Evaluation Question 7

LOOKING BACK AT YOUR PRELIMINARY TASK, WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU HAVE

LEARNT IN THE PROGRESSION FROM IT TO THE FULL PRODUCT?

Masthead looks squashed which makes it look unprofessional

Part of Masthead barely even visible

Can hardly see main sell line let alone other sell lines

Barcode and price

Plug

Shot is off-centre. One person partly out of frame, doesn’t follow rule of thirds.

Only one font style has been used for all sell lines

• As you can see from the previous slide, there were some things that I did right with the design of the magazine. I understood the basics of layout and conventions

• However, there are some major errors which hinder the level of professionalism.

• The amount of space the models take up on the front cover is unconventional. Typically, the models take up at least 2/3 of the page. This actually naturally more satisfying to the human eye; hence this is a convention. However, my models take up just half the space

• I also used the same font for all sell lines as I felt as though this made the magazine look consistent and professional.

Clear, professional looking Masthead

Sell lines are all easy to read

Main sell line is big and easy to read

Image more effectively framed

Barcode

Wider range of fonts used

• As I’ve progressed from the preliminary task which was performed with limited knowledge, I’ve been able to create a more professional end product.

• I’ve framed the shot much more effectively which makes the front cover much more appealing to the eye.

• I’ve used a wider range of fonts on the end product. On the preliminary task, I only used one font thinking this would look more professional and consistent. However, I now realise that it made the cover look simple and boring, and that a wider range of fonts looks better as it’s more engaging to look at. I’ve used font that work well together to maintain the consistency.

HOW THE PRELIMINARY HELPED MY PROGRESSION

• The research I did to create my college magazine helped me to be able to identify conventions and analyse them. This skill enabled me to choose conventions which are important to creating a professional magazine, but abandon lesser important conventions.

• The making of the product allowed me to grasp the basics of PhotoShop, such as layer arrangement, image resizing, changing font colour and transforming images.

• It also allowed me to identify mistakes when referring back to it during the production of drafts of my main task.

• Overall, the college magazine was a good starting point to ease me into the production of the main task, as opposed to going straight into the main task with limited technological abilities and understanding of design.

WHAT I’D IMPROVE ON THE MAIN TASK• I wish I’d looked at a wider variety of magazines to identify conventions and elements

which appeal to a wider audience. My main sources of inspiration were Kerrang! and NME. However, I’d research magazines such as Classic Rock, Mojo and Rocksound, as my magazine tries to appeal to all these audiences as well as those of NME and Kerrang!. I feel as though researching these magazines would help me to appeal to those audiences too, as opposed to the younger readerships of NME and Kerrang!.

• I’d also experiment more with location, props, costume and poses of my models when taking images for the front page, contents and double page spread. I identified that double page spreads are often more creatively fluid than contents and front pages. I feel as though my magazine could have looked more adventurous had I experimented with different compositions and poses.

POSSIBLE POSES & COMPOSITIONS

My images were all fairly similar in composition and taken at the same place.I could have experimented with:• More locations• Poses• Creative use of colour

OVERALL• I’ve learnt about

• Using technology (covered in detail in question 6)

• The importance of conventions

• The importance of experimentation

• Contrasting and coordinating fonts