Final Cover

Here is my cover after completing all alterations.

Here is my finished contents page.

Here is my finished double page spread.

Audience Feedback

Here is a link to flickr where I have posted a video with two evaluations of my magazine by two members of my target audience.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48335940@N08/?saved=1
I also asked other member of the public, not necessarily my target audience what their opinions of my magazine were:

"Julia's magazine is really attractive! I think that it looks like an acoustic magazine because of the colours and the design." Lewis, 17


"I really like the contents page, I like the flower pattern because it makes it look really professional and attractive." Laura, 17


"My favourite page is probably the front cover because the image immediately attracts my eye and the title is really well designed!" Clare, 40


"I like all of the pages, they all look like they are from the same magazine and from looking at the front cover and the contents page, the sneaky previews of articles make me want to read more." Leigh , 27

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

Looking back at my preliminary task it is evident that my designing skills have developed and improved. In my preliminary task, I did not take much time in planning my layout and the content. You can see that the front cover does not have much content, I have used the left-side third concept and this works effectively to attract the eye, however the cover is too empty.Therefore, after my preliminary task I knew it was important to research magazine layouts and find out what the conventions were for the amount of content used of a cover.  My music magazine cover is far more professional looking and there is a good amount of content and prominence on the cover to attract my audience, and importantly, make the cover look attractive.
 For a school magazine targetted towards a younger audience, the long shot of the children jumping is suitable as it connotes fun, therefore fulfills its purpose. My music magazine also fulfills its purpose in terms of using a suitable image; the medium close-up provides a closer relationship between the viewer and the woman on the front. This makes it attractive for my reader. In terms of photographic composition I was fairly confident after my preliminary task that I understood what photograph was suitable for an acoustic magazine.

The contents page for the school magazine was far too empty and unconventional; there are not enough pictures and text, the guttering and kerning are not conventional of magazines and the fonts are not suitable for a younger audience. This showed, that I really needed to work on InDesign and develop my typography skills in order to create a conventional magazine. I feel that I effectively corrected these errors on my music magazine. I have used conventional guttering and kerning so that the blocks of text are quite narrow; short and snappy. The fonts suit the style of magazine and the layout is much more appealing. Each section has been clearly broken up into sections and there is a good balance between pictures and writing. 

Overall, the preliminary task proved that I needed develop my skills in InDesign and research the traditional conventions of magazines and I feel that I have been able to fulfill this in order to achieve a professional looking magazine, well suited to my audience. 

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

Photoshop
I am very familiar with Photoshop and know how to do almost anything, therefore using it was very straightforward and allowed me to edit my images with ease. I know all the specific tools and methods used in industry to retouch images such as the 'spot healing tool' and 'clone tool.' By knowing how to easily and effectively edit images I was able to create images that looked realistic and by using the 'curves' tool I could make the images look warmer therefore becoming more suitable for my target audience and genre. Below is a link with annotations showing the specific tools that I used.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48335940@N08/4481355481/in/photostream/

InDesign

I used InDesign to create and edit the text on my magazine and putting together the magazine. I had never used InDesign before and so it was interesting to learn everything you can do on it. I really liked the manipulation that could be done to text such as changing the metrics and kerning. It allowed me to personalise my magazine and perfectly suit the target audience. Below is a link with annotations showing the specific tools that I used. http://www.flickr.com/photos/48335940@N08/4481360245/in/photostream/ 

 Blogger 

I used blogger to publish my project. I have never used blogger before and so it was interesting to see all of the tools it provided. I was able to attach links to other websites and able to customise the layout of my blog. Blogging is an easy method to connect and publish my work to the world. 

 Flickr

I used Flickr to host information. I provided a link on blogger to Flickr as a way of creatively showcasing information. On Flickr I learnt to use the 'tag' tool so I could easily annotate pages from my magazine. On Flickr I also learnt how to publish videos.

Photobucket

I used photobucket to upload the images I took and also host an animation showing the editting that I had done. I was already familiar with Photobucket and so did not learn much; only used the skills that I already knew.
 http://www.brusheezy.com/
I used 'brusheezy.com' to find brushes to decorate my contents page and double page spread. This was a website on the internet that provided a range of free decorative photoshop brushes and patterns. I then downloaded them and imported them into photoshop and used them as a basis for some of the designs on my pages, such as the flowers on my contents page. 

How did you attract/address your audience?

Here I have annotated pictures of my front cover and the cover of 'Acoustic magazine.'

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48335940@N08/4478906632/
Here I have annotated pictures of my contents page and one from 'NME'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48335940@N08/4545409791/
Here I have annotated pictures from my double page spread and one from 'Acoustic Magazine.'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48335940@N08/4545371673/in/photostream/