The document discusses the learning process of creating a preliminary magazine page and then a final magazine product. For the preliminary task, the author created a front cover and contents page but noted many areas for improvement, such as using brighter colors and fonts that did not stand out well. When creating the final product, the author applied lessons from the preliminary task by using bolder fonts, higher quality images, and a layout informed by researching real magazines. The author also learned to make the magazine appeal to both male and female readers. Overall, the process helped the author develop new skills in Photoshop, research, and magazine design to produce a more polished final product.

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

2. Front Cover BEFORE AFTER

3. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? I first made a preliminary task magazine consisting of the front page and contents page, I did this before going on to doing my final product in order to get a view of what it’s like and to get used to the different Photoshop skills rather than getting straight into the final product as it would have not looked very professional without any practise. I learnt many new skills, using tools I had not used before and learnt how to better construct and lay out my page. From looking at my preliminary work it does not look professional at all because of many reasons. Firstly the typography looks of very low standards against the background I have used, because the background is very bright and consists of many different colours the typography I used was wrong as it was simple and small which can not be seen well enough to be read easily, the colours I used for the typography (black and blue) were also wrong as they can not be read against such a bright background, whereas the typography I used on my main front page is bold and stands out very well against the background and the large image as I have used bold fonts and added strokes to the writing that needed to stand out more. The masthead on my preliminary task also does not look professional as it looks too plain for a masthead because the masthead is meant to be the largest, boldest and most eye catching whereas my one looks very dull and simple, on my final front cover however the masthead stand out the most as it should do and I have added a solid background behind the title to make it even bolder. The image I used for my preliminary task was one I got from Google images and not one I took myself which I could not do for my final front cover as I have to take the image myself, I used the magnetic lasso tool to cut out the images for both the preliminary task and for my final task, I did this well in both tasks as they are both cropped out properly although it took me a lot longer to do so in my preliminary task as I was not very great with Photoshop then and did not have the skills to do things quickly and properly. Whilst making my preliminary task I learnt new skills and improved my Photoshopping in order to be ready to create my final outcome and learnt how to use tools I had not used before and how to make images look more professional. I applied what I had learnt into my final front cover which firstly was cutting out my main image using the magnetic lasso tool, this time having done it a lot quicker and I found it a lot easier than the previous time. The way I laid out my preliminary front cover was a mess, the additional cover lines seem to just be scattered as I did not think carefully where to place them because I still did not have the skills and the knowledge of creating a well laid out page whereas in my final front cover my additional cover lines look a lot better well laid out and neater as I learnt about the grid/ruler tool which helped me construct my page well and equally, being able to get the text more accurate rather than just scattered on the page. I also used different font sizes in my final front cover, having the more important information in larger fonts and the less important in smaller fonts , I also used different colours for certain words that I wanted to stand out more or for those that were more important whereas on my preliminary the text is all of the same font and same colour. Looking at my preliminary it seems to appeal more to girls and does not seem to appeal to guys much so guys would not be attracted to the magazine and would not really want to be seen holding a magazine that’s more for girls whereas my final front cover looks like it is well suites for both genders and appeals to both males and females as I have used colours that appeal to both (black, white and blue) I learnt this from looking at other existing magazines and found out that these colours appeal to both. Also in my preliminary work I have not attracted much audience as I have mostly only included information for the higher years for example prom dates for year 11, 12 & 13 and the new sixth form block. If I had added some cell lines that concern the lower year for example year 7, 8 and 9 sports day winners I would have had a wider range of audience as it would concern everyone in the school, I learnt from this and used it towards my final front cover as for my final rather than just including the main artist I also included other artists that will be included inside the magazine, by doing this I have attracted a wider range of audience as there will be more fans if I add more artists meaning more audience and a better success of my magazine. I also did not add a barcode and a price for my preliminary as I did for my final which made it look more professional and realistic. Another thing I did not add in my preliminary was a puff as I still did not have that much knowledge then, later when I researched into other existing magazines I noticed they include puffs and so I did too for my final front cover. My preliminary does not suit its purpose very well as it is a school magazine it does not really seem like a school magazine because of the background, fonts and colours I had use due to the lack of experience I had in Photoshop whereas for my final front cover I believe it suits its purpose a lot better as it is a music magazine of the genre R&B/Hip-Hop and definitely suits the genre and target audience a lot better than my previous work. When working on my preliminary task I did not look at other examples of existing magazines or do any research at all whereas when creating my final front cover I looked back at existing music magazines of my genre such as Vibe, Blender and XXL to get an idea of how it should look and what it should consist of which helped me a lot in creating a more professional and realistic magazine.

