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.