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?

From the images below I think that it shows visually that I have made progress from the preliminary task to the final music magazine.

Preliminary Task Front Cover Mock Up Front Cover Final Design Front Cover

When I completed the preliminary task I was new to using Photoshop so perhaps was unsure about trying new tools and experimenting with its various features. The preliminary task however did enable me to learn the basics of Photoshop in which this allowed me to apply my knowledge that I have learnt from it to my final designs. Whilst also practising the skills I had learnt from the preliminary task, I was able to develop new skills on Photoshop and take more risks as I became more comfortable using the programme.

I have also learnt the importance of planning as I think in my music magazine it is clear to see that the layout and articles have been carefully planned. The layout of ‘Replay’ magazine appears more structured and professional looking because the cover lines are aligned to the right and the image aligned to the left unlike my college magazine where the image is directly in the middle with text either side. This perhaps doesn’t create such a professional feel. In comparison to the mock up front cover, I think that in the final product I have made better use of the space as in some areas of the Kate Nash front cover it looks quite bare as there are several gaps.

I think the final designs also have a more realistic look compared to the preliminary task as from carrying research into existing music products I have furthered my knowledge of magazine conventions and applied them to my final product for a sense of realism.

The use of the magnetic lasso tool to draw around the model in the preliminary task appears quite sharp around the edges and although this is something I think I can still practice to improve on, I think that I have made progress using this tool on the final designs.

Considering some of the feedback that I received from the preliminary task, I have applied some of the improvement suggestions to my final designs. For example, the college magazine would benefit from a bolder title which has a more unique font instead of the use of Times New Roman. Therefore, I have ensured that the title, Replay, appears bold and stands out as this will help to attract readers whilst also being an identity for the magazine. I have also asked my target audience want they would want from a new music magazine and I have acted upon this through the articles that feature to try to attract them whereas in the preliminary task I didn’t really consider this.

I also think that I have made progress from my mock ups to the final designs as I think I have paid attention to the finer details and have been able to include more conventions which help to create a sense of realism. Furthermore, I think I have also been more creative in my final product in comparison to my preliminary task and mock up designs as they appear bolder and more eye-catching.

Overall I think that I have made a good level of progress from preliminary to final designs as my knowledge of magazine conventions, and use of Photoshop software has furthered enabling me to feel more confident when creating this new product. I think that as a whole my final music magazine appears more interesting than the college one as the use of bold font styles and bright colours make it stand out compared to the pale colours in the preliminary task.

Mock Up Contents Page Final Contents Page

I think that by making small

improvements to the design

of the contents page; such as making the title a larger font and just

by altering the layout slightly has improved

the overall look.

Mock Up Design Double Page

I think that by altering the layout for my final design has improved my double page as I think that the text and images work better and the page links together well because elements of the mise-en-scene match the colour schemes, text and the overall style.