The author reflects on how their skills with Photoshop and magazine design have improved from their initial student magazine to the subsequent music magazine. For the masthead, headlines, photos, and conventions, the author was able to apply techniques like adding strokes, using different fonts and colors, improving photo editing, and making content more eye-catching. Overall, the author felt they gained valuable experience in magazine design conventions and using Photoshop more effectively.

1. Looking back at your preliminary
task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to
the full product?

4. Mast head.
The mast head on my student magazine is simple
because this was made when I had only first started
using Photoshop and didn’t understand how to use
all of the tools yet. I understood how to put a slight
shadow behind the writing to make it stand out
against the background more than it would without.
The mast head on my student magazine may be
slightly to big as it almost is taking up half the page,
but on my music magazine you can see I have
reduced the size to allow more room for headlines
and the photo.
However when you look at my music magazine you
can see that I now have been able to place the
writing to make a stylish masthead and I have also
been able to add a stroke to the writing in pink to
make it bold and stand out more.

5. Headlines.
The headlines on my student magazine cover are mainly made up of one word
headlines. On my music magazine cover I have made sure the headlines are
more interesting and made them something my audience will be interested in.
However I also did this on y student magazine cover where the headlines
include ‘contests, discos, prizes’(things that would interest students)
The way I have presented the headlines on my student magazine cover isn’t as
eye catching as it could have been, but the colour of the fonts do match the
green and white colour scheme and I have found out how to put a plain black
font around the writing. I think I have improved the headlines and the style of
them on my music magazine cover. I've improved by using different fonts not
just one and I have used more colours in the headlines to draw more attention
to them. By this time I also have learned how to change the colour of the stroke
around each letter and line, I have also been able to change hoe thick I would
like the stroke to be. There is also more information on my music magazine
cover.

6. Comparing headlines.

7. Conventions (cover)
I think when making my student magazine cover I understood that it need a
date, a price, a masthead and headlines that would interest my target
audience. However the a convention I may have broken on my cover and
contents page is the lack of eye contact, I also could have added more
headlines and information on the cover to draw in the targeted audience.
On my music magazine cover I made sure the subject was making eye
contact to connect with the audience. I also put a quote underneath their
headline to give the audience an Idea of what the magazine and the
subject is about. I also put an offer at the bottom of my magazine to attract a
larger audience. On my music magazine cover I also understood I needed a
date, a price, a masthead, headlines and a colour scheme. I learned how
important it was to have a colour scheme after making my student magazine
because with out it the magazine would just look jumbled and thrown
together.

8. Photographs Cover & contents.
The first thing that I personally think I have developed
and altered the most is the way I have taken the
photographs. In the first magazine I have only used
natural light and used a lot of heavy editing on the
saturation and contrast/brightness of the photos (more
than I’d like, if I had instead taken them with the strobe
lights/ soft boxes I won’t have to edit them as much and
they would look more professional) The photos on the
magazine also haven’t been edited with the healing
brush tool where as on the cover of my new magazine I
learned how to use this tool and did in order to make the
artist look more polished. Another thing I notice about my
student magazine is no one is making eye contact (yes
they are doing activities) but its more likely the audience
would connect if the subject was making eye contact
with the camera. For the photos on the contents page
the subjects could have linked arm for example and all
looked in to the camera, to look more engaged with the
audience.

9. Title (contents)
For my student magazine I had a large clear title reading contents and the
top of the page with a black stroke around it and the page
listings(contents) listed below in a bold font (white with a black stroke)
For my music magazines contents page I put the mast head from the
cover at the top with the title to keep the contents page consistent with
the cover. By putting the mast on the contents page it keeps the
magazine not only consistent but also keeps a house style through out the
magazine

10. Colour scheme (contents)
For my contents page colour scheme (student magazine) the
colour scheme was kept consistent with cover. I could improve
this on my music magazine because I learned how to use more
colours on the palette and I could add more strokes to the writing
in colour to brighten up certain aspects of the page.

11. Conventions (contents)
My student magazines contents page
breaks a few conventions, it doesn't have
the mast head from the front on it to keep it
consistent with the cover. I also haven’t
used any quotes on my contents page, I
also didn’t have categories.
However on my music magazine I have
added categories to divided my columns, I
have included the mast head from my
cover on my contents to keep a house style
and keep the magazine consistent. I have
also added a quote to the images of the
artists.
However on both contents pages I haven’t
included an editors letter, if I had the
chance to remake the student magazine I
would have added one but for the style
and theme of my magazine I chose not to
add one on my music magazine contents
page.

12. On my music magazine
I have also added a
issue number, the date
and I have included
some offers to draw
draw attention to
particular artists. (I
didn’t do this on my
student magazine
contents page)

13. Adding an Article and over view.
Unlike my student magazine in my music
magazine I also created an article using the
skills I had learned from making my two covers
and contents pages.
Over all I feel I have have learned a lot about
how to not only use photoshop but about
conventions of magazines and how to design
and put a magazine together.