, and headlines often use superlatives. They often report games/seasons, give fitness advice, sports commentary/culture, and revise athlete profiles and sports culture. 35 Popular Magazine Genres You Should Know - Mothers Always Right Ayan Malik AS - Conventions of a sport magazine

In common, these all have typical headlines, barcodes, coverlines, mastheads, puffs, banners, etc. but vary regarding content.