1. Media Evaluation Q6&7 What have you learned about technologies from the process of constructing this product? Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? 1

2. Technologies throughout the magazine industry. Technology is used widely throughout the magazine industry. The dawn of the internet means that most, if not all, of the information available in magazines is available quickly and, perhaps more importantly, for free, to consumers. In a world where most information is freely available as such, the magazine and newspaper industry have to innovate simply to keep their readers. This is perhaps the largest effect which the dawn of the internet has had upon the magazine industry. So far-reaching, and of such great importance was the arrival of the internet throughout the magazine industry, that media giant Bloomberg L.P have been quoted saying that ‘It is becoming obvious that technology is the root to the survival of the magazine industry.’ Clearly, one way to diversify within the industry is to make the content available through a variety of media devices, something which most major magazine distributors have taken into account, therefore are making their magazines available through the much-lauded iPad and Kindle ‘tablet computers’. Recently in the news was News Corporation (Rupert Murdoch) owned The Times and The Sunday Times; charging for their web content, with a reportedly high uptake from the offset. It is evident that the magazine industry has to innovate if it is to keep afloat in the ‘age of the internet’, where opinions are plentiful and free. One way magazines do this is increased sponsorship. But it follows that if sponsorship increases to a level which annoys the reader, then won’t readership drop off for this reason also? It seems one of the last things in which the magazine industry is evidently stronger than the blogosphere (for example) in, is the designing itself. Increasingly aesthetically pleasing design-work seems to be one of the only ways for magazines to keep one step ahead of the, usually mainly text based, blogs and online content. One technology which the magazine industry utilises is design software. 2

3. Design Software, as used throughout the magazine publishing industry. Design software is one way in which the creators of magazines utilise technology to create their products. I also used design software for my magazine. The software used to create my music magazine was Adobe InDesign and Photoshop. Throughout the entire project, from the initial college magazine, to the finished project, I found myself becoming accustomed to the software, I climbed the (surprisingly gradual) learning curve, and familiarised myself with the strengths and weaknesses of both programs. Throughout the next few slides I will explore, using examples, how I have learned the technologies, and how I put them into practice in the final making of my product. 3

4. Adobe Photoshop I had heard of Photoshop only in passing before this project. The image-manipulation tools it puts at users disposals were invaluable in the making of this project. Below are the two front covers I produced, illustrating the learning process visually: 4

5. The simplicity of the image manipulation used for the first front cover is juxtaposed drastically against the decidedly more complicated usage of the software throughout the second cover. The main technique used for the initial cover was the ‘levels’ feature. I converted the picture I took to black and white, then used the ‘colour replacement’ tool to re-colour the green of both the tree and the grass beneath. I then used the ‘colour burn’ tool to darken the tree on the left hand side, which lent it more perspective. Doing this, and furthermore, exploring the program and the varying levels of functionality, especially layers, gave me an initial idea of the possibilities which using an image manipulation program such as Photoshop contained. I used (and is evidenced elsewhere more specifically in this blog) the knowledge gained regarding Photoshop, on my second front cover. The main exposition of the image manipulation capabilities of Photoshop on the second front cover is the background itself. In line with the electronic music genre of the magazine, I used the filter>render clouds tool to create an initial canvas, then varied between the ‘glowing’ and ‘find edges’ tools to create a suitably ‘trancy’ background, which I then added another filter tool on, so as to ensure it did not stand out more than the image of the model on the page. The other main manipulation I used was to cut out the image of the model on the stairs from the initial picture, so I could insert my background, then adding a black outer glow around the outside (in layer>styles). This gives the image a surreal feel, something in which I though concordance was essential with the largely experimental nature of my magazine in relation to genre, and targeted audience. 5

6. The importance of Photoshop in image manipulation throughout the magazine publishing industry is underappreciated by the general consumer, I argue. Most, if not all, magazines use Photoshop at some point throughout the design process to manipulate various images, and the learning of the program for use within my own work enabled me to understand the true scope the program gives you when designing. Perhaps more importantly in relation to the industry as a whole, Photoshop enables designers to create images which will impress and entice readers using aesthetically pleasing images, something which I have already established in this section as an essential bastion when comparing the magazine industry to the blogosphere. 6

7. Adobe InDesign The second piece of software which I used for my magazines was Adobe InDesign. Throughout the process of making the product I became familiar with the program, which is more suited to general layouts than Photoshop, yet does not allow for the same level of image manipulation. On the next slide is the contents page I made for the first magazine, and the double page spread made for my music magazine: 7

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9. It is clear from the relatively simplistic design of the first contents page when juxtaposed against the more complicated double page spread that I learned the program well, the multi-faceted design techniques used (columns, the effects used on the main artist image, the author and artist names and page numbers to name a few), show the marked improvement in my InDesign skills. The utilisation of InDesign throughout the industry must, alongside Photoshop, be far-reaching, the software allows for easy and quick editing with professional looking results, something which, as explained before, is essential within the industry, both in terms of meeting strict deadlines and creating a polished product. 9

10. Conclusion After looking back over my blog at the preliminary task and my progression throughout the first year of the course, I can confidently say that I have Learned about the magazine publishing industry as an institution This is evidenced through both the case study made of IPC Media, the initial case studies of both MixMag and DJ Mag, both the printed versions and the websites (both of which are linked in the sidebar of my blog), the research regarding MixMag and DJ Mag which is incorporated into the evaluation as a whole, and the tailoring of question 3 in the evaluation to further demonstrate my understanding of the industry, and IPC as a whole. Grasped the software needed to create a cohesive product I believe that, as evidenced mainly throughout the previous slides, that I have sufficiently understood the fundamentals of both Adobe Photoshop and InDesign, enough for the observer and I to be able to see a visual change in professionalism when comparing the ‘College Photography’ and the ‘Beats’ magazines. Knowing the fundamentals of Photoshop and InDesign has helped me to understand design software as a whole, and given me a greater feel for how important and indispensable a tool it is within the industry. This section also encompasses the greater knowledge of magazine design in general which I gleaned from the ongoing research. The third main thing I learned from this project was further information regarding target audiences, and therefore marketing. The initial case study of IPC Media helped me to do this, and the evaluation itself (Q4 specifically) helped me to understand stereotypes associated with certain social groups, and the process of subverting these through the design of my magazine, and through this aiming for a certain demographic, expanded my knowledge on marketing. A specific example of the knowledge I gained through Q4 was the understanding of the use of motifs throughout the music magazine industry. For example, within the two case studies Ibiza itself has become a motif, representing the rave culture so often associated with the electronic music scene. My expanded knowledge of semiotics throughout the magazine industry has enabled me to grasp the conceptual ideas behind the magazine industry, and how these are put into practice behind the scenes. 10