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

1. Q7. Looking back at your preliminary
task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to
the full product?

2. PREMLIMINARY FINAL PRODUCT

3. PREMLIMINARY FINAL PRODUCT

4. FONT CHOICES
I have learnt from researching magazines, that magazines use similar
bold fonts for the features on the front cover. Therefore, for my final
product I chose to use the same bold font for all features on the front
cover and then used more creative fonts for the most important text.
E.g. I have used a playful looking font for ‘Dynamix’ as this helps with
the branding of my magazine. The font is different so will be
remembered and associated with the magazine. I also used a creative
font for ‘Owen James’ as this is important text.
For my preliminary task I used a range of different fonts on the
front cover. Making some fonts unclear to read. For example, the
thin text advertising ‘Need to earn some extra money?’ is not a
bold enough text to be used on the front cover. Also, for students
earning extra money is important but this font does not make it
stand out meaning I did not appeal to my target audience
effectively.

5. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MASTHEAD
PREMLIMINARY MASTHEAD FINAL PRODUCT MASTHEAD
I also learnt the importance of the masthead on my magazine. The masthead
on my preliminary task was bold but slightly to small and basic whereas in my
final product I used a more creative font that people my audience could
associate with the ‘pop’ genre of my magazine. By using this font it made it
the masthead stand out more compared to the preliminary task. The font and
colour I used for my preliminary task masthead was not appealing to a
younger audience which is why decided to change it for my final product.

6. FONT CHOICES AND STRUCTURE OF CONTENTS PAGE
For my preliminary task, I did not know the importance of the left side
third rule on a contents page meaning the structure of my preliminary
contents page was untidy. This meant my audience were not drawn to
the features even though this is the most important aspect of the
contents page. Furthermore, I did not include words underneath each
feature explaining what its about meaning the features are not
encouraging the readers to turn to that feature.
Whereas, for my final product I categorised the features
under bold subheadings which made it easy for the
audience to find the feature they want to read. I also
prioritised the features on the front cover before the
features advertised inside the magazine because these are
more important. In addition to this I used a smaller font to
write a description about each feature.

7. LAYOUT/STRUCTURE
In my preliminary task, the image was not appropriate for my
target audience. As well as this, the sizing of the image was not
big enough which makes the layout of the text look
overcrowded. As a result it takes the focal point away from the
main image which is not good for a magazine.
I learnt that the main image is very important on a front cover.
Therefore, for my final product I used a medium long shot
instead of a medium shot so that the image was bigger and
stood out. The image I used had to display the genre of
magazine and the kind of music that the artist makes because
this is what would appeal to my target audience. From resizing
the image it has made the layout of the magazine look less
crowded which overall improved its appearance.

8. GENERIC CONVENTIONS
In my final product I have included a issue number which shows that my
understanding of generic conventions of magazines has improved as
this is something I did not use in my preliminary task. I learnt that most
magazines include an issue number even though it is not a required
generic convention. I chose to include ‘issue number 1’ to inform my
target audience that my music magazine is a new magazine.
I appealed to my target audience through advertising
features to do with driving lessons and universities.
However, for my main image on the front cover I used an
image of a happy younger student dressed in school
uniform . This would not have appealed to sixth form
students as the student is not within their age range so
they would not have been able to relate to the picture
on the magazine.

9. GENERIC CONVENTIONS OF CONTENTS PAGE
It is typical of magazine to have images on the contents page that
relate to features inside the magazine. I have learnt from doing my
preliminary task that I had to include images with a clear number
telling my readers which feature it links too. Another generic
convention that I used in my final product was that I placed the
masthead in the right hand corner of every page in my magazine. I
learnt that by doing this I am maintaining my branding throughout
which is especially important for a new music magazine.
I learnt that magazines use bold fonts
on the contents page and usually lay it
out in columns to make the features
easier to read. However, I did not do
this in my preliminary task so I ensured
I included these generic conventions in
my final product.

10. Overall, I think I have learnt a lot from my
preliminary task to creating my final product. I
believe I made many improvements that have
helped me to create a better, more professional
looking magazine. The main changes I made from
my preliminary task was the font choices. I feel that
by changing the font choices I have created a more
attractive magazine. I also feel as though my
increased knowledge of editing skills has also
helped me to create a more professional looking
magazine as I was able to edit my main image to a
higher standard and I was able to layer more
effectively.
CONCLUSION