The document provides an evaluation of a magazine production project. It summarizes the research, planning, time management, technical qualities, aesthetic qualities, audience appeal, and peer feedback aspects of the project. For research, the producer analyzed magazine covers and circulated a survey. Planning was limited. Time management and ordering of pages could have been improved. Each page had a different color scheme and background images. Peer feedback praised the visuals but suggested some edits were too dark and providing more references.
3. Research
• I analysed many covers of different magazines with similar themes but not
as many of the articles, however I feel as though I got a good enough gist
of how to create the articles, and how to style them in a visually appealing
way. However, almost all of my product research came from this analysis,
as I was not capable of buying any similar magazines to get more ideas
from actual products of the same style. I circulated a survey based on the
kind of content my target audience would want to see in the magazine,
managing to collect 122 responses from the different Reddit forums it was
posted to. I used this to consolidate what the audience wanted to see,
before conducting two individual interviews to narrow down exactly what
should be featured.
4. Planning
• I didn’t do all that much planning, which is perhaps the major flaw with
my production. My planning consisted with just getting to know what I
would do with each page, the topics and the kind of images I would
include, just in general the layouts of the pages. I could have perhaps
planned the organisation of the magazine a little better though, as very
little time went into exactly what I would do when which led to me doing
the pages in a completely random order. I also did not have the exact
images I wanted on the page pre-found, and instead was finding them as I
produced the page.
5. Time Management
• I completed the product within the timeframe, and got the hang of how to
make good-quality pages within a relatively short time. However, I could
have better planned the order in which I would do each page and
complete in each order and how long I could allocate to production and
PowerPoints, which would have helped be more efficient with my time. If I
had more time I would have created more pages, perhaps a full double-
page spread on a single, main subject of the magazine, which would have
been more prominently featured on the front cover instead of the four
figures on the actual product.
6. Technical Qualities
Several labelled images
relevant to topic
Sections of separate text
with different subjects
I tried to make my pages fairly similar to those I analyzed but to give them my own them, mostly
in giving each page a specific colour rather than a plain white background, and changing the
images to fit the colour slightly. I kept the separated text that had different sub-topics but kept
them more collected than the other articles to make a continuity in the writings.
7. Aesthetic Qualities
I was very happy with the final forms of each of each of my pages as I spent a lot of time
figuring out each design during production. I’m still proud of the colour co-ordination on
each page as believe it gave the pages specific moods and easily recognizable styles,
which is very aesthetically appealing to any consumers. Perhaps ironically, the fact I didn’t
over-study article pages allowed me to create my own style of page creation and
organization. If I had more time, think I would have learned some more advanced
Photoshop techniques, like being able to change more images into a mosaic style, which
might fit the theme of the magazine better and increase the visual likability of the
product, especially with main images featuring people. I could have potentially done with
a wider variety of colours, as the pages for Sparta, Apollo and Odin are all some form of
gold, though they are different shades and have different background textures.
Every page has different
background images and colour
schemes.
Image location was diverse to
keep readers interested in
each page individually and
give them all unique looks
8. Audience Appeal
I have appealed to my target audience by creating the content of the magazine to the
desires of my target audience and the specifications of the interviews. I decided what to do
pages on by popular vote from the forums it was circulated on. For example, the Roman
Legion was the most popular choice of interest over the Greek Phalanx and a Viking Horde,
so I dedicated that slot of the magazine to the Legion. It was the same case for all others,
before I specified further with the interviews. For example, the survey voted Roman
Emperors the most popular class of rulers, and both interviewees seemed to know the
least about Marcus Aurelius and the most about Julius Caesar, so I did the page on the
Emperors about Augustus and Aurelius.
10. Feedback 1
• What did you like about the product?
– Its very involved in each specific topic being filled
with images to accompany the text
– The colours match each sections given subject
very well
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
– Maybe just fill in the white section with a book
title of each subject included on those pages
11. Feedback 2
• What did you like about the product?
– I highly enjoyed the aesthetics of this product, each page has a clear
theme and colour pallet matched to fit it which showcases attention
to details
– I was impressed by the amount of detailed information I was
presented with, it did not feel overwhelming, instead it was easy to
read and nice to look at
– The editing featured on these pages was also impressing. I enjoyed the
image of heads with their eyes edited out, it looked modern and fun
• What improvements could have been made to the product?
-Some of the edits felt a bit too dark in comparison to the rest of the
mages (the blue page and the man with the beard)
12. Feedback 3
• What did you like about the product?
– I really like the visuals of t all the lay out is really well done.
– like how you put the process of creation, Valhalla
– Very well structured, clearly informed and interesting to read
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
– Should put about how Baldur was immune to everything but mistletoe and Loki giving the dart to the
blind god was the start of Ragnarök, also Odin horse was Loki’s son.
– Honestly its really good and I just wanted to nerd out about Norse myth
13. Peer Feedback Summary
• What do you agree with from your peer
feedback?
• I like the fact people have been positive of colour schemes as that was what I
took a lot of time to perfect
• Looking back, some of the edits may have been too dark, especially in contrast
to the backgrounds
• More references to other, more detailed sources on each page would have
been a very good idea
• What do you disagree with from your peer
feedback?
• I did not disagree with any of the peer feedback given and all suggestions
would help improve the product.
14. Peer Feedback Summary
I would make several of the edits lighter in comparison to the background as
suggested by the feedback, as some seemed out of place with the rest of
the page they were on because that was touched on by the first others
seeing it. I would also have advertised more material for advanced learning
like books or documentaries as that is something many magazines do
anyway and would have helped make it feel more like a realistic magazine.
Editor's Notes
What were the strengths of your research? How did your research help your product?
What were the weaknesses of your research? What could you have done better/improve? What effect would this have had on your product?
What were the strengths of your planning? How did your planning help your product?
What were the weaknesses of your planning? What could you have done better/improve? What effect would this have had on your product?
Did you manage your time well? Did you complete your project on time or would your products have improved with additional time?
What would you have done if you had more time to produce your work?
Compare your work to similar existing products and discuss the similarities and differences
Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page alongside an existing product
Use text boxes and arrows
Does your work look good? Was it creative? What aspects of your game’s visuals do you like? What would you improve? How would you improve it?
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses
Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page and analyse them
Use text boxes and arrows
How have you appealed to your target audience? What specific bits of content would appeal to your target audience.
Refer to your findings from your questionnaire.
Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page and analyse them
Use text boxes and arrows
What changes would you make to your product based upon your peer feedback and why?