Daily Development Diaries

1. Production Reflection
Abbie Nicholls

2. Week 1- Production
Monday 3rd December
On Monday, I finished my ideas and planning PowerPoint by producing my own experiments on Photoshop and
discussing what I would change about them. I created different campaign posters and covers for my leaflet to see
what it would look like. I did not have much time to produce these mock ups because it was running into my
production time, however the work that I produced was quick and simple. I think that this task went well because I
could see my different ideas visually in front of me. Furthermore, this highlighted to me that I would like to create a
leaflet and not a campaign poster. The posters came out slightly childish and would not challenge me as much as a
leaflet which is why I chose to not go through with the poster idea. I used my time well because I did not want to
spend too much time creating experiments when it was disrupting my production time. In the future, I would like to
spend more time generating new ideas so that I have a better range of ideas that I can expand on and produce mock
ups of. I also looked at examples of existing products and discussed the similarities and differences. I talked about
what techniques I liked and would like to use in my own products to make them look professional. I very quickly made
this mock up of a campaign poster that I would possibly produce if I had enough time within the 4 weeks. I use images
from the internet, however I also used the shape tool to create different elements. I copied techniques from other
campaign poster that I had looked at and decided that I liked the leaflet better.
Campaign Poster
Mock Up
Nature Leaflet Mock Up

3. Week 1 - Production
Wednesday 5th December
On Wednesday, I began planning and designing my pages for inside the leaflet. Firstly, I began researching
information about the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust so that I could incorporate this information into my leaflet to
share with the readers who are unaware of what the trust is what exactly they do. Once I had finished my
research, I began designing my front cover. I decided that I wanted to include one wildlife portrait shot in the
centre of the page to grab the readers attention. I want the colour scheme to be green, brown and yellow
throughout the leaflet because they are bright colours and have connotations to earth tones. I created a mock
up of the front cover where I could analyze why I had chosen to make each decision. I then moved onto to
following the same technique to design page 2. I found this task very helpful as I was not sure how I wanted the
page to look whereas now I have created a practical version I can see what works and what does not. After this,
I began choosing what style of photography I wanted in the leaflet and how I would achieve it successfully. I
really enjoyed this task because at the weekend I went to a photography workshop where I learned how to
operate my camera and change the settings to improve the outcome of my photographs. I addressed what I
would change on my camera when taking different styles of photograph so that it would have the best result.
Even though creating this planning PowerPoint is taking away time from production, I feel much more
organized and I think that production will be much more successful as I know exactly how I want the leaflet to
look. Overall, I think I used my time wisely.

4. Week 1 - Production
Thursday 6th December
Today, I finished designing all my pages that would feature inside my leaflet. I created several mock ups so I
could see what works well and what doesn’t. I decided that I wanted page 4 & 5 to be a double page spread
where both pages are filled with one image. I think this will be successful in the leaflet because the reader can
see the different locations that are being protected by the trust much larger in more detail. After I had finished
designing the pages I chose different fonts and the colour scheme that I would like to use. I used dafont.com to
pick my fonts. I then used paletton.com to find complimentary and adjacent colours. I think that I used my time
well today because these are all important elements to my leaflet and they need to be correct during
production. If I could change anything so far this week, I would have spent more time creating mock ups with
alternate designs as I did not have time to look at other examples of leaflet structures. However, I think that
building this PowerPoint full of planning has been extremely helpful and made me aware of what I want to
include in my leaflet before going straight into production.

5. Week 2- Production
Monday 10th December
On Monday, I started production on my leaflet. I began producing my front cover of my leaflet which was a difficult task. I followed the
structure of the mock up that I had created on the previous PowerPoint, however I found that it looked very simple and boring. It did
not challenge me to new editing techniques or skills on Photoshop which is why I decided to change it up. I included two circles over the
image of the owl to try make it more abstract and not be full of squares however, I did not like this effect. I decided to research
examples of nature campaign posters to try make my work more interesting and different. I found a poster that I really liked because it
was very simple and focused mainly on the text/font. In previous productions, I never really experimented with editing the font and the
text therefore I found this task quite challenging. I used the nudge tool to make the letters more spaced apart and then used the
blending options to create a dramatic drop shadow. I really like this technique because it makes the front cover stand out much more
than my original front cover. I also did the same technique with the other pieces of text on the page to make them be bold but not as
eye catching as the title. I have not decided whether the image on the cover is going to be the final image because I edited it very
quickly using the camera raw filter, therefore it was only put on the cover to see what the finished product would look like. After I had
finished creating my front cover, I began writing drafts of the information that I was going to include in my leaflet. I found this task quick
and easy because last week I researched different facts about the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. After that, I scattered the paragraphs on the
pages to see what they would look like. I think I spent my time very well today because I concentrated mainly on the front cover which is
why I am so proud of it. It is not something that I would normally create, which is why I think it was challenging for me. Tomorrow, I am
planning on beginning to build the inside of the pages and make them as high quality as the front cover. Overall, I am happy with the
work I produced today and I think I used my time well because I have plenty of time to create the pages.

