3. Research
I believe a strength of my research is that I viewed several completely
different styles, layouts and brands of magazines. By looking at just the covers
of them you can see which of the magazines are international or national or
only about one video game company (Nintendo power) or rather it promotes
all of them (EDGE). Researching three different magazines let me see what
they all had in common, thus lets me see what I should include. As well as
also giving me ideas for the layout of my cover and a suitable colour scheme.
As for the weaknesses of my research, I forgot to research an existing
product’s double page spread, so I couldn’t annotate and gain ideas from that
but luckily I already had ideas on what I wanted to do with the layout of the
inside of my magazine.
4. Planning
My planning process for my cover consisted of deciding what game(s) I would
have on the cover, deciding why that game would be there, how it would be
presented and how I would make people want to buy it. Other elements like
what colour scheme to use and what the banner would say etc worked out
well. So in that aspect my planning was good.
On the other hand, I also planned to include a lot more in my magazine that
ended up being failed potential. Items such as top 10 lists and releases and
reviews and monthly must plays didn’t make it into my final product because
there wasn’t enough room and all we had to produce was an article for one
thing. A lot of planning was for nothing.
5. Time Management
Taking improvements from my other projects in the past, I did plan time
management better in my visual subject. At the end of the first week I completely
finished the cover for my magazine and I am happy with the result and I also
finished the layout for the double-page spread as well, all that was missing was the
text that I planned to do at home so I could spend more time on Photoshop, editing
and finalising the design so I can then later add the text easily.
Although I utilised time better this time around there is always some room for
improvement; while making the cover of the magazine I completely forgot I had the
inside to create as well, luckily I sorted this and quickly got to producing the article.
7. Aesthetic Qualities
While searching through google for images of
magazine covers to compare my product to I
struggled to find one that look similar two mine in
the sense that no other featured two headliners. So I
find my interpretation of a gaming magazine cover to
be both creative and original.
A necessity of making a cover like this, is having high
resolution pictures to use as featured article photos; I
found a lot of other, better pictures that would have
fit perfectly into the magazine but just appeared
pixelated and fuzzy.
Strengths:
• Strong colour scheme
• Good contrast between headliners
• Big, bold title to catch attention
• Includes an abundance of magazine features
Weaknesses:
• Dodgy spot-healing areas
• No selling line, kicker or cover line
• Make the plug and flash more distinguished
8. Audience Appeal
Both games featured on the cover of m magazine and therefore the game I wrote an
article on have an age rating of 18, and at first sight doesn’t seem to be targeted at 14
year olds and over and may put people off buying it. However if it were to be
produced, the back of the magazine would include a note of reassurance that the
magazine also involves content for all ages, they’d be articles and pages on all the
latest and trendiest games for people of that age (i.e. Fortnite, Minecraft etc.)
Obviously there’s the content for more mature readers as well. Having articles on all
types of games leaves the doors open for any potential reader and avid video game
player to pick up the magazine and enjoy it. To make sure people know what to expect
inside and want to read more I put a few notes at the bottom of the front page
This gives a brief insight on the games and subjects in the magazine, and if someone
were to see a game they really enjoy they might decide to buy the magazine.
Considering the audiences social status, I priced the product at £2.50, which is
almost half the price of what other brands in this line of content. I think this is a fair
price for these kinds of reading materials.
10. Feedback 1
• What did you like about the product?
– The difference in colours
– The contrast between them
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
– Make the title stand out more
(bigger, brighter)
11. Feedback 2
• What did you like about the product?
– Complimentary colours
– The dichotomy
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
– More blue on the right side
12. Feedback 3
• What did you like about the product?
– Overlapping of the images
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
– Make writing clearer
13. Peer Feedback Summary
• What do you agree with from your peer
feedback? I agree that the colour used for the cover of the
magazine fit well and the images overlapping is a nice little
feature. I also agree that I should have had made the writing
on the double-page spread clearer.
• What do you disagree with from your peer
feedback? I disagree with that I should have put more blue
on the right page; the icy background was meant to represent
the game and the blue was meant to stand out
14. Peer Feedback Summary
I really enjoyed producing the cover for my magazine as I found the
tools and process easier to use now I have gotten used to them but
it is always fun to experiment and find new methods. Such as
overlapping the images, for that I just layered via a cut and placed it
over the line. So I agree with the feedback that the image
overlapping is good and that the colour scheme works out. However
the writing on the inside of the magazine is quite difficult to see
unless zoomed in by quite a bit.
However I would not change the title for the cover of my magazine
as I think the colour scheme works also the size is just right enough
that I can fit everything else on.
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?
