Cesca Haig created a magazine design project. She conducted research through questionnaires to determine what content and design elements readers preferred. Her research found that advertisements, interviews, more images than text, and free gifts would attract buyers. She used this research to design her magazine's cover, contents page, and a double page interview spread. Cesca gathered feedback on her magazine design through an online survey to evaluate her work.

1. Magazine Design Evaluation
Cesca Haig

2. For my initial research I created a
questionnaire and gave it to people
around college and to people in my
class to fill in, I put all the results in a
table so that I could compare the
results for each question and find the
things that I should include in my
magazine.
My results showed that I should
include advertisement for free posters
and interviews with different
actors/actresses. They also showed
that people were more likely to buy a
magazine if they were offered free
things and had more pictures than
writing. The results showed me what
type of cover people were most drawn
to so I used that magazine as
inspiration for my magazine cover.

3. For my product I compared two magazine covers,
as I originally was going to do a music magazine
I compared two music magazine, from this I
learnt about all the different parts of a magazine
and how they are made to stand out. This
research showed me that I should include things
such as cover lines and a main selling line. It also
showed me that I should have a bold title to stand
out as this would help if I was actually selling my
magazine.
I also compared two double page spreads and two
contents pages, so that I could see what elements
I should add to mine, this helped me decide how
to set out my double page spread and what things
I should have on my contents page.

4. This is my logo design, I picked it
from a selection of five that I found
on the website www.dafont.com.
I liked this design best out of all of
them because I thought it stood out
the most as all the others were a
thinner font. This font is more
scribbly, rather than a computer
text which the others were. I think
this goes more with my magazine
design because I didn’t want my
magazine to be too strict looking,
this is because I wanted it to appeal
to young teenagers as well as older,
more mature people.

5. These are some of the images that I edited for my
magazine, the bottom one is the one for the cover
and the others were used on the contents and
double page spread.
For each image I cropped them down so there
was less background and more person. I then
changed the hue and saturation of the image, I
did to make the images less bright and to take
away the glare from the light slightly. The next
thing I did to these images was changed the
colour balance, I only changed them slightly as to
not changed the colouring too much but to make
all the colours match up on the image.

6. This is the magazine cover that I have designed, I
put it the cover together on Photoshop, I mainly
just used the text tool and added my logo that I
made on dafont.com. I had previously looked at
two magazine covers which showed me what
elements I should add, the elements I added were
the main cover line and other cover lines telling
you what is in the magazine. I picked a dark blue
and a lighter blue as my main colours as I think it
makes the cover stand out and is different from
the red used in many other magazines I looked at
when researching.
I think the text that I have used is easily read and
stands out enough for if it was to be on a
magazine shelf. I think I have spread everything
out well and that it isn't all crowed together, I
think this works well because there isn't too much
to have to read but you still get an outline of what
is in the magazine. I have left space for my main
image to be added, the main image will cover
most of the page and have the text over it.

7. This is the contents page for my magazine
design, I completed this design on Photoshop. I
have kept the same colours, grey and blues, as
on my front cover, this is so that it follows on
and doesn’t look as though you are reading a
different magazine from the cover.
On contents pages that I have looked at from
other magazines, they have smaller images
showing what things you will find in the
magazine, I have added some images of Iron
Man 3 and Despicable Me 2 as I have stated in
my list of contents that you will find pages on
those two films. I have also made a box with
subscription details on, which I made in adobe
illustrator, and added it to the bottom, this was
something that I had seen on the contents
pages that I looked at for my research.
I think again I have spread everything out well
and that all the text is easily read, the
description of the page is smaller than the main
title, I think this works because it doesn’t
distract you from seeing anything else on the
page but can still be read.

8. This is my double page spread that I made
on Photoshop, the text used is the same
colour and font used on the front cover,
again this is so that the pages go together
and don’t look as though they are from
different magazines. I used smaller italic
text for the introduction to my interview,
the main image for this page will go
underneath this text but will still be
readable. I copied and pasted the interview,
which I completed on Microsoft word, into
text boxes on Photoshop and spent time
finding a readable font that could still be
quite small to fit it all in. I think the final
product is good because you can read it all
and differentiate between the questions
and answers from the interviewee. I think
this page works well because the persons
name stands out well but when the image
has been placed you will still be able to
read both bits of text, the interview also
stands out well without distracting you
completely from the main image.

9. To gather feedback on my magazine I made a survey on
a website called survey monkey, I put a link to the
survey and my magazine on to a blog, I thought this
was an easier way for people to see what they are giving
feedback on and for them to find the feedback survey. I
then asked 10 people to complete the survey.
Link to survey - http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RW8C5MY
Link to Blog - http://cescamagsurvey.blogspot.co.uk/
Results -

11. I think that the task I did best were the
research into magazine covers, contents
and double page spreads.
I think that my finished cover is good as I
have used the covers I researched and
others that I have seen and used different
elements from them on my magazine, this
shows that I have used the research that I
did and used it to help me make my
magazine look more professional.
I have been consistent with the house style
throughout the magazine and I think it is
all easily read and well set out.
I do think my research was my biggest
strength in this project, this is possibly
because it is something that I enjoy doing
as in other projects that has been my
strength also.

12. My weaknesses on this project were time
management, I didn’t get my images until
the very end when I had completed
everything else. It took me a while to
actually get into the project and I spent a
few weeks wasting time not doing anything.
This was not an ideal thing to do as it
meant that some of my work might look
rushed although I did go back and try to
improve this.
I am easily distracted by the internet and
this is another reason why my work took a
while longer than it should of done. While
we were doing this project we swapped
teachers and for a while he was unsure of
what work to set us but this was sorted out
by our original tutor and our new one
within a week.