6. Week 2- Production
Wednesday 12th December
On Wednesday, I began making some final changes to the front cover before deciding that I was happy with the
outcome and did not want to change anything else. I am proud of the front cover because I never normally
focus on text that much because I prefer editing the photographs and making the page full of information.
However, editing the text to become bolder and look more like a campaign poster was interesting and made
the front cover look a lot better. I edited other elements of the text and then I moved onto changing and
developing the other pages. I created a mock up of how I wanted the inside pages to look, however I do not
think they follow the same editing theme as the front cover. To make the inside pages look better, I looked at
some examples of nature leaflets to find some new modern editing techniques. I found a leaflet where I really
liked the design which is why I changed the positions of the text, spacing and drop shadow. I think that I spent
my time wisely today because I was not happy with how the inside pages looked which is why I conducted
more research. I am worried that I am not going to have enough time to take and edit my photographs as we
do not have much time left.
I am going to include an image
along the side of the page to make
the page look more abstract and
interesting.

7. Week 2- Production
Thursday 13th December
In the morning, I went to Askham Bog to take some wildlife, nature and landscape photographs for my leaflet. I made
sure that I followed all the new techniques that I have learned in previous weeks about the aperture and shutter
speed. I was able to photograph a robin, therefore I made sure the shutter speed was 1/250 as I was using 200mm
lens. I also made the f number was around 4 as I wanted there to be a short depth of field. I am really happy with the
outcome of my photograph because I think that it is fully in focus and crisp. Then at college, I began editing the
picture. I didn’t want to edit it too much because I was really happy with the outcome, however I did want to make
the colours brighter and more vibrant. Using the camera raw filter, I adjusted the colours and then I used curves to
make the photo have more highlights and contrast. Finally, I created my own vignette using the gradient tool to make
the robin the main focus and stand out more. After that, I changed the image on my front cover because I thought
that the deer photograph had too much green and blended into the background of the page. After that, I then started
experimenting with the layout of the inside pages because I am still unsure of how I want them to look; I want them
to follow the same theme as the front cover and be abstract and edited in a way that I have never done before and
will challenge me. I am happy with how production is going because I think that I have enough time next week to
complete my leaflet, however I am slightly worried about finding more time to take more photographs. By the end of
next week, I would have liked to completely finish the leaflet and be happy with my pictures included.

8. Week 3- Production
Monday 17th December
Today, I edited my inside pages because I found that they were very simple and did not challenge me to new skills or
techniques. The front cover is abstract and not something that I have created before, however the pages were basic
which made me want to change them. To begin changing the pages, I changed the text to make it on the left and
changed the colour to black. I then made columns so that the page looked more structured and informative. When
looking at examples of nature leaflets, I found that the majority frame their photographs like polaroid's. I wanted to
incorporate this technique so I created a stroke inside the photographs to produce a white border. I think that has
influenced my work to look more artistic and challenged me to new skills. Before the page looked very boring, but now
it is more colorful and full of information that it organized professionally. I used the same techniques and changed the
other pages that I have created so far to improve the quality of the leaflet. I enjoyed making these changes and
learning new skills because I was not happy with how the leaflet was looking and thought that it would result in a bad
grade. However, these improvements have made the pages more colorful and look professional. I have used my time
wisely today because the majority of my inside pages have been completed, although I still have two other pages to
perfect as well as a back cover. Once I had made some changes to the inside of the leaflet, I finalized the front cover to
make sure everything looked perfect. Because we only have two days left of college before we break I need to have
completed my leaflet and be happy with the outcome.

