evaluation

1. Evaluation
Emma Garthwaite

2. Production Process Evaluation

3. Research- Existing products
Within the research process I looked into existing products to see what kind of style I wanted to create
my magazine in and to get inspiration for my own work. I looked into both covers and double page
spreads to be able to research both and be able to work out what both my articles and front cover
should look like or to be able to work out what I wanted them to look like. I think this helped a lot
because it taught me that not everything in the fashion industry doesn’t have to be so busy and you can
make it minimalistic and look just as good which is what I wanted to do and I think I did it quite well.
This is because within my research, including my audience research people had said that they wanted a
minimalistic look therefore I wanted to take that into consideration to add to my audience appeal. The
only thing with my researching existing products was that it was hard to find magazines that I could
really find a lot of inspiration from due to me wanting to do something different to the usual magazines
and not something generic as I think if it was not different it was not going to be as eye catching. The
best existing product that I researched was probably the Genlux magazine. Due to this being very similar
to the style I wanted to create for my work such as the very simple cover and the focus on the photos,
clothes and make up – not just the text. I really did take some inspiration from this cover but tweaked it
to make it my own and added some taglines to let my readers know what the content was within the
magazine because I think that things work better with more context and can draw the audience in more
with taglines because you can see what is going to be within my magazine and have a general idea of
the content. I think the way I changed something that inspired me worked quite well and I like to think
that it turned out well thanks to the simplistic inspiration from my existing products. If I could do my
existing products research again I would definitely look into magazines that were more like what I
wanted to create rather than just general fashion magazines like I did while researching for this project.

4. Research
My front cover Product I researched
This was the cover that
I had researched and
that I had taken
inspiration from. As
you can see as I’ve said
I added taglines
because I wanted to
cover the content of
the magazine as well
to give the audience a
general idea of what is
in my magazine. I also
opted against a
headshot as it’s a
fashion magazine so I
wanted it focused on
the fashion as well as
the model.

5. Research - Audience
My audience research was definitely interesting as I did a survey to find out
general things such as who reads magazines and who enjoys things such as
fashion because of that being what my magazine was about. I think general
questions like this worked well where as some things got slightly touchy due to
fashion magazines reputation in the media. As a lot of people relate fashion
magazines with models who suffer from eating disorders etc therefore people had
a negative opinion on my magazine already. Therefore this helped me realise that
I needed to use healthy models and a variation of models to make sure people
didn’t look at my magazine and think about the bad reputation fashion magazines
have because I don’t want something I love to have that reputation. Therefore
when it came to shoots although I mainly had one model which was Emily with
things such as my photography section I wanted to use a variation of models and
be able to make sure I took my audience research into consideration so I can
definitely say that my audience research definitely opened my eyes to reputations
that fashion magazines have nowadays. However If I could change anything I
would of not focused on one specific model mainly and I would have used
different models for different things not just one specific feature.

6. Research - Audience
This was the type of feedback I got about my research onto my fashion magazine
and this really opened my eyes on what I should be aware of within this industry
because the last thing I wanted to do was make a magazine that had the same
reputation as other fashion magazines and I definitely didn’t want to body shame
anyone or have unhealthy models at all. Therefore I feel like I used a good variety
of models and I think maybe in future I would like to use more of a variety and
even include some male models however its getting people to model for you
which is the problem.

7. Planning
Within my planning we started off by making things like style sheets which
definitely helped but I think I should have stuck by things like colour schemes that
I had planned for my front cover as now in my final product I think my front cover
is quite bland and could do with a little bit more. I’m happy with it but I think it
could definitely be improved so I think I should keep my planning open when im
making something to keep it on par with my planning and remember what I
originally wanted. As for thinks such as fonts I think I did keep them pretty on
track to what I wanted due to what I had downloaded and what worked with my
page layouts. My layout plans were pretty vague however and didn’t really work
within print therefore I ended up doing something else that worked a little better
within the set up and in the spread. Therefore I didn’t stick to a lot of my planning
which isn’t the best idea and I really wish that I had but the over all out come
does not show the negative side of this through the final product. My contingency
planning was pretty standard and just reminded me what to keep and eye out for,
same with health and safety. It was also there just as a reminder just in case
something did happen and I couldn’t remember what I had to do. Im really glad I
did this as although nothing went wrong its always better to have something and
not need it rather than need it and not have it.

8. Time Management
• Within my time management I think with things such as my research and
planning I had a very good management of time so that all my power
points were finished on time. However my time management within my
production part could have definitely been better as towards the end I
think I was trying to rush to get it finished and I think if I had managed my
time better throughout the entire project it would’ve come out better and
neater. I think this is because my time management has always been good
within my past projects therefore I think it was something that I wasn’t
majorly worried about it and I think In future I should probably keep aware
of my time and my deadlines therefore my time management would have
been better and then it would have worked out a little bit better.
Therefore I think that I should have stuck to a harder schedule. Therefore
next year when I do another project I will focus more on keeping to a
schedule therefore I wont have to worry about having to work after
deadlines or rush for my project to be finished which would have been a
lot better this project.

