In this 15-week project diary, the student documents their progress on their FMP project creating a car enthusiast fanzine. In weeks 1-8, the student conducts research, creates proposals and presentations. They receive feedback to improve their work. In weeks 9-13, the student begins production, creating templates, covers and pages. They experience some computer issues. In weeks 14-15, the student makes adjustments to pages and starts their evaluation early to allow for improvements before the deadline. The student's goal is to earn a merit grade to qualify for university acceptance.

1. FMP PROJECT – PROJECT
DIARY
BY TEGAN ARTHUR

2. WEEK 1
For my FMP I started on my contextual research, for this I researched famous people and topics that would be
relevant in the area that I plan on creating my FMP in. For example, graphics designer Paula Scher, Car wrapper
Yianni, fanzine theory etc. This is to help me have a better understanding of the area I'm interested in but also
a head start to help me with my research and proposal.
However, when doing my contextual research, I did in some areas find it quite difficult to find the information I
needed, for example when trying to find out information about the car wrapper Yianni, I found it hard to find
more information on him because it was limited and the same information across a variety of sources. So,
when doing research on him in a way I found it quite frustrating because I wanted to get it done but it became
quite challenging. Furthermore, I then moved on to audience theory as I believed this was an important part
to do research on as the audience is the main thing to this project. However, I did get the information I needed,
and it was quite easy to find. So, then I moved onto my statement.
For my statement, I spoke about what my intentions were for my FMP and why I am choosing what I have for
this project. I have also spoken about the challenges through the covid-19 crisis and explained how it could
affect how smooth things go for the project. This is because the more challenges I have through this project the
more it affects the outcome of this project and this project is a major part and determines what my final grade
would be.

4. WEEK 2
I started to finish up my contextual research and my proposal by adding a schedule to my proposal that
was needed for it to be completed. After this was finished, I put it on to my website so it could be reviewed
so I could get feedback in case I needed to improve it so while I'm still waiting for the feedback I moved
onto my research.
For my research I started to look at fanzines as part of my FMP is to create a fanzine and I was specifically
looking at the structure of the fanzine and the types of software I would use to create the fanzine, as I
might not be able to use the exact software, I need due to the covid – 19 crises. After doing this I moved
onto market research and for this I looked at two similar but different car magazines and talked about the
types of colours used and how they try and attract their target audience. This was quite easy to do as you
just had to compare the two covers and explain how they attract their target audience.

6. WEEK 3
For this week I started to go over my survey results that I posted on a car forum. This was because my project is
associated with cars and so I wanted to see who my ideal target audience are that have real interest in cars etc.
After collecting my results, I talked about how I would consider peoples responses and when doing this I got a
good idea of what I could include in my project.
After collecting the responses and writing what I had found, I moved onto talking about the sofeware I plan to
use and how I may not be able to use the software I want due to the covid-19 crisis. So, I explained on what other
software that I could potentially use that were free. This was because if we are still in lockdown when it comes to
production, I'll have to use free software but make sure everything goes smoothly otherwise it could affect the
outcome of my project.
However, I was worrying about time, this was because I wanted to get things done and completed on time. But I
also wanted to get some feedback on what I had done because it felt like I did too much from looking at the
number of slides. However, after asking for some feedback there was a couple of things missing and so I posted
my PowerPoint that needed to be completed on my website and then I plan on improving my research in my free
time as I want to try and get the highest grade possible.
If I was to do this again, I would make sure I could do what I can and possibly ask for feedback a little earlier so I
can improve on it so I can make it better.

8. WEEK 4
After gaining feedback on my research, I went to go back and improve it as I am trying to aim for a high
grade so I can get into university. I wrote a summary on the audience research I collected and what types
of hardware I plan on using for this project. After that I moved onto my problem solving powerpoint. I
spoke about how the pandemic is a big issue to this project and it practically effects all the project. I talked
about potential issues with the software and how I would have to use free software.
When doing this I found it quite hard to talk about because I felt like I was talking about the same
problems over and over and how the pandemic has a huge impact on it all. So out of the powerpoints Ive
done so far, I wasn’t keen on this one. So before the deadline for this particular powerpoint I'm going to
ask for some feedback on it so that I can improve it before the deadline.

10. WEEK 5
This week I was finishing the technical and theoretical problems of my problem solving powerpoint and
moving onto experiments. Towards the end of the theoretical problems section I started to find it a little
easier because it was about health and safety and I could easily come up with solutions and ways to
prevent hazards. After this I moved onto experiments. When doing the experiments, I had to understand
the softwares I plan on using for this project because I may have to work from home due to the pandemic.
I found doing the experiments with the free software krita quite easy to do and it didn't take much time
away.
However, I did ask for some feedback on it all because the part of the powerpoint I felt it was too basic and
I want to be able to get at least a merit grade so that I can get into university. While waiting for the
feedback I had to make sure that my work was at the best it could be and if there was any more
experiments I could do. I was able to add a few more experiments which was a glitter effect and then
talking about the font styles and just messing around with them, the experiments didn’t take too long to
do which was good because I didn’t waste too much time and I am able to finish this powerpoint before
the deadline.

