The document provides an evaluation of Adam Kelly's work on a preliminary task to design a magazine for his college. It summarizes the research Adam conducted, including taking photos of different camera angles, layouts of other college magazines, and potential color schemes and fonts. It then outlines Adam's planning process, including editing photos by removing backgrounds, creating flat plans for the cover and contents pages, and using Photoshop and Publisher software. The document ends by including feedback on Adam's final design, praising elements like the professional layout but noting the middle of the contents page looks bare.

1. Evaluation of prelim task.
Adam Kelly

2. Research - Images
As part of the research we looked at different
types of image for use on the magazine. We
looked at different types of camera angles and
which was best to use for a specific role. These
are a few of the images I took to use. The top
image is an ‘over the shoulder shot’ which
shows a student working, the effect is the
reader feels they are standing behind the
student examining their work. The middle
image is a medium shot of the college; I chose
to use this image as it reminds the reader they
the magazine represents the college and what
goes on inside it. The bottom image is a high
angle of some art students working. The image
is used to show the standard of work the
students produce.

3. Research – Other magazines
The second part of the research was looking at
other college’s magazine. These are two of the
magazine covers I looked at, the main feature I
was comparing was the layout and formant of
them; this way I could get an idea as to how to lay
mine out. As you can see both covers have a
picture of a student on them and have text that
stands out so that is what I used on my cover.

4. Research -Style sheets
These are the colour swatches I was
planning on using on the magazine. The
colour purple is the primary colours of the
college so would make a good background
colour for the magazine. The gradual
whitening of the colour adds affect to the
background and catches the eye. The
middle swatch on the bottom was the
shade and gradient I decided to use.
These are the potential fonts I was
considering using. On the final version of
the cover I used the ‘apple boy’ font (fourth
sample down). However for the regular text
on the pages I used ‘arial’ which is the
second sample down.
Here you can see the background colour I
used on the contents page of the magazine.
It makes the pictures stand out as they are
placed over the lighter end, the colour
choice also makes the reader feel more at
home as they are used to seeing the colour
from around the college. On the contents
page you can also see an example of the
text. The lay out of the text and placing of it
gives the page a more professional look.
However the text is too few across and
there is a big gap in the centre of the page
because of this.

5. Planning - Image editing
As part of the creation of the magazine
I had to edit some pictures for one
reason or another. The top and bottom
images have had their backgrounds
removed, this is because the
background did not fit in with the rest
of the layout or in the case of the top
image I needed the image to stand out
and appear to be layered on top of the
image behind. The image in the middle
has a blurred background. The reason
for this is that the image was taken
from the college’s website and the
resolution was very low, so low in fact
that the image editing software could
not separate the background from the
figure. So I decided to blur the image
instead.

6. Planning - Flat plan
This is the flat plan for the cover page
compared to the final design for it. As you
can see they are mostly similar, the only
changes are I removed the strapline and a
picture. I decided to have a picture of the
college as the main focus point to
emphasise the fact that the magazine is
about the college. As required by the
specification I had to include a medium
close up of a student on the cover which I
placed at the bottom left, and used it as a
reference for an article. I have also included
a medium close up of the director of the
college and a quote about it. The picture of
the crest at the top of the cover is to
represent the school and college and is
placed at the top to show its importance.
The background colour was selected from
the flat plan and represents the colours of
the college.

7. Planning - Flat plan
This is the flat plan for the contents page
compared to the final design for it. As you
can see they are very similar, the only
difference is the text to the left of the page
is not centre aligned, I decided to have a
picture of the college as the banner
emphasise the fact that the magazine is
about the college and represents it. There
were no specification for the contents page
so I decided to have a string of images of
students and college facilities going down
the right hand side of the page. The images
show what is going on in the college and
give a hint as to the work the students do.
The background colour was selected from
the flat plan and represents the colours of
the college. I also included a footer with an
exclusive article which makes the reader
feel like they are getting a bonus feature.

8. Evaluation of final project
I chose the apply boy font
for the title of the
magazine to make it
appealing to the
students, it creates an
informal atmosphere.
The background picture
of the college reminds
the reader that the
magazine represents the
college.
I chose to use the purple
background which slowly
increases in contrasts as
purple is the colour of
the college.
The specification
required I include a
medium close up of a
student.
The crest represents the
main school building and
the high standards the
school requires.
The text running down
the side is a quote from
the head of the college, it
is meant to make the
student realise the high
standard and amount of
effort they need to put
in.
I included a picture of the
head of the college so
people know who the
quote is from if they are
new to the college.
I chose to have the text
and images along the
sides and bottom so they
do not obstruct the
background image.

9. Evaluation of final project
The font of the text is
arial. This creates a
formal and professional
look on the page.
I chose to have a picture
of the college across the
banner as it fits nicely
with the layout of the
page.
The images running down
the side give a hint as to
what goes on in the
college without reliving
too much. It also shows
the work that the
students do in the free
time and lessons.
The text here shows the
content on each page, I
have chosen to push it to
the left to fill the space
more efficiently
I chose to use the purple
background which slowly
increases in contrasts as
purple is the colour of
the college.
I have included a ‘special
content’ section so that
the reader feels like they
are getting an exclusive
article.
The boarders around the
images are designed to
break the images up,
without them they look
too bland and generic.
I have kept the basic layout of the page the
same as the layout of the cover. Images
and text towards the edges and the main
feature in the centre.

10. Evaluation of photo editing software
Before
After
For this image I had to remove
the background in order for the
image to sit properly on the
page. To do this I used Photoshop
and Microsoft Publisher. The
effect was very successful as it
makes the image look more
professional.

11. Steps in editing an image
First I opened the image in
Photoshop.
I then went to the left hand
toolbar and selected the quick
selection tool. This tool allows
me to select areas of the image
to edit.

12. Steps in editing an image
Thirdly I dragged the cursor
around the background to select
it.
I then pressed ‘Ctrl + x’ (cut)
which removed the background.
After this I saved the image as a
.JPG and opened it in Microsoft
publisher.

13. Steps in editing an image
Here the image is opened in
publisher, I have added a grey
background so you can see that
even though the background has
been removed there is still a
white background to fill the
empty space.
To remove it I first selected the
image and then went to the
ribbon and selected ‘format’.

14. Steps in editing an image
Then I selected the ‘recolor’
option and then I clicked ‘set
transparent color’.
Finally I clicked the image and it
made the white colour to
transparent.

15. Evaluation – Feedback
“The layout on the cover looked fairly professional and the
images complimented each other nicely. The contents page
looked good, especially the pictures down the side. However
the middle of the page looks bare.” – Josh Darlison Yr 12
“I like the look of the magazine but I wish you had told me I
was on the front!” – Cameron Bennett Yr 12
“The picture of the college was a nice touch, I also like how
the images on the contents page have boarders to break
them up. I’d say 7/10” – Adam Bath Yr 12