ojpiho

1. CULTURE/LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE
SUB-GENRES
Zoe Toase

2. CULTURE/LIFESTYLE SUB-GENRES
• As I have decided to create a culture/lifestyle magazine for the north east. I
have identified that it will need to include a range of sub-genres based
around cultural events and around my region. In order to decide which
categories I could include, I have decided to research other culture
magazines and identify which sub-genres they prioritize.
• Using sub-genres in a lifestyle magazine is important because it helps
organise the magazine much better. Lifestyle and Culture are such big topics
and therefore it would be hard to present general information about such if
it were not grouped into sub-genres. It also makes it easier for the audience
to find certain topics they are most interested in and instantly get a more
detailed idea of what the magazine will include rather than a generalization
from a single genre.

3. THE CRACK
The Crack has 11 different sub-genres featured in their magazine and on their website. Personally, I think
this is quite a lot to cover and a very broad range. It does however suggest the magazine will be full of
content and that there will be something for everyone. Film, music and Art are definitely the main genres
that stand out to me. I feel that the other genres in this list could in fact be grouped together more. For
instance, queer could be featured in anything from films to art to music. Clubs could also be in regards to a
film club or event club. I feel like kids is not relevant to my magazine as the age range is unlikely to have a
family of their own yet and as they are young adults will have more of an adult social life than childish. Days
out is a very important sub-genre especially considering it is a culture magazine however I think a name like
events or what’s north would be much better as the genre is more broad. Food and drink could be
categorized into events/places also. Style and stuff is very informal which I like as it shows a taste of
colloquialism. In reference to fashion, I feel that is another key sub-genre of culture as it can promote
different styles or fashion events. The main sub-genres that inspire me here are music, art and film as I feel a
lot of content related to culture and lifestyle in the north east could be put into here.

4. LUXE MAGAZINE
Like the Crack, Luxe features similar sub-genres of food and drink, do this, fashion and interviews. From
looking at the others in the list, I feel you can immediately tell that this is aimed at a much older target
audience. This is due to some of the main genres being motors, travel and interiors. These are more
commonly associated with 25 – 40 year olds who have their own house, family and an independent lifestyle
and therefore can afford to indulge in these extra expenses. I necessarily think motors, interiors or travel will
be relevant to my younger audience of 18 – 25 year olds and therefore wouldn’t include these. I would also
find it hard to link a travel genre to the north east or motors as there are no specifics dedicated to our
region. I like the do this which is similar to the cracks days out. Again I feel this could be summed up more
broadly as events. As fashion is repeated, I feel it must be an important featue which the likes of beauty can
be incorporated into. Interviews could be featured in any sub-genre and I feel this is more so a type of
article rather than a genre. I like luxe life as it creates a sense of personlaity to the magazine. At current, I am
consdering whether to make a CLIQUE LIFE or OUR CLIQUE section of my website and magazine which
instead of being a sub-genre could be a community/forum to engage the audience and encourage
interactivity with the brand. In summary, I take inspiration from the following sub-genres in this example:
Fashion, Do This

5. SUNDERLAND VIBE MAGAZINE
The sub-genres used in Sunderland vibe magazine are not as detailed and a lot more generalized. This means that the contents bar is smaller and
therefore has been organized in a box design rather as a long list. Personally, I preferred the line layout as I feel it really headed the page nicely
however of course this would change depending on the magazine. I do think however that a smaller but more general grouping is much more
effective. I think the likes of Luxe and CRACK had good ideas but the lists were just a bit too long. I will therefore approach in a similar manner to
Sunderland vibe and have between 5- 7 sub-genres. I like the what’s on sub-genre used here as this is a very stereotypical convention of a culture
and lifestyle magazine and was also present on Luxe and Crack magazines. News I think is a bit too formal and mature for my audience and may put
them off. A lot of young people don’t take the news too seriously or watch it at all. Due to this, I think I will just incorporate news into different sub-
genres for instance you could have music news or art news. Competitions and contact us aren’t really sub-genres of the magazine but are more so for
the website. When looking further into the magazine alone, I realized that there are not really any specific groupings and the content layout mainly
depends on what is happening in the region at the time. Although this makes the magazine much more flexible in terms of what they can produce, I
feel that the audience needs a range of sub-genres in order to gain wider appeal. Not only will it help to organize the website, contents page and
entire magazine, but it means that if one person likes a specific topic then they can easily find it. This adds audience interface and interactivity which
is important in a regional magazine. The only thing I will take from Sunderland vibe therefore is that my sub-genre list shouldn’t be too long and
should be groupings that are more generalisable rather than extremely specific as this will allow me to put a range of articles into each topic.

6. COZYMAG
I’ve decided to also look at a national magazine called cozymag which I found to be very popular to culture and lifestyle readers
across the UK. I have took a screenshot of the sub-genre featured on their website however in their magazine, each month
features on a new topic. For instance January is music and then February is fashion. I think Cozymag has my favorite sub-genre
range out of all the magazines I have looked at. This is because it is medium length and has generalized topics which could
feature a lot of content. Music, Art, Fashion and Events are definitely four of the sub-genres I must include my magazine. These 4
have been featured in magazines across all my research and therefore show that they are vital conventions of culture and
lifestyle magazines. Cozymag has a lifestyle sub-genre however I personally feel the entire magazine covers lifestyle and
therefore if I had this alongside the likes of events and fashion, different articles would clash into two groupings which could
make it quite confusing when readers are looking for something specific. I think having 6 -7 sub-genres looks nice but also gives
a good range therefore I take inspiration from this. I do however think cozymag lacks some genres such as film which after
witnessing in the Crack, definitely think will be a successful grouping. From this national magazine, I will take the inspiration of
using 6- 7 genres including fashion, events, music and art. I will challenge it by replacing lifestyle with film.

7. CONCLUSION
• I want to have between 5 – 7 sub-genres as after this research I have found this is the most
varied but detailed amount.
• I noticed that throughout the 4 magazines I looked at Events, Music, Art and Fashion were
featured numerous times and therefore I will 100% be including these 4 sub-genres in my
magazine.
• The Crack was the only magazine to incorporate film which I think is due to its more modern
audience and therefore I am inspired to have this as my 5th sub-genre.
• Luxe and The Crack have sections of their magazine called Luxe life or Our Crack which offer
personalized editors choice picks. I like this personal touch and therefore will include my own
sub-genre called Clique Life or Our Clique.
• To challenge the existing magazines, I will be either having the name What’s North or Events
instead of Days out or What’s on. I also want to include my won sub-genre that I have not
seen in my research of culture magazines so that I have a convention that makes me stand
out. This could be tech for instance as that is very modern and popular with young people.