12. WEEK 6
After receiving feedback from both my research and problem solving powerpoint, I went straight into
improving them both. With the research powerpoint I added a slide about the hardware I plan on using,
pre-production and an overall summary of the audience research I found out. This did take a couple of
days to do because I want to be able to get at least a merit grade.
After improving my research, I added some more experiments to my problem solving powerpoint however
I still feel like some of its basic so I plan to submit both powerpoints with slight improvements and hope to
gain some more feedback so I can improve more on the problem solving powerpoint as I feel it needs a bit
more but I'm not sure of what yet. After reviewing the improvements I've done, I sent off all my work to
see if there was anything else I could possibly add once I have received more feedback from my tutor. But
in the mean time of waiting for my feedback I will start to prepare to write up my planning and how I will
structure it out so its easy to follow.

14. WEEK 7
On this week I started my planning powerpoint for this I started to draw a flat plan for my fanzine and show what
I would potentially use within my fanzine. I also talked about what influenced me and what I plan to create and
why I plan on creating this. I then did rough sketches of my flat plan to help give me some idea and then I
properly drew my flat plan so I could use the images of it on my powerpoint.
When doing my flat plan, it did take a bit of time to do because I wanted it to be right, so I didn’t have to waste
too much time making improvements when it came to the production week. However, i was happy with how the
flat plan came out. after drawing the flat plan i talked about the structure of the flat plan and why I sketched the
flat plan the way I did. I found this quite easy to do and it gave me a better understanding on how the fanzine
would potentially look like.
Furthermore after doing my flat plan I moved onto doing my mood board and analysing them. This was very easy
as I knew what to talk about and how each moodboard works within my project. After talking about each
moodboard and linking them to my project I then started to prepare to start on the second half of my planning as
I wanted to make sure I finished the powerpoint a little before the deadline so I could gain some feedback and
make some improvements all done in time for the deadline.

16. WEEK 8
This week I started doing the second half of my planning powerpoint and for this I was starting on my style sheets
for this I talked what colours I plan to use for each section throughout that fanzine and why im using these
colours. I also talked about what individual colour represesnted and how I would use these colours. After my style
sheets I moved onto my mindmap and created it on mindmup, I found this website to be very useful when
creating a mind map and it looks very organised. So, it helped me to talk about each section on the mind map
easier. After creating the mind map, I then talked about each section and why I would use each bit in my fmp. I
found this easy as I knew what to talk about, but I did try to avoid repeating myself as I find I do that quite a bit
with this project.
However overall I'm happy with how the planning went and so I have submitted the work and just waiting if there
is any feedback on it so I can make improvements before everything must be submitted in for the project. This is
because I want to aim for a merit so I can get into university to be able to get into the career I want. However
while waiting to receive feedback I plan on starting to get prepared for my production so that I can get everything
done a little before the production deadline so I can make some adjustments to make it much better than past
projects I have done before.

18. WEEK 9
This week I started on production and for this I started on the front cover, contents page and the inside page of the front cover
that I have used to promote the company. This is because I want to keep the audience's attention throughout the fanzine and to
do this, I need to be in their mindset throughout the process of creating it.
When starting on the front cover, I did a basic light blue colour as a base colour this is because it was light, and I think it would
help encourage my target audience to read my fanzine. I then created a logo that was unique and recognisable, with some
designs and an image. When adding these to the front cover it made it more interesting, but it had just enough so it didn't look
too crowded on the front cover. This is because if it was crowded on the front cover, it could put the audience off. However I do
think that the name is a little long and isn't quite catchy enough, so in my spare time I will look at some car graphic company
names and try and create a new name, however if this becomes a little difficult I will ask my tutor for help.
Then I moved on to the contents page and used a similar pattern as the front cover, but this page was in a plain pink. I then used
a range of images that linked to each category throughout the fanzine so that it showed that there was some coordination within
the contents page.
Then when doing the inside page of the front cover, I started with a nice imaged ad made some adjustments to it which I
thought would help catch the audience's attention and used majority of the social media icons to show that the company wasn’t
just on something like Facebook, but across them all.

20. WEEK 10
This week I started on improving my powerpoints from the feedback I had received. At first, I found it quite
difficult as I couldn’t put my head around on how I can improve my work, but after speaking to a tutor I
was able to improve on my work bit by bit. There are still quite a bit to do so to help me with this I will get
someone else to look at my work and see if they can see what need improving. This will help me a lot
because if I get feedback from someone else's perspective then I can make more improvements. But when
I'm waiting to get someone else's perspective on my work I will do some more of my production and start
with my templates as they will take quite a bit of time to do.

