The document discusses the differences between the author's preliminary and main Photoshop magazine design tasks. For the preliminary task, the author focused on learning basic Photoshop skills and did minimal research and audience consideration. For the main task, the author conducted research on existing magazines, narrowed their target audience, incorporated feedback, and paid closer attention to design details and journalistic writing skills for articles.

1. From The College Mag to Zing…

2. Front cover
Before (College Mag) After (Zing)

3. Contents Page
Before (College Mag) After (Zing)

4. Four Photoshop features I have
learnt
1. I have used the “Add Noise” filter in
Photoshop to create a speckled
effect that I have used throughout
the magazine. The audience appeal
of this is that it adds to the whole
grunge style of the magazine.
2. I have used the “Redefine Edge”
feature when using the Quick
Selection Tool. This is extremely
useful for accurately cutting out
models from a background,
particular their hair.
3. I have used the “Drop Shadow”
affect for Pull Quotes on my
double-page spread to add depth
to the design.
4. I have reduced the opacity of one
of my duplicated and flipped layers
to crate the affect of a reflection

5. Audience appeal
• Despite already having some basic knowledge of Photoshop
(knowing how to use layers, for example), I used the
preliminary task to advance my skills and knowledge of
Photoshop
• Audience appeal was therefore not top of my priorities in
the preliminary task. In my main task, I questioned whether
every single detail would add to audience appeal or not
• My college magazine had a fairly broad audience to appeal
to. My target audience were all students aged 16 – 19 but
their psychographics varied greatly. My main task taught
me to narrow my audience down more to make it easier to
appeal to them

6. Research
• For my preliminary task, I carried out
very little research into existing
magazines. The only research I
carried out was an audience
questionnaire.
• For my main task, I had to carry out a
lot more research to give me more
background knowledge about the
magazine and to prepare myself to
construct the magazine
• I was not a regular reader of
magazines and so this required some
extra research to read several music
magazines before and whilst I worked
on my main task.
• The research I carried out for my
main task also included reading
online tutorials on Photoshop

7. Feedback
• During my preliminary task, I gained feedback
from my teacher and used this feedback to think
about which ideas I would take forward to my
main task and which ideas did not work
• An example of this is that my teacher liked the
use of the red and yellow in my preliminary task
so I used a similar theme for my main task
• During my main task, I continued to get feedback
from my teacher and teaching assistant and used
their opinions to help me make decisions

8. Attention to detail
• Due to time constraints
and lack of knowledge in
Photoshop, in my
preliminary task I did not
pay much attention to
detail which I feel I have
corrected in the main
task. An example of this is
trying to make the angles
of anything that wasn’t
straight looking right

9. Written and journalistic skills
• I did not produce a double-page spread as part of
my preliminary task as it was not required.
Therefore my preliminary task did not involve
much journalistic skills, apart from the coverlines
on the front cover
• When it came to write the article for my double-
page spread for the main task, I found a number
of articles online that taught me some of the
skills journalist use to make an article interesting.
For instance, the skill of writing a great ‘kicker’ or
lead, the introduction to a story.