9. Week 3- Production
Wednesday 19th December
On Wednesday, I made more changes to my inside pages because I was not happy with how they looked. I thought
they were very simple and did not look professional which is why I changed them. Firstly, I adapted my double page
spread (page 4 and 5) because they were too simple and did not challenge me to any new techniques. Firstly, I
changed the photographs I used because I did not include many pictures of wildlife. I edited the layout of the page
because it looked too similar to pages 2 and 3. I followed the same techniques when editing the photos such as using
an inner stroke to make the photographs look like disposables. When making some changes to the other pages, I
included some shapes of butterflies to fill in any empty space. I then created the back page which I wanted to be very
simple just like the front cover. I created a black border full of places to find the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust on social
media. Overall, I would still like to make some changes to my pages because I am still not happy with the outcome. I
think they are too simple and do not look professional. I would like to change the layout of the text and the pictures
and perhaps include more shapes in the background to make the leaflet more fun and colourful. I think I used my time
wisely because I have improved the pages slightly. Even though I have lots of changes I would like to make, I still have
2 weeks back after half term to improve the leaflet. I would like to take more pictures at Askham Bog or any other
YWT reserves so that I have more images to include in the leaflet. I have enjoyed this week because I have had enough
time to make improvements to my work and change the things I dislike, however I would have liked more time in
lesson to change the leaflet further.

10. Week 4- Production
Wednesday 9th January
Today I made more changes to my leaflet to improve the quality. I did not change anything on the front cover or the
back cover because I am happy with the layout of these pages; I think that the inside pages are not as high quality
which is why I developed them in more detail. Firstly, I changed the colour of the background because when I was
looking at examples of leaflets produced by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, then tend to have a beige/orange background
to influence the page to feel brighter and more colourful. I then added more of the ellipsis to act as pins on the
photographs. This not only made the page more colourful but also fill some empty space. After that, I changed some
images and moved them onto different pages so that more colour was incorporated on each page. I then added a
black rectangle to frame the hash tag so that it stood out more on the page. Finally, I used the shape tool to draw
some grass into the bottom of the pages to fill the empty space. I am happy with the changes that I have made
because I think that it has influenced the leaflet to look more professional. There is more colour on the page therefore
it grabs your attention and makes the photographs as well as the information stand out. We still have one more day of
production which means that tomorrow I can still make more changes. I would like to edit the inside pages even more
because I don’t feel that the pages look professional and incorporate many new Photoshop techniques. Tomorrow, I
would like to watch more tutorials on how to change objects such as the background to make it look more like used
paper. The more new techniques and skills that I use, the more professional the leaflet will look. I think that I have
used my time wisely because the pages have improved a lot from how they started out. If I could change one thing, I
would want to incorporate more shapes into the pages to fill some space as this would incorporate more colour and
make the page look more interesting.

11. Week 4- Production
Thursday 10th January
Today was the final of production which means I had little time to make improvements and change anything I didn’t like. I was not happy
with my work, however I was unsure how to make it look better. Firstly, I decided to create white boxes around the headings on each page. I
then used the stroke tool to influence them to look 3D. I edited the titles because I did not think that they stood out enough on the page and
did not grab your attention. After this improvement, I now think that they look much better and more interesting on the page amongst the
other text. Another way that I edited the inside pages was I watched several YouTube tutorials of how to create an old paper feel to the
page. To do this I painted the background a light beige colour then rendered into clouds to overlay the darker colour. I then used the pencil
tool to incorporate paint marks on top to give the background more depth. To develop this further, I used the dodge and burn tool to add
more highlights and shadows. When I was l looking at examples of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust leaflet, they tend to use this style of
background where it almost looks 3D. I think that this not only makes the leaflet stand out amongst the rest but also influences the colours
in the photographs to stand out more and appear brighter. Overall, I am a lot happier with the outcome of my inside pages than before
because I think they stand out and provide new techniques that I have tried. If I had more time, I would like to improve the pages even
further experimenting with new Photoshop techniques, although I am happy with the work I have produced in a short time. I think that we
had enough time to complete production because we also had additional time over Christmas to make changes in our own time. If I could
improve anything about my work, I would like to have visited more Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserves so that I could have spoken to more
visitors and volunteers as well as expanding my photographs. Places I would have liked to have visited would include Sherburn Willows and
Strensall Common. If I were to work with a client again, I would like to have more contact with them so that I could produce a product that
fits there brief in more detail. I think that working with a client is great experience because I conducted much more research: everything I
have learned will help me when I go to university.