What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

1. Evaluation Question 6:
What have you learnt about
technologies from the process of
constructing this product?

2. Front CoverFor my front cover, I mainly used Adobe Photoshop CS6. This photo highlights all the different layers
which were put together to create my final product:
Whenever inserting text of which I screenshotted from DaFont.com, it appeared to have a slightly white
outline after using the magic wand tool to cut out the white background. In order to fix this, I clicked the ‘fx’
button, then added a black colour overlay; this ensured to eliminate the slight white glow effect and create
a more polished, professional looking piece.
After inserting my original photoshoot
image, I felt that it was slightly too dark
and needed more of a blue hue as well
as more pronounced shadows to
contrast the brightness of the artist’s
face. This may have been due to the
light received by my camera, which was
an iPhone 5S rear camera. I used this in
order to create a more authentic, down
to earth image which may have lacked
some crisp quality yet this added to the
rustic, vintage style of which many in
the Indie subculture are interested in.
In order to achieve this, I edited the
main image with the levels option as
well as the brightness/contrast option.
As shown in this screenshot, I changed
the brightness to a level 10 and the
contrast to a level 6 in order to achieve
a subtle yet effective outcome.
In order to achieve the look of a
well established and professional
brand image, I wanted to have
my artist’s head slightly overlap
the masthead; this would suggest
that I am confident in my new
magazine quickly building up a
reliable fan base who can
instantly recognise Wallflower
magazine no matter how much
of the masthead is covered. At
first I was unsure how to do this,
however I worked around this
problem by duplicating the layer
named “main image” into a new
document. I then took the lasso
tool to cut around the head of
my artist and then duplicated this
new layer back into my main
project. I positioned this new
layer over the top of the main
image and the word “Wall,”
therefore layering the artist’s
head over the masthead. In order
to polish this effect, I used the
eraser tool to take away any
extra background of which I
thought was unneeded, and
ended up with the final look of
which I desired. Finally, I linked
the “main image” and the “image
overlay” layers together to
ensure that they wouldn’t move
out of line.
For the rectangular shapes highlighting the
words “Meet Alex Burns,” I wanted them to
have a normal edge on the left but then a
slanted edge on the right to look as though
the artist was covering the rest of the
shape and that it was a more authentic
piece of the mise en scene during the
photoshoot. I was unable to create this
exact shape, so instead I took a normal
three rectangles, put them against the
artist’s arm, and used the eraser tool to
take away any extra colour which was not
needed. This resulted in the perfect shape
which blends in well with the main image.

3. Contents Page
My contents page again was created mainly through the use of Adobe Photoshop CS6. This photo highlights
all the different layers which were put together to create my final product:
When constructing my contents page, I knew
exactly what image I wanted to include,
however it was important to me that I had the
main background colour match the colour of
the main image as I wanted it only to take up
part of the page as opposed to the whole
page. I struggled initially to find a colour which
was a perfect match, however I then realised
that I could use the eyedropper tool to get the
exact coding I needed to create this colour. I
then went to the selective colour and gradient
fill tools to fill my background with this colour
by typing in the colour codes needed; this was
successful as it meant that my main image
would fit in and look more professional
against my background.
My main image had a full background
and a shadow behind the artist,
however I wanted the head of my
artist to appear as though it was
covering the masthead, as It does on
the front cover, and then have the
shadow behind the artist to be
behind the masthead in order to
create a more professional finish. In
order to do this, I used the
rectangular marquee tool alongside
the eraser tool to cut out part of the
background behind the artist, whilst
the eraser tool worked to polish the
more delicate aspects which needed
closer attention to detail. When
fitting the shadow behind the
masthead with the head in front, I
simply duplicated the layer named
“main image” into a new document
and then used the lasso tool to cut
out the shadow, which I then
duplicated back into the main
project. With the original shadow, I
used the rectangular marquee tool to
cut it out completely so that I could
insert my new shadow and place it
behind the masthead layer. As I did
on the front cover, I again made sure
to link the “main image” and “main
image shadow” layers together to
prevent either from moving out of
line with one another.
Three screenshots here
show the amount of
layers used to insert all
of the different aspects
of text across my cover
page.On my contents page, I felt it important to stick to
the convention of using multiple different images in
order to make the reader feel as though they know
the artist more personally. I therefore took a white
rectangle in Adobe Fireworks and layered an image
of my artist over the top; I then took a screenshot
and inserted this into Adobe Photoshop CS6 for my
contents page. Overall, this was successful as the
polaroid style pictures looked authentic and related
to the Indie subculture.

4. Double Page Spread
For my double page spread, I used Adobe InDesign. This photo highlights all the different processes which
were put together to create my final product:
I wanted a pull quote in my double page spread of which
would instantly arrest the reader’s attention and make
them want to read the rest of the article; in order to do
this, I used the ‘wrap around object shape’ tool to force the
text to flow around the pull quote and make it appear as
though it fits more seamlessly into the article. I also edited
the thickness of the outline of the shape which the text was
written in to make it ‘0 pt.’ This again was successful in
creating a more professional look as the body text seems to
flow around an invisible outline around the pull quote.
I again faced the issue
of my main image for
my double page
spread looking much
too dark for my final
piece; I therefore
took the image into
Adobe Photoshop
CS6 and used the
brightness and
contrast tool to
increase the
brightness of my
image and therefore
highlight the artist’s
face much more
easily, giving a much
more polished finish
to the final product. I
then successfully
used the place tool in
Adobe InDesign to
insert the image over
my double page
spread template.
Finally, I took the three rectangles reading “Meet Alex Burns” from the front cover and then
edited the text so that it would describe the photographer, editor, and writer of the article on
the double page spread. I then took a screenshot and saved the image, again using the place
tool to create the same effect of the rectangles sitting behind the artist’s arm as used on the
front cover page.