Evaluation: Skills Development

Evaluation: Technologies

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Equipment

My laptop, as well as the computers at college were important contributors to all aspects of my magazine production, from research to editing photos. I mainly used Photoshop and Microsoft Word for this, and I've learnt many new Photoshop techniques as my magazine has come together.

My camera, a Canon PowerShot SX500 IS, is what I used to take all of the images for my product. I used a bridge-type digital camera as opposed to a cheaper model in order to achieve higher quality photos for my magazine.

Photoshop Techniques

Wrapping Text

In order to create a conventional article for my magazine, I learnt a technique to wrap text.

1.First, I used the rectangle tool with the 'path' option to draw a rectangular box to act as my column.

2.I then added in text by selecting the text tool and clicking inside the box.

3.Then, going back to the rectangle tool, I selected 'subtract front shape' and drew the area of the column that I wanted to delete.

4.This is from my finished article, displaying how I used this technique to add pull quotes to my text. While time consuming, this technique is preferable to some 'easier; ways of creating a gap, such as using the space bar, which would have to be redone if I wanted to edit any text in my article.

Web Spaces

Web spaces played a major role in this project. First, Blogger was used to host all of my work, which helped with saving time and keeping everything organised with the use of labels. A disadvantage would be that the status of my internet connection and laptop/computers at college would sometimes disrupt or interfere with my work.

I also used Slideshare to host all of my analysis work for the planning portion of my project, which kept easily accessible and organised, however if I wanted to edit any work I would have to re-upload the entire slideshow to the site and to my blog, which took up a lot of time.

Another web space I used was Flipsnack, which I used to host most of my research. Flipsnack was the easiest site to use and had the least amount of problems for me. Flipsnack allowed me to write detailed pieces due to the unrestricted amount of space.

The final site I used was Prezi, which I wrote some evaluations and research pieces on. While Prezi is good for innovative and interesting presentations, as well as unlimited space, it had a tendency to crash and load slowly, taking up some time.

Evaluation: Institutions

Evaluation: Addressing my Audience

Evaluation: Target Audience

Evaluation: Representation

Double Page Spread

Contents Page

Front Cover

Evaluation: Forms and Conventions

Contact Sheets

Location, Props, Models

Location

My photoshoot is going to be in a studio environment, as I think this will give the images in my magazine an altogether more professional appearance, and will bring focus to the model instead of the background.

Props

The only props in my photoshoot will be clothing, as I want the emphasis to be on the fashion aspect of my magazine. The model will be wearing a vintage jumper to connote the individual, stylistic aspect of the magazine, and it will also make her more relatable to the target audience.

Models

I will only being using one model throughout the entire magazine, as it will cement her importance as the the subject of the main article. She's also in the demographics of my target audience, which will attract them to my magazine.

Double Page Spread Draft

Front Cover Draft

Front Cover Idea Sheet

Making my Masthead in Photoshop

Type Experiments

Target Audience Moodboard

Advertisers Moodboard

Font and Colour Moodboard

Survey Results Analysis

     I conducted a survey to help me establish what my target audience are looking for in a magazine. The majority of the people I asked were females aged 16-20, which is my main target audience, and therefore means that the results of this survey are key in what will be most effective for my magazine.
     50% of the people I asked said that they never bought music magazines, while 20% said that they buy them monthly, connoting that a weekly or fort-nightly magazine wouldn't be bought regularly.
     More than half (51.1%) of the people I asked said that they would spend £2.00 on a music magazine, so my magazine will be a monthly magazine that costs £2 to read, as this is what the majority of my target audience will be willing to pay.
     When asked about what 3 colours would attract them to a magazine cover, the majority picked red, white and black, which is the colour scheme of music magazines such as Q and NME, which my magazine is going to be based on, so these colours would be most effective throughout my magazine as a house style.
     91.11% said that they do listen to indie music, and the most popular genres and decades are indie rock and the 1990s, which I will take into account when creating my cover lines and contents page.
     When asked which cover attracted them most, the majority of the people I asked either said Q or NME, which featured an overall colour scheme of red, white and black, and a mid-shot of a band or singer. I will replicate this style of cover for my own magazine, as they've proven to be the most eye-catching.
     Finally, I asked what else they would like to see in the magazine. 70.45% said that they would like to see film reviews, however I'm going to challenge this and instead have fashion. I'm doing this because I want my magazine to mostly appeal to teenage females of an upper class, and fashion is a very effective way to do this.

Survey Results