Evaluation Question Seven

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

3. What are they key things I have learnt?
• From designing my college magazine to designing my music magazine I feel I
have improved in many different aspects, such as designing itself, being aware
of space and making my magazine aesthetically pleasing for the reader.
• Although there are many things that are different, there are also some similar
aspects between the two products.
• I have developed and also learnt many new skills on Photoshop and other
programs which have overall helped me produce a more professional design.

4. Photoshop:
• I feel this was the aspect of designing that I improved on the most. At first I
found Photoshop difficult and almost frustrating to use, as for my college
magazine I jumped straight into using it, without any prior experience. But the
more I used it, the more I developed my skills. As you can see here, on my
college magazine, I cut Maisie out from the background to make her stand out
further – but as you can see, some parts of her body/head look slightly
deformed due to my lack of skill whilst using the lasso tool. Whereas on my
music magazine, I have cut her out carefully and correcting any mistakes I made
using an eraser and buffer tool to create a natural edge.

5. InDesign:
• I also found InDesign difficult to use, as it had many similar tools to Photoshop
and also many more. But the fact that InDesign did have tools similar to
Photoshop meant that the two programs complimented each other, therefor
helped me to develop my skills on both.
• I designed both of my contents pages on InDesign and although I had gained
experience, I still found producing both quite challenging. Although, I did find
my college contents page harder to design as it contained different columns and
widths across the page, whereas my music magazine had a repeated shape over
the page, creating continuity and pattern.
I found that throughout designing my awareness
of space and layout definitely improved. As you
can see on my college magazine, there are
aspects of the text next to shapes and images
that just don’t seem to fit properly, whereas on
my music magazine, having a repeated shape
throughout made it easier to place things evenly
creating a standard layout.
On my college contents page I have only used
one font throughout, and overall this looks
slightly boring, whereas on my music magazine
contents I have used 3 different fonts creating a
balance between important information and
what takes priority.

6. Use of Colour:
As you can see on my front cover I
have kept a colour scheme throughout.
But I didn’t consider my spot colour in
combination with the photo of my
artist. Here, you can see that the blue
from Maisies’ top and jeans completely
clashes with the teal green I have used
for my cover lines and decorative
detail next to her.
Looking back, I also now realise that
my page style background is a little
distracting – this is due to the green
hue you can slightly see from it. I now
realise I should have made the
background image monochrome to
help my cover lines and model stand
out further.

7. Use of Colour:
Here is my final front cover design for
my music magazine. Similarly to my
college magazine I have used a spot
colour throughout to tie it all together
and make it look appealing and eye
catching.
Unlike my college magazine, I have
taken into consideration the colour of
my models outfit, and have taken
swatches of pink from her playsuit to
create the pink I have used throughout
my magazine. This shows continuity
and my development of knowing
design helped me to make this
decision.

8. Main Image:
Here my main image is a medium shot
of my model. It shows her whole body
which is unconventional for typical
magazines. Using this shot meant that
it wasn’t completely obvious on my
front cover which cover line related to
her specifically.
Also, the result of using this image
meant that she wasn’t the main focus
point of the front cover, and I learnt
through research that the main feature
person/artist is always the focus of the
whole front cover.
I also didn’t edit the photo much
before I made it my FC image. All I did
was enhance the colour, but now
looking back I can see aspects of the
image that I would edit to make it
seem more appealing & attractive.

9. Main Image:
Here you can see my image is
completely different from my college
magazine.
I have taken a medium close up as I
found them to be the most
conventional style of image that are on
front covers.
Since taking this photo and putting it
onto my front cover I edited it
considerably to make it more
attractive and also eye catching as she
is the main focus of the front cover.
I have left room around my model for
placement of cover lines, where as on
my college magazine, my model was
placed to the right of the page, only
giving one side to place the cover lines
meaning it lacked in variety and didn’t
grab the readers attention.

10. Main Cover Line:
Here, you can see a clear development in the design of my main cover line. On my
college magazine, the name of my main feature person doesn’t stand out as much
as the header above it. Whereas on my music magazine I have made sure that my
artists name dominates the page as I learnt that as she is the main feature for the
magazine, her name must be recognisable and eye catching in order to draw
people in to read the magazine. My development of skills on Photoshop meant
that I could put in an image for the text to make it look professional and slick.
I have also drawn more attention to my main cover line on my music magazine by
including the spot colour in a graphic circle around the text, therefor drawing
attention. Whereas on my college magazine, the name doesn’t stand out as much
as the black font doesn’t contrast with the dark teal green. It also hasn’t helped
that the header font is much larger than her name.

11. Spacing & Format:
Throughout both designs I considered layout and format, but as you can see
here both have been developed very differently. Although you can see
everything clearly on my college contents page, the size and placement of
the text doesn’t signify what is the most important. I also haven't made my
main feature article obvious. Whereas on my music magazine I have put my
main feature article at the bottom combined with an arrow so it grabs the
attention of readers – reminding them of the main focus point of the issue.
There are also parts of my college contents page where the spacing is off
making it seem unprofessional and rushed.

12. Overall…
Overall, I felt that my music magazine
looked a lot more professional and
conventional. Where as my college
magazine had some elements that
seemed childish & unprofessional.
Creating my college magazine
definitely helped me to develop skills
on Photoshop, InDesign and design
technique and making something
appeal directly towards your niche
target market.
Without designing my college
magazine I wouldn’t have learnt as
many skills therefor my music
magazine wouldn’t look as
aesthetically pleasing.