My final evaluation for the print project

1. Evaluation
BY RHYS SADLER-SCOTT.

2. AgainstInitial Plans: Cover
In comparison to my initial plan for the cover, my finished product holds many similarities and expansions of the original design.
The position of the Masthead and the main image remains unchanged, though the rotation of the image has been shifted slightly
for better effect. The title has also been shortened to just “The whole plate.” The description of other articles in the top right
remains the same, filled in by an article about Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. The description of the main image is not featured in
the top left as planned. Instead there is an advertisement for Netflix. While the description is inside the image itself.
The final piece is considerably more detailed than the
original plans, including a bar code, a trademark, a price
and a date around the title. As well as a different colour
scheme, though still gradient.
All in all, my final piece follows the plan quite closely,
though with much more detail and a few additions.

3. Against Initial plans: Double spread.

4. Against initial plans: Double spread
Against my initial flat plan, the double spread I have produced is very similar to
what I had originally envisioned. The main image and text are in exactly the
same place as I had planned, the only real difference is the lack of a ‘side image’
Which I was planning to put in-between the first and second paragraphs. I was
unable to do this because the article I wrote was too long to allow for another
image to break it up into pieces. The main image is also smaller than I had
imagined it would be, as well as having a title for the article, instead of just
describing it underneath the image. The first paragraph starts on the same page
as the main image, to allow room for the entire extract. Aside from these
changes and the overall colour scheme, which I one again overhauled for more
subtle grey’s and whites, there is little difference between the final piece and
the flat plan.

6. Against initial plans: Website
The biggest difference between my initial plans and my final pieces is the format of the website. Originally I
had planned to have three different sections of the website for each aspect of media I was focusing on. As
well as having an overall homepage. While the focus of the website has not changed, and there are articles
featuring every aspect of what I had planned, the site is not split into sections as I had originally envisioned. I
have also added a contact page that wasn’t there before to let the readers of the site send in their own
opinions and ideas. Instead of having the website split into sections, the articles are all available from the
main page, while the review of the month and the special article featuring voice actors have their own
sections. There are still similarities between the plans and the final piece, such as the colour scheme of the
work, focusing on muted greens and oranges quite heavily. As with most of the initial planning, the content
that I had planned to include remains the same, but with more detail and with some content added. Just as I
would have hoped.

7. Reflection: Front cover
I used Photoshop for the entirety of my front cover. With a blend of original images that I photographed
myself, images from the products that I am advertising and self-produced images. I used the gradient tool for
the background in order to give the cover a glossy look, like a real magazine. I think this was mostly
successful and the colour scheme helps the magazine to look much more professional then it would have
otherwise, especially with the contrast between the brighter tone of the main image. I chose to put the main
image at a tilt. This was for two reasons, firstly, so that the image would fit better on the page, and secondly,
because the angle, paired with the opposite tilt of the Netflix subscription, is eye-catching for the reader. I
used a combination of big and small fonts, the big Fonts are designed to draw focus and make the reader
want to know more, while the smaller fonts are giving more information on the subject.
I also put an original image of writing inside the masthead to make it more related to media, with a white
outline to make it more eye catching. I used several small touches to make the image of professionalism
more pronounced, like the barcode in the bottom left, the date and price near the masthead, the issue
number, and the trademark symbol next to the title. I was also careful to include at least one reference to
every branch of media that I am trying to incorporate: Video games in the top right, books and films in the
centre, TV in the Netflix subscription. I am very happy with the final piece, with not many aspects that I
would alter or change. I think the usage of colours is very akin to other professional magazines like Empire or
PC gamer and the title works well with the source material.

8. Reflection: Double spread
I used InDesign for the entirety of the final double spread, with the exception of the main
image, which I edited on Photoshop so that I had more options available. I used the
gradient tool to make the background more professional and eye-catching and simple text
boxes for the rest of the article, which features an extract from a cinematic novel. In order
to demonstrate how cinematic ideas can translate into a book. I am happy with the
content I managed to produce for my final double spread, the original image I took fits and
the article ties into the overall focus on media. However, I did struggle to make this work
as aesthetically pleasing as I would have liked. Due to the heavy emphasis on the writing
and the difficulty of finding an image that fit the article. Since a book extract isn’t easy to
take colourful or visually pleasing pictures of. To try and make the spread more interesting.
I added a gradient background, consistent with the colour scheme on the front cover and
thus helping to tie the two pieces together into a cohesive whole. I also did some
photoshop enhancements on the main image to make it bolder and more eye catching to
the reader. All in all, I still believe that while the content is good and solid. Visually, the
piece could have used some more colour, though I do think it looks professional and might
not be out of place in something like a newspaper. Overall, I am happy with the work and it
does tie well into the cover and original idea I had for the magazine.

