For my music magazine project, I learned several important lessons from my preliminary college magazine task: I gained experience experimenting with design and layout before starting my music magazine. This allowed me to avoid mistakes like improper layering. I also learned how magazines target specific audiences through fonts, colors, images and language. My college magazine did not effectively target an audience, but I was able to apply this knowledge to aim my music magazine at the right group. Finally, I learned the importance of thorough research, including understanding my target audience and how magazines appeal to and sell lifestyles to readers.

1. Looking back at your preliminary
task, what do you feel you have
learned in the progression from it
to the full project.

2. For my music magazine you can see that I have
used specific fonts and colours to target my
audience and to symbolise the chosen music
genre. Before when I created my college
magazine I did not have a target audience I
wasn’t trying to aim it anyone.
For my college magazine you can
see that I have chosen dull, plain
colours which are not eye
catching at all, I also think that it
is very boring to look at unlike my
music magazine where I have
made good use of layout and
space.
I think my music magazine follows the codes and conventions
of a real magazine whereas the college magazine does
not, this is because there is no bar code or date when the
magazine was published. I also think that the text is
everywhere on the college magazine whereas on the music
magazine I have though clearly about where everything was
going to go.

3. The preliminary task gave me the opportunity to have a go on in design before I stared my
music magazine, therefore I would not make the same mistakes. An example of this would be
not layering properly, I got the chance to play around before starting the real music
magazine.
I feel as if my understanding of magazines have increased. I have learned the different ways
that magazines are aimed at certain target audiences through colour, font, slang and words
and also images. I feel as if before whilst doing the college magazine I did not know this
knowledge therefore did not succeed with aiming it at a target audience. I was then able to
realise my mistakes so I could put them right in the music magazine.
I have also learned that when creating a product you have to do a wide range of
research, when I did my college magazine I used a questionnaire that was given to 10 people
however when I was creating my music magazine I did more research to see what my aimed
audience would like to see and what I would have to do to appeal to my audience.
Whilst researching for my magazine I noticed that all magazines have different purposes, for
example a music magazine is based for selling a certain lifestyle that is based on the type of
music. I learned that the appearance of the magazine helps sell it, this is because people look
flawless in magazines and help sell it.
I am now aware of how products are advertised through companies like Bauer and ICP
media. Finally I have learned that technology can sell a certain way or thinking and lifestyle to
audiences.