The document discusses lessons learned from a preliminary magazine project to the final product. It covers areas like better defining the target audience through research, improved time management and organization, enhancing photography skills like lighting and angles, learning InDesign and Photoshop skills, and creating a magazine that would appeal to a specific social group within the target demographic. The biggest lessons were learning design software skills and how images can be manipulated, as well as achieving professional results. Areas for further improvement were also noted.

1. Question 7. Looking back at your
preliminary task, what do you feel
you have learnt in the progression
from it to the full product?

2. Planning and preparation
• Judging from my preliminary task you can tell I
didn’t do a lot of research and drafting into my
target audience. I simply just focused on ‘college
kids’ when I should have focused primarily on
one social group.
• This was important because college isn’t made up
of one social group, it’s got so many and my
preliminary task didn’t benefit any social group in
perticular. It’s important to research your chosen
target audience.

3. Organisation of time
• I was very rushed with the preliminary task
and didn’t think through at all how and when I
was going to make my magazine.
• For my main task, I learnt from this and made
sure I’d left enough time to focus on the front
cover, contents page and double page spread
equally.

4. Technical photography skills:
Preliminary Task:
My photography wasn’t
amazing and I didn’t
spend a lot of time
thinking about the
photo’s in enough detail.
The angel and quality of
this photo isn’t very
good. It’s done in natural
lighting and doesn’t look
very professional.

5. Technical photography skills:
Main Task:
For my main task, I used a
better camera to produce
better quality photos. I also
changed the angel and position
of my model to make it look
different and unique to the
types of photographs other
magazines have. I also used
Photoshop and the magnetic
laser tool to cut out my model
and have her on a white
background, making her legs
especially stand out.

6. Technical conventions of front cover
Preliminary Task:
My model is The portrait
looking away setting was used
from the camera well which is
but using something I
Photoshop, I was learnt to do from
able to make her the very start of
eyes really stand the whole
out using the project.
sharpen tool
which really
makes the eyes
become the main
focus as it
bounces out from
the page.

7. Technical conventions of front cover
Using the
brightness and
Main Task: Portrait setting
contrast tools to used again to
make the whole make my model
cover look more the main focus of
pure and my magazine. But
smooth. this time I used
no outside back
drop as most
mainstream
magazines use
plain colours.
Using Photoshop tools
such as the sharpen, blur
and magic wand tool to
cover blemishes and Model looking
make features such as straight at the
they eyes stand out. camera lens, drawing
the audience in.

8. Technical conventions of contents
page: Preliminary Task
Using InDesign
Having a sub- as a way of
heading of creating the
‘Features’ contents page
which was a new
experience for
me.
Taking and using my
own photos relating
to my target
audience.

9. Technical conventions of contents
Adding an editors
page: Main Task
letter in InDesign
like real magazines Using the portrait
use along with a setting for all my
signiture of the photos and
editor which I having lighting
downloaded from from above to
dafont.com. create effect.
Specficic
subjects
relating to my
target audience.

10. Post Production skills:
Using image manipulation in
Photoshop, I was able to take this
setting and create it to end up with a
final picture which looks professionally
taken.
I mostly used brighten and contrast to
even out the quality of the image so I
could then get the outline of my model
to use the magnetic laser tool to cut
around her and place her on a white
background.

11. Awareness of the target audience
In my preliminary task, there was
no specific social group that it was
aimed towards at as college is full
of different types of students all
into different genres of music and
fashion.
My main task allowed me to design
my magazines to a specific
audience which I could research
and base my knowledge of their
likes and dislikes and drive those
idea’s into my magazine.
As it was a music
magazine, obviously the content of
my magazine would be music-
related so it was very important to
research that first.

12. Biggest thing I have learnt from
undertaking this project.
• The biggest thing I’ve learnt has definitely got
to be how to use InDesign and Photoshop
which before, I had no idea how.
• It’s been an eye-opener into how you can
manipulate an image so much that it can
make people look very different. It’s taught
me that the celebrities magazines portray can
be fake and not the ‘real’ them.

13. Targets and Improvements
• I wanted to achieve a professional looking
magazine which I could see being sold in shops. I
think I’ve successfully achieved this as I did a lot
of research on real magazines and copied idea’s. I
think my front cover is different from others and
would stand out, which is another aim I wanted
to achieve.
• On a personal level, I feel I have improved
massively since the preliminary project and I’ve
learnt a lot of new skills along the way.