9. Technical Qualities
As for the editing side of things I really think I went for the simple approach where with most
of my photos all I really did was adjust the colour with the curves which made certain colours
less prominent such as yellows and reds that stood out in different photos. All I wanted to do
with editing it make the quality of the photos better rather than heavily photo shop my
models as I didn’t want my magazine to have the fake reputation or look as some other
fashion magazines I have seen within the media which is why the fashion industry has such
bad connotations linked to it.
I wanted my work to be quite minimalistic within the layout aspect of things therefore that
wasn’t anything major either. Things like fonts were rather simple however hard to find as I’m
quite picky with fonts and I think it can ruin or make a page if you use the wrong or right font
for the page.
In hindsight I could have definitely edited more however I think within my personal magazine
less was more and I think the photos look good without a massive amount of editing and I am
very happy with how it has all turned out. The one thing I would possibly change was using
the healing brush on skin ect because I think that cancels out the whole natural feel from the
magazine that I wanted people to get from it and If I could change anything it might even be
less editing.
I also made small changes to things such as eyebrows and the blue eyeliner on some photos.
As these were things that I wanted to stand out more which I think I succeeded in and I think
although they are editing the model I think it was more making them stand out rather han
improving something on the model.

10. Aesthetic Qualities
I personally think my work looks fairly aesthetic. I think things like the front cover could be
a little more interesting but then again I was going for a more minimalistic look which I
think did work but it could do with something a little more interesting such as a more
interesting colour scheme however a problem I was having was getting text to show up
over things hence why its such a dark colour because it’s the only one I thought looked
right against my background picture. Also I think the fact that my double page spreads
being simple as well shows that I was going for the minimalistic look rather than just being
lazy with my work and didn’t want to do anything more it was genuinely because I like the
minimalistic look. As for my photography section, this is my favourite work I have done due
to the aesthetic. I think it definitely adds a pop of colour to my magazine as a completely
different section that is added due to my general interest in fashion photography and from
people in my audience that I have spoke to I know they would be interested too. I do think
my work is quite creative and I think it has worked well with the aesthetic that I’ve got and
im very happy with how it all looks as a whole and I like the way that the photography
section changes up the aesthetic mid way through and enjoyed making the different types
of aesthetics.

11. Audience Appeal
I like to think I have taken my audience into consideration while making my magazine and
I think my audience research reflects this as well as I think people put forward their
concern of the reputation that fashion magazines have and this isn’t what I wanted my
magazine make people think of therefore I really did try to make sure my models did not
look unhealthy or heavily photo shopped so that It wasn’t the fake stereotypical fashion
magazines that have the bad reputation which is a lot of fashion magazines. I also tried to
listen to other things my audience wanted. Such as them preferring a minimalistic style
which I think I definitely portrayed within my magazine. I think audience research and
appeal is a big part of the whole process due to the fact that if you don’t appeal to your
audience then its just not going to work as well as you think because if your audience
don’t like it then it wont be popular. I think within my research I could’ve asked more
specific questions and got a more detailed response and got more specific things to
change and make sure its really going to appeal to my audience but I think with the
information I got from my survey then I’ve done a pretty good job.

12. Peer
Feedback

13. Feedback 1
• What did you like about the product?
The front pages composition is very effective and works great with the following pages
in the magazine. The next page jumps straight into the article, keeping it simple but
filling the page. The main title font and the article font contribute each other well and
the full page photo to the right really draws in your eye.
I really like the simplicity of the next couple of pages. The black works well against the
white. Also having the main images in the centre is a good way to lead the reader eye
through the product.
The next page contains an advert for lipstick which you can see has been carefully
constructed.
• What improvements could have been made to the product?
The composition of the magazine is put together in a very simple way, the colour
schemes for the first couple of pages are black and white. Something that could be
boring enough to turn readers away. It is the first few pages that are the most
important to a reader and a boring colour scheme could be the difference between
someone buying the magazine and leaving it on the shelf.
You also have filled the magazine with adverts, it feels like you have ran out of context
and have decided to fill in all the blank spaces with adverts.

14. Feedback 2
• What did you like about the product?
– Cool content, especially the Enzo photos
– Double page spreads flowed nicely
– Especially love the hair ad as well.
• What improvements could have been made to the product?
• Negative space on some pages that are mainly text, looks
empty
• Font/colour on the front cover get a little lost
• The front cover doesn’t go with the entire aesthetic

15. Feedback 3
• What did you like about the product?
– I think the photos are a definite strong point within this product.
– I like the fact that all the fonts are very similar and simple
– Everything ties together nicely
• What improvements could have been made to the product?
• The front cover looks quite bland, could do with more of a colour
scheme
• I think some pages look slightly empty rather than minimalistic
• Could definitely do with more colour on some of the double page
spreads

16. Peer Feedback Summary
• What do you agree with from your peer feedback?
– I think its definitely agreeable that the colour schemes get lost a lot
within the front cover etc and I think I will work on this if I have time
to improve it. I think especially the front cover could definitely be
improved within this aspect.
– I also agree with the fact that the double page spreads flow nicely and
I think it’s definitely a nice confirmation to know other people agree
with this.
• What do you disagree with from your peer feedback?
– I don’t think my magazine looks empty. I think I have achieved a
minimalistic look quite well and I think it looks quite simple and classy.
– I also don’t think my adverts mean that I’ve run out of content
considering how many articles I actually have within my product.

17. Peer Feedback Summary
I think I would definitely improve my front cover and look at what I could do
to make it more interesting and more compatible with the rest of my work. I
think it could definitely have a more interesting colour scheme just to draw
the audience in and make it more appealing to my audience and make it
stand out compared to other products because my main aim was to make
my magazine different to other magazines so that it stands out if it was to
be in a shop or something.
I would maybe try out more complicated layouts just to be able to try
something a little different because I think its important to push yourself
and try different things within projects like this. I would want to try
something different because I’ve only really looked at things such as
minimalistic styles and looks.