The student learned several new skills when progressing from their preliminary college magazine to a full music magazine product. They learned to use Photoshop and InDesign tools more extensively to improve layouts, cover designs, and image editing. Specifically, they learned how to use effects like outer glow, use the magic wand and lasso tools, and transform images. They improved at incorporating codes and conventions to better suit the target audience. Overall, their skills with design software and understanding of professional magazine production improved.

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

2. When I look back at my college magazine, I can see that I have considered more of the codes and conventions
in the process of making the a magazine. I have learnt to use Photoshop and InDesign to their full extent
throughout making both magazines. On the cover of my college magazine, the masthead overlaps the main
cover artist quite a lot but I have made sure that on my music magazine that it stays just above the main cover
artists head. I have also changed the way I make my cover lines as on my college magazine I have kept them
as just simple text, whereas, on my music magazine I have outline cover lines with box to make them stand
out more on the cover and be eye-catching to buyers. A similarity between both covers is that I have used the
colour purple on both, but I have made the colours look more professional on my music magazine as I have
used different shades of purple and not just the same shade like I have done on my college magazine. I have
added extra images onto the cover of my music magazine as it gives readers something else to catch their
attention and to give them an idea of the other artists included inside.

3. There are a lot of differences between my college and music contents page as well. The layouts of both
contents' are very opposite as the music magazine includes more on it and makes it look like a fuller page
than the college magazine that has a simple layout of two columns for photos and features. I have made the
images in my music magazine blend into the layout and everything overlaps each other to make the page
look busy and give a rocky/chaos feel to it. On both contents pages I have kept with the same colours
schemes used on the colour which shows that it is consistent and professional but my music magazine
differs from my college contents as it included more colour variety and make the page look more enticing
and makes readers want to read it. I also think that my photography and images are a lot better standard on
my music contents than my college contents as I have taken shots that suit the rock genre well and the
photos look better quality. Both contents’ are clear and tell you where to find what in the magazine but the
music magazine contents has got more style and theme to it.

4. I think my skills and knowledge of using software such as Photoshop and InDesign has
improved. I originally only used tools on Photoshop such as, drawing shapes and changing the
fill colours of images but since then I have learnt to use tools such as magic wand, to erase
backgrounds and unwanted parts in a image, and the freehand lasso tool to select sections of
an image that I want to. My main cover images on my music magazine has an outer-glow effect
on it that I learnt to use to make the male artists stand out from the background. On the
application InDesign, I only knew how to move items about and create text boxes but I now
know how to use tools like smooth to give images a flawless/matte look to add effect to the
pages. I also found out that some images cannot always be moved about on InDesign so by
making the image have the free transform tool, I could do whatever I wanted with the images.

5. From making these magazine pages, I have learnt how to use
software that I couldn't use properly before and by gaining
these skills, it can help improve media products and make their
content professional. I have learnt that the use of codes and
conventions is an important aspect in designing and making a
media product to specifically fit the target audience chosen.