9. Reflection: Website
I used Wix to create my final website, as well as my test website, both were made
with the basic ‘blog’ template. Which I felt would be best suited to my focus on
mainstream media. I think that while the website might not be the strongest final
piece of the three, due to a slight lack of content, at least in my eyes, it is the most
detailed and polished of the three. With a lot of thought put into each section of the
site. I also produced every original article and review on there myself, which was no
mean feat. So I think the quality of the work more than makes up for the lack of
quantity. Despite the emphasis on toned down colours and gradients on the magazine
itself as well as the double spread. I felt that a different approach was needed for the
website, as it was a different medium. This meant that potential readers might expect
something different from the website. This is what drove my decision to make the site
much more colourful than its Magazine counterpart. A decision that I think payed of,
as the bold, contrasting colours help to give the site it’s own identity and the changing
fonts on the title show the relative informality of the source material, which might
help to appeal to some younger audiences. Overall, I think the strongest piece of
work on the website is the Review of the recently released season 2 of the hit Marvel
show “Jessica Jones.” Which I watched with the mindset of reviewing it for the
website. Though I am also happy with the other individual articles, particularly the
highlight of voice actors and the important work they do.

10. Issues
My main issue with the front cover of the magazine is the lack of interesting original images. The Decision to
take pictures of books that had been adapted into popular films made perfect sense due to the magazine’s
heavy focus on media, but visually, they are not very interesting or eye catching for readers outside of hardcore
fans. I also wonder if a more attractive main font could have been used, as well as keeping font consistency.
Which was difficult to do without altering the entire layout of the cover.
For the Double Spread, my main issue is the relative lack of colour and imagery compared to the other two final
pieces, which might have caused some tone dissonance. I could have used a more eye catching main image or a
more intriguing title. I might also have used a brighter colour for the gradient background, but I feared doing so
would make it look unprofessional.
The website is probably the strongest piece of the three, but I do think it suffers from a definite lack of content.
This is mostly due to the large amount of writing and effort put into the work that is present on the site.
Everything was written and produced for the project, with no articles or taglines borrowed from other media.
This meant it was difficult to produce a large amount of content and meant I didn’t have time to add more
options to the site, such as a subscription or help page.

11. Effectiveness
I think the effectiveness of all of all three of my finished pieces stems from their very broad
subject matter. Statistically, an overwhelming majority of people have some sort of interest in
one of the three most popular branches of modern media, which was my reasoning for creating
a product that focused on all three. Though this might give the work a small issue with lack of
content, since there has to be an equal amount of content for all branches, it also makes it three
times as likely to appeal to audiences of all races, ages, and preferences. The effectiveness of
using media as a focus, is that there is no singular demographic that prefers it, since individuals
of all ages can appreciate and therefore be attracted to some form of the media I have focused
on in my finished pieces. The most evident example of this is my front cover, which has a clear
reference to not only the three main aspects of modern media; those being TV, Films and Video
games, but books as well. This gives the magazine an even wider area of influence to those who
are interested in more specific branches of media. Though shades of this are present on the
double spread and the website as well, they are both more specialised in the area of media they
focus on. Whereas with the cover, I made a conscious effort to have it appear all encompassing,
since it will likely be the first thing anyone interested in the magazine will see, so it is important
to get the message of multimedia focus across on the first impression of the magazine.

12. Possible Improvements
I think the cover might have been improved firstly by choosing a more consistent font to tie the piece together,
but the lack of choice and constraints on how much room I had to use the fonts forced me to use a different type
of font when advertising the Lost Legacy in the top right corner. This also leads to my second improvement, which
would have been blending the screenshot from the game into the background of the magazine better. As is, it
sticks out compared to the rest of the imagery, which is much better integrated into the magazine. Aside from
that, there are not many improvements I would make on the cover, which I think is one of the stronger parts of
the project. For the double spread, I would have used a more interesting font for the main title, in order to make
the spread look more eye catching, but time constraints and lack of available fonts caused me to have to settle on
the existing font. I also would have used a more interesting image for the centre piece, like a rough sketch of one
of the scenes detailed in the article, instead of a hard copy of the book itself. I might also have used a brighter
colour pallet for the background, as I think the existing colour scheme can make the spread look dreary in
comparison to the other two main pieces. My only real thoughts for improvement on the website would be to
include more content. Since every article had to be written and edited by myself, I did not have as much time as I
would have liked to produce pages for the site, which led to a lack of both content and pages. Originally I had
planned to add a page for subscribing to the magazine and a help page, neither of which are present on the final
site due to time constraints.

13. What have I learned?
I have learned how to navigate and create a basic blog/website on Wix during this project. Which well be helpful
if I ever need to make a website for another project or pursue a career in web design. I also learned how to use
the basic tool and techniques on InDesign, which was much easier to use than photoshop in terms of formatting
my double spread. I also picked up a lot of information on the basic layout of a magazine double spread. I.e.,
where the title, main image, secondary image would be best located in order to offset the articles. So I feel much
more confident if I ever have to produce something similar especially with the formatting, which I wasn’t entirely
confident with before. Finally, I now know what is most commonly put on the cover of a product to make it more
viable for purchase. Like having a barcode on the front to show it available for purchase, and making sure that the
images on the cover give the reader a solid idea of what information can gleaned from the magazine. Little details
like that are very important, which is probably the main thing I have learned during this project.