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House Style

Today I did research on magazine house styles. I learned that it deals with the layout/design of the magazine. I think having a consistent house style helps a magazine build up its brand. Knowing that Rolling Stone, for example. always has the same masthead font/size with emphasis on a large picture, helps audiences make associations between the specific layout and the Rolling Stone brand.

                                                 Rapper Kendrick Lamar on the Aug. 24, 2017 cover of 'Rolling Stone' magazine. 

Different magazine categories tend to have different house styles. The change in house styles is because of the impressions that certain magazine genres must convey. For example, formal magazine genres, such as news magazines, should not give off an informal impression to the public; if this occurs, people may doubt the magazine's credibility. Similarly, a fashion magazine, for instance, is not likely to have pictures of natural scenery because it is irrelevant to the category; fashion magazines tend to feature cover images of someone wearing fashionable outfits/accessories. 

When magazines are designed, the creators consider what type of house style will help audiences perceive the magazine content for what it truly represents. I think that going through a trial and error process of creating different house styles and considering what each one conveys helps finalize the type of house style that will be used. 

Today's research helped me view the magazine creating process from a different perspective. As a customer, I have always been the one who unconsciously judges a magazine's content based on its house style. Today I have learned about the thinking process that occurs when magazine creators are developing house styles; they must place themselves in the place of customers like me to see if the magazine is displaying an accurate 'preview' to its content. 


Sources:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/09/18/jann-wenner-puts-rolling-stone-magazine-up-sale/676207001/

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