Genre Research

As stated by Andre Basin, "Genre makes product making more efficient and more marketable". This tells me that by representing the genre, I'm also representing my audience as well as the purpose of my magazine. A regional magazine must fit a set of codes and conventions in order for it to be successful. There is a stereotypical age range surrounding regional magazines and for a magazine to be successful, it usually fits this. By undertaking a range of research surrounding current media products, including Cornwall Today, Devon Life and Wild Cornwall, I have been able to pick up a selection of common genre conventions and code which I can take forward into my own product. 

At the start of my genre research and analysis I decided to explore Cornwall Today, as this is the largest regional magazine in my chosen region. I decided to explore content, layout, lexis, typography, colour, styling, graphics and imagery to ensure I covered all areas of regional magazine genre codes. Regarding basic stereotypes, all of the content on the page is based around the image. The layout is structured so that the subject of the image is at the fore front of the cover. Furthermore, the colour palate of Cornwall Today is fairly relaxed and uses two or three darker colours to contrast the image behind. 

Another regional magazine, Devon Life, explores similar ideas, that the text is set around the sides of the image, meaning the eye is drawn into the location of the image and the scenery. Furthermore, regarding colour palate and masthead, both fit convention and seem to work naturally. The colour palate explore a lighter shade of pink which contrasts from the greens and greys behind.

In conclusion, concerning genre research and conventions surrounding regional magazine layout design, all current products seem to use a large masthead at the top of the page which takes up roughly 1/8th of the page. The masthead is usually in the colour of white which allows it to stand out from the background. Furthermore, the content and stories on the page will all be set round the main subject of the cover image. This allows you r eye to catch the beautiful scenery, and be persuaded to buy the magazine. Moreover, the colours on regional magazines are usually reasonably bland, as they try not to detract from the image behind. Finally, the cover image will be of a natural location and will be attractive in its nature.