4. Masthead is too plan and simple, does not stand out at all. Could have used a bolder font and a different colour or a solid background behind the title. Background is too bright and consists of too many colours, should have used a different background or at least lowered the opacity and fill. The colours are too feminine and do not attract any male audience as it seems to be more of a girls magaazine. Typography is too plain for a school magazine, for students and so should be a more stylish font and different colour to attract audience. And also could have added some effects such as drop shadow or stroke. Can not be read easily, used wrong colour. Should have used a colour that goes better with the background.

5. BEFORE AFTER

6. From looking at my preliminary contents page it also looks of low standards as it look extremely plain and simple and does not look anywhere near professional. Firstly the background looks slightly blurry as it is an image I took of Google and enlarged it and therefore does not look professional, the typography also looks dull, although here I have used a different font that is more stylish it still looks pretty plain as I have only used one colour and have not added any effects to it to make it stand out a little more. On my final contents page I have used black and white for the typography rather than keeping it all one colour, using black for the subheadings and white for the main text, I have also added a solid colour (blue) behind the text to make it stand out better and seem more bold. Although I have used a more stylish font in my preliminary work, the font again is feminine and only appeals to girls as guys would not want a magazine that is written in a very feminine font as they will feel it is not for them, that is somewhere I think I went very wrong because the school magazine is meant to be for all students, both guys and girls, but I have made it seem as though it is for girls only as everything I have used is feminine including the colours, fonts and background, especially as the background has images of butterflies and flowers on it. From making this mistake I learnt how to make my final contents page suit both genders as my music magazine is of the genre R&B/Hip-Hop which is for both males and females so I made sure to use colours the appeal to both, images that appeal to both and fonts that appeal to both which I think I have done so successfully. On my preliminary contents page I have not used any images and only used a bit of text which makes it look very plain and dull, especially for the audience as they are school students they would prefer a magazine that consists of some images rather than just text, I learnt this when researching existing magazines and so I made sure to add pictures into my final contents page especially as the audience is of a young age bracket (14-19) they would prefer a magazine with images rather than just text as they would find that rather dull. On my final outcome I also included an editors note with the editors signature as I had noticed many other magazines do so when researching existing magazines, and so by doing this I have made my magazine seem more professional and realistic. I also added a Tie-In at the bottom of the contents page were audience can subscribe to Slant and get exclusive information and get Slant delivered to their door with every months new edition, by using this I have again made my magazine seem more professional which I did not do with my preliminary contents page as I had done no research into existing magazines and so did not know what magazines should consist of and what makes them look professional.

7. Plain and simple font, could have livened it up a little by adding more colour, adding effect such as drop shadow to make it stand out more. Background is slightly blurry and too feminine, could have used a background that appeals to both guys a girls. Used the same font and size throughout could have used different font sizes instead of keeping it all the same size to make it look more professional Page numbers are of the same size and font, look too dull, not appealing, could have added an effect to the numbers e.g. stroke.

9. conclusion Overall, I have developed many skills whilst improving my music magazine and came across tools and technologies I have never used before which I now am familiar with and can use for future purposes. Skills I developed where Photoshop skills, computer skills, researching skills, listening skills when listening to my audience feedback and taking in their comments on how to improve my magazine, I have also learnt to use new technologies I have never come across before such as Edirol, Adobe Audition, Microsoft Excel, Making a blog , Professional camera and many more. From making the music magazine I had to do a lot of research on existing music magazines before starting on my final magazine, this helped me to identify what the magazine elements are and what every magazine should contain in order for it to look professional and realistic for example a subheading, masthead, cell lines, puff, main image, floating quotes, issue number and so on. I gathered everything i learnt and used it to create my music magazine and tried to make it look as professional as possible. I also learnt that it is crucial to know your target audience before making any magazine as everything you add into the magazine has to appeal to the audience otherwise the magazine will not work, the font, font size, colours, images, language etc. All need to appeal to the target audience for it to work. I have also learnt that it is important to structure the layout of a page professionally by using tools such as the grid/ruler tool so that the audience can easily read and access information they are looking for easily using page numbers and sub heading, It is also important to make sure that everything is not messy and all over the place as this will put the audience off wanting to buy the magazine in the first place as they want something that is simple and straight forward. Finally, I believe I have achieved a lot and developed many different skills in such a short period of time, which allowed me to produce my final music magazine up to high standards and as professionally as I could.