Jack Hickman created three experiments - a front cover, double page spread, and website - to practice designing elements for his class project. For the front cover, he added images and logos, formatted text with different fonts and effects, and included short descriptive sentences. The double page spread featured a background image that blurred, text blocks, and fonts for an old-fashioned feel. The rushed website used a random template, centered large images, and included short paragraphs on games. Hickman was unsatisfied with the quality of the experiments but felt they provided a starting point to improve his designs for the project.

1. Experiment Process
Jack Hickman

2. Front Cover Experiment• This is the process for my front cover experiment. It did not take me a long
time at all to make this experiment so, the version to the left is actually the
finished version and not the first one. The first thing I did was create an A4
sized Photoshop document and add an image of Nathan Drake to the
document. I then re-sized the image to be able to fit the document and also to
crop the outside of the image so, it does not make the image look stretched
out or shrunken down in anyway. The next thing I did was add the Uncharted 4
logo to the bottom of the page and cropped out the white background using
the eraser tool and the magic wand tool. This in it self took quite a while but, it
was nothing I couldn’t handle. After this I added a text box to the top of the
page before adding the text that you see to the left. After this I installed a font
from DaFont.com and changed the text to that font followed by using text
effects to add stroke and shadow effects to help the title stand put more. I also
decided to stick with white as I didn’t want a colour that didn’t match black or
a colour that go against the colour scheme established by the background
image and the game logo. The next thing I did was add three more text boxes
to the document and added short sentences as I wanted to use a similar
method that the products in my research did which; use short sentences that
still contain detail to try to graft the audience and persuade them to buy the
magazine if they be interested in one of the topics. Finally, after that I placed a
red circle into the document using the shape tool and added some yellow text
in. The choice of words here was used to try to get the audiences attention as
it is pretty rare fro a magazine to sell unique skins to the reader should they
pick it up so, I felt this little marketing scheme would work in the real world.
• The tools I used
- Selection Tool- I used this tool to move the images, text boxes and shapes
- Text Tool- I used this tool to create text boxes for this experiment
- Magic Wand Tool- I used this tool to help with erasing the white background
on the uncharted logo
- Eraser Tool- I used this tool to erase some of the white background from the
uncharted logo
- Shape Tool- I used this tool to create the red circle as shown on the
experiment.
• My thoughts and feelings on this experiment is that the I am happy with it but,
I hope to achieve more when making the actual product for the project. I feel
as though some more effort could have been placed in the experiment
especially in the text as I just used the colour white without adding any extra
effects to help make it stand out so, some of the text blends in too much with
the background which is something that it shouldn’t do. The reason why I
chose to move on is because I feel that I should move on so, I don’t fall behind
and begin to struggle with work. I will use this as an example so, I can make a
front cover that is much better than the experiment that I have created.

3. Double Page Spread Experiment• This is the second experiment for this project. Like the first
process, this experiment took no time at all to finish and this was
mostly because of what was required of us as well as me not
knowing how to properly design a half decent DPS so, this is the
result of that. The first thing that I did for this experiment was
open an Adobe In Design document followed by creating two
separate pages to be the foundation for my DPS. After this I went
and found the image that you can see in the background which
was a ‘Ringed Knight’ from the game series ‘Dark Souls’. After this I
fiddled with the image a little bit to get it to fit into the document
properly however it did blur slightly which is not good in all
honesty and it has annoyed me to some degree. Its also more
frustrating when you can’t really do much to change it either so, I
decided to leave it which may not have been the best idea ever
but, I don’t have time really to make improvements so, leaving it as
the image as it as it is seems to be the best solution. The next thing
I did was use the shape tool to add in a square to the DPS and
moved it to the right with the selection tool and positioned it
firmly in the right spot before colouring it in black. Next, I added a
text box into the black square and entered “Dark Souls 3 Ringed
City” too it to show that I was going to be talking about the
downloadable content for Dark Souls 3. After this I added the text
from Lorem Ipsum as I was instructed too by my tutor for this
project. Lastly, I changed the font to a font that already existed on
In Design to give the DPS an old-fashioned feel that matches Dark
Souls.
• The tools I used
- Selection Tool- I used this tool to move the black square and text
boxes to the right place.
- Shape Tool- I used the shape tool to create the Black square
- Text Box Tool- I used this tool to create the text for this process
• My thoughts and feelings on this experiment aren’t that great as I
don’t really feel what I have done here is that good and because of
that, I hope that my actual product will be much better than this.
The image itself is lazily done and the lack of any other detail really
does effect the appearance of the experiment. Taking this into
account, I will try my hardest to create a DPS that is actually worth
the time invested.

4. Website Experiment
• This is the final Process for the experiments as well as the first and last one
for the website which like the others was done fairly quickly. The first thing I
did for this process was log into Wix and create a website. I picked a random
template (not a good idea) and began to move some of the image and text
boxes around so that I can see where everything is. The next thing I did with
the website was add in a massive image of Kratos from the new God of War
game on that I found on the internet; to work as the centre of attention for
the website which is great for getting the audiences attention, especially if
they love the series or the look of the new game. The second image that I
added was a still image from a game trailer called Shadows Die Twice and I
added it into the left after finding it on the internet. After this I decided to
start with adding the text that you can see on the website; the first bit of
text was the main title of the website which I have titled ‘Gaming Centre’
for this experiment as I haven't come up with a good title for the products
yet. I put a sub-heading under the main title to help advertise the website
and make the readers feel comfortable when navigating it. The second part
of text is the text for shadows die twice which is split into the paragraph
heading and the body of the paragraph. The Font I used was a simple font
that was easy to read but, also one that adds to the gaming feel. I also
changed some of the pages names around to add some variety too it as
well.
• The tools that I used
- Text Box Tool- Tool was used to create the text boxes to add text too.
- Selection tool- Tool was used to move the images and the text boxes
around.
• I’m not very happy with this website as I had to cut a lot of it down simply
because I was running out of time on my website and needed to save some
time for the production work. The lack of content does irritate me but, I also
feel that this is a good stepping stone for me as I can really see how the
website works now and how I can put it together for the production work. I
will start by looking at which template to use and setting up a website that
is actually good.