Evaluation Question 7 DRAFT

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

Looking back on my prelim magazine I feel the weakest of the two components was the contents page, as it was too bare and simple, and wasn't interesting at all. The fact I only included 8 things that were in the magazine wasn't good enough, as since looking at other contents pages and developing my ideas for my new one, I found it is important to write about lots of things that are in there so the readers know exactly what they are buying. Also, even though the letter from the editor is a good idea, when planning my contents for my final magazine, I didn't want to incorporate one due to the style of my contents page, and the simple layout that I wanted to produce. I do feel that I have included relevant information as the topic was a school magazine, and to ensure I did the same with my music magazine, i took inspiration from other magazines such as Q as I could read them, and include certain pieces of information like they do in theirs.

The front cover is simplistic and I wanted to achieve the same look with my final one, however to make my final one better I used the rule of thirds to make the layout more professional, whereas with the prelim, everything is more centred. The bar code is too big, and I also made that mistake on my draft music magazine, as some of the feedback I got was to reduce the size of it. I reduced the size for my final magazine and ensured it was small and tucked away in a corner, so it wouldn't attract attention and distract the reader from the central image of my model.

When taking photos of my models for the prelim I didn't feel like I took enough, as it is important to have a wide range of photos to choose from when selecting them for the cover and contents page, so when completing my music magazine I made sure I took more than I did for the prelim. Also, when taking the photos for my magazine, i used too many conventional poses due to the school magazine area, and with the music genre I wanted to create something more fashionable and colourful, as I felt less restricted making it due to the alternative/indie genre I wanted to explore.

Before creating my draft magazine I completed the research and planning that would have benefited me when designing my school magazine. I found it useful to analyse and look at three different covers, contents pages and double page spreads as this then provided inspiration and ideas for creating my own version. I feel this research was vital as I could see what existing magazines were like and which conventions they adhered to and which they contradicted. I created an audience profile for a typical person who would read my magazine, and this allowed me to create a product that would appeal to the intended audience, due to the fact I kept a specific person in mind, whereas with my prelim I didn't.

My draft magazine was definitely an improvement on my prelim, as I learnt that more had to be included on both the cover and contents, in order to engage and capture the reader and let them know what was inside. However, the contents page felt too busy, as the boxes and images made it look more like a leaflet, and it didn't look like it belonged to the same magazine, along with the cover and double page spread. When completing my double page spread I learnt how important it is to spell check and proof read correctly, as I made simple errors, which i then had to go back and change. 

When cutting the images out for my Preliminary magazine, I didn't spend enough time on them, therefore they look rough around the edges and the background can be seen behind them. I decided I needed to spend more time when cutting images out, so for my final product I spent a few hours perfecting the cover image, as that's the most striking and important image in the magazine - and it looks much better in comparison to my prelim task. 

After receiving feedback on my draft magazine I learnt that in order to make the three components look like they're from the same magazine, I had to use a motif or colour scheme that linked them together. To achieve this i looked at other magazines such as Fader and Q as took ideas from their magazines when it came to page numbers and a band of colour across the top. I made sure the contents and cover used the same colours - the deep purple - and then I felt that the double page spread could have it's own colour scheme, due to there being many double page spreads in the magazine not looking the same. I added the 'state - February' to make page numbers as magazines such as Q do this. Having a draft definitely helped due to the improvements given from my teachers and peers. To improve my prelim I could have done a draft in order to get a rough idea to what my final prelim would look like, and I could have then improved it based on received feedback; like I did for my final one.

Spending time choosing outfits for the models to wear definitely improved my magazine, as with the prelim I didn't really take the outfits and make up into consideration. the time spent on styling my artist as well as doing their hair and make up meant that the photos look more professional and like something found in a real magazine.

Overall I've learnt that the longer you spend on cutting images out and correcting things the better the magazine will be, as things can be easily changed and added to make it better. Looking back at my preliminary task, I can see I have learnt what makes a good magazine through looking at other examples and taking ideas from them when creating my own, as no product can start from scratch. I have also learnt that the magazine needs a USP or something original and different to make it stand out from the rest; hence my colourful front cover and specific target audience.