Creative Media Level 3 Year 1 - Print Project

1. Evaluation
Creative Media Level 3 Year 1 – Print Project

2. Research
• In regards to the research portion of my project, I focused primarily on magazine covers, which I believe is reflected in the
final product of my work. The area I focused on the most was the style of each researched product, and how it related to
their target audience. This included the layout of the products, the colours and fonts used in them, the types of images
selected, and how much of the total presence of the product each element commanded. A secondary aspect would be
what kind of connotations could be inferred and were being presented in order to increase sales, especially among the
target audience. The areas that I focused less on, the DPS and website, I processed in the same fashion, analysing the
structure of the piece and then extrapolating the methods and techniques used to bring them success, such as their usage
of colour and imagery. If I could improve my research, I would try to even out the amount of focus among the three areas,
devoting a more-or-less equal amount of time and effort to them. This would provide more information on otherwise
neglected aspects of the project.

3. Proposal
• While I have completed my proposal to a degree that I am satisfied with, I do believe that there are pieces of it where I
have stretched what is there too thin. The original draft I had clocked in at under the required word count, and so I had to
bolster the text so that it wasn’t rendered invalid. In each section I have appropriately explained the thinking behind my
choices and ideas, from the target audience to the core concepts of the product. If I had the chance to improve it in any
way, I would choose to streamline the text so that it was more of a cohesive document instead of its current clustered and
rushed state.

4. Production Research
• For my production research, the
main focus was on working with
different forms of creative
software, to learn how to properly
make the desired end product. We
studied how to use Adobe
Photoshop and InDesign in
tandem, and the enhanced results
that can be attained through their
combined use.

5. • The newly-introduced Adobe InDesign was confusing to use at first, being a functionally mutated form of the more familiar
Photoshop, but by the end of the production research phase I had at least a basic familiarity with the program. The main
focus of this phase was utilising the tools that the software provided, especially when it came to text manipulation and the
proper layout form of our designs.

6. • The other half of our production research was focused on website construction and development, created using various
builder services such as Wix. Wix offered multiple ways to create a professional website, from ready-made templates to
customised tool-based layouts that can be changed at a moment’s decision. There are over a hundred templates that can
be chosen for the designer’s needs, and each one can be altered to fit with the aesthetic of the chosen design.

7. Planning
• My planning was made up of multiple components, a flat plan, contingency plans, a style sheet, and a website plan. These
proved to be invaluable during the production stages of the project, laying the groundwork for the future stages and
providing a starting point for the product. The flat plan and website plan were integral in developing the double-page
spread and website respectively, and helped me figure out how to properly set up each product. The style sheet helped
me to streamline the aesthetics I wanted, while the contingency plans contained backup plans if there were any
obstructions during production. While useful, I do believe that they could be specified more, and seem underdeveloped in
my opinion, for example, the blocky and barren form of the flat plan.

8. Production
• The final part of our project was the point all of our research and planning was actualised and came to fruition. By using
Photoshop and InDesign, we created a front cover, double-page spread, and a website for an invented magazine brand, in
my case focusing on industrial innovation and revolutionary projects. A core element of my design for the project was a
vibrant and exciting environment, to symbolise the energetic nature of new ideation. The target audience was young to
middle-aged professionals, who value their work, and as such I made sure to present it as a news-based product with an
eye-catching aesthetic to showcase the brand’s eccentricity.

10. Production – Front Cover
• The production piece that I enjoyed the most, I used this part of the project to experiment with my chosen aesthetics,
including bold colours, eclectic font styles, and a wide range of visual effects, and combining them to create a striking
design that hooks in the audience. In this sense, I believe I have done well, as the differing aspects of the piece don’t clash
too much, as there are many stabilising elements that spread out the amount of attention, rather than focusing it in one
area. If I could improve it, I would focus more on the layout rather than the overall aesthetics, as its current state looks
slightly unbalanced when compared to professional brand products.

12. Production – DPS
• This is the product that I found to be the most challenging to create, requiring multiple revisions in both content,
technique, and form in order to get it to a state that I was satisfied with. The first part of the piece, the article, laid out the
foundation for nearly the entire project excluding the website, which focused more on the brand itself. Created in
InDesign, I wanted it to flow around the page, with the various photographs surrounding it helping to accentuate the form
of the piece and bring attention to the most important parts. In terms of quality, I have faith that the article holds up to
scrutiny, and the central photo that I took myself actually turned out better than I thought it would. However, when
compared it professional pieces, it looks barren and empty, with almost no personalised design to reflect the brand at all,
leaving the article to be sole point of interest rather than the main one. If I could improve it, I would try to energise the
piece by adding contrasting aesthetics to represent the dual nature of the promoted project, which would further draw in
the audience.

13. Production – Website
• The area that I had the least experience and skill in, I nonetheless used the tools and knowledge available to create a
website that I am satisfied with, even if I found it to be confusing at first. In order to have a proper base for the
production, I used an already-existing template for an advertising firm, and then injected my own design into it,
eliminating most of the original design elements. In keeping with the eclectic nature of the brand, I chose to create
something that had multiple different styles within it, almost as if it was a collaborative piece, and assigning each style to
one of the three pages I created. This broadened the scope of what I was able to include, and affords the piece the chance
to use multiple different aesthetics. On the other hand, because of this the piece lacks a sense of cohesion, and almost
seems like a scrapbook, with different and unusual styles thrown in without rhyme or reason. Also, as the final area of the
project I did, there was a sense of rushed anxiety surrounding it as the time gradually wound down, leading me sacrifice
detail for completion. Something that I would fix given the chance.