22. WEEK 11
This week i started on my templates for my fanzine however when going to college and trying to do this I
have found that there has been quite a few issues with the computers as they’ve either been slow or
crashed, so I've not been able to get the templates I wanted done. However, I do have the college laptop
which we did have a little internet connection issue, but it has been fixed. So, I plan to aim and get my
templates done the best I can if not I will have to go into my spare. Which ideally, I don’t want to do as I
want to be able to do something fun and spend time with family if I can but, if need be, I will use my spare
time up just to get all the work done on time.
I want to get my templates done because they're going to take the most time to produce and complete
through my production time an I don’t want to risk going over the deadline as it will mean I will be rushing
my work and then it won't look as good at the end of it.

24. WEEK 12
This week I started working on the templates for my fanzine and this has gone smoothly however there are
still a couple of templates I need to do. But I think with the internet cutting in and out I'm happy with how
much I got done. I was also able to do three pages for my application section but they still need some
adjustments so I will do those next week. But over the weekend I'm going to do more templates and do my
before and after design for my fanzine. Then next week I will start on my pricing page which shouldn’t take
too long as it's only two pages. But after completeing my pricing page I just have the back cover and the
promotional page to do which I will probably do in the same week as doing the pricing page. It all depends
on the time I have through the week and whether I will have any internet problems throughout the week

26. WEEK 13
This week of production, I managed to finish the rest of the templates and do my before and after pages.
These didn’t take long to do as they were a rough draft, this is so I could see how the structure of the
pages were and how I can make them better to grab the audiences attention throughout the fanzine. After
doing these pages across the Tuesday and Thursday of this week, I moved onto doing the pricing pages on
the Friday, I was able to do the prices I wanted. It was a little difficult to do as I didn’t want to make the
pricing expensive but I didn’t want to copy the pricing I was using as a guide. But luckily I made the pricing
look reasonable and I was able to finish the pricing pages as rough drafts so that I can make some
improvements next week and make it look better than what it is now. This is because I want to be able to
get the grade I want so I can get into university but also see how Ive improved over the two years of
college.

28. WEEK 14
This week I will be adding more to my evaluation and making some adjustments on some of my pages this
is because I want to be able to get the grade I want so I can get into university and improve on my skills
and knowledge. I will improv the pages from the beginning such as my front cover, my application pages
and my inside front cover pages. This is because from the feedback I have been given from my tutor they
could potentially look much better with some few adjustments such as the layout of the images and text
and then maybe different style fonts.
For the fonts I plan to use dafonts as they have a wide variety of types of fonts that would potentially go
well with my project, I feel like this will go quite quickly as I have done most of the production in the few
weeks before. So, these few adjustments will be quick and easy, this is if everything goes to plan, and I
don’t have any internet or connection issuers when doing these adjustments or I will have to do some of
this in my free time and I will feel like I will be rushing things to get it all done and this is the last thing I
want to do

30. WEEK 15
This week i plan on finishing my improvements on my production so that i can put my full attention on my
evaluation. This is because I want to start my evaluation a little earlier so that I can make slight
adjustments before everything has to be handed in for the whole FMP, I do feel a little uneasy about this as
I feel like I won't get things done on time but looking at how I've done every task so far, I may be able to
complete everything on time this is because I have been able to manage my time well and I want to keep
going with that same pace when doing my evaluation.
However, there may be times where I will have to use my free time just to catch up on some of the things I
need to do before deadline. This is because I do have two jobs and because everything is slowly opening
back up, I will be limited on time. So, I will need to make sure I concentrate hard and keep my motivation
otherwise I will fall behind because I just wont have that motivation to keep going.

32. WEEK 16
This week I started to put my full attention on my evaluation and started taking bout the good and the bad
on my contextual research, research, planning, time management etc. When talking about the good and
the bad not everything had bad points about it so at times it felt like I was just going to repeat myself
throughout evaluation. So, I did go and take breaks and start on my presentation powerpoint as that was
the finally thing, I needed to do to make sure the full project was finished.
On the presentation powerpoint I talked about what social media platforms I would use to help promote
my fanzine and I created a website using adobe spark. This was quite easy to do, and I think it went well.
So, all I have to do next week is finish my evaluation and my presentation powerpoint which shouldn’t take
too long but if I feel like im going to be behind I will do some of the work in my free time, so I don’t have
much to do on the last day of the project

34. WEEK 17
This week I was doing my second part of my evaluation and finishing it up, while also doing a presentation
powerpoint to help finish the project off. This week I can feel the pressure building up as it is getting closer
to the end of the powerpoint but I will have to make sure I stay calm otherwise I will end up rushing
everything and the quality of my work could drop.
So, to help me keep on top of things such as finishing my evaluation and my presentation powerpoint I will
do some of the things in my free time. This is so I can finish everything this Friday and feel like I have
managed my time well because that is one of many things I wanted to be able to achieve in this project
and if everything goes as planned, I will be able to have achieved a target I have struggled with in past
projects