Looking back at your preliminary task,

what do you feel you have learnt in the

progression from it to the full product?

To the left is my preliminary task-

college magazine cover and contents page.

To the right is my full product- music

magazine cover, contents and double

page article

Looking back at my preliminary task I feel that I have learnt a lot more about the structure/layout, colour schemes and content of real magazines and how I should apply them features to my work. I have also developed my skills of using the software and hardware involved, particularly Adobe Photoshop and InDesign.

On my college magazine the main image is not very strong as the person is not looking directly at the camera, which doesn’t welcome the reader and makes it less personal. At the time I did not realise the importance of eye contact, but when I took my photographs for my music magazine I ensured that my friend was looking straight at the camera. The title on my college magazine is rotated and when researching/analysing existing music magazines I found that they do not do this, and they also have bolder/larger mastheads. So I ensured my music magazine had a large, bold and vibrant masthead. Some of the cover lines on my college magazine cover do not stand out enough as some of the colours clash and don’t contrast with the background enough, whereas looking at my music magazine they are clear and stand out.

Looking at my college magazine contents page I found that it had a couple of issues as well. Firstly the photographs I have used are not very appealing as I have used a photograph of the principal as the main image, and I have used a photograph of someone sitting down with a moody expression on their face which would not interest or impress the readers (who are supposedly students). However on my music magazine contents page the photograph is more professional and appealing. Also on my college magazine contents page I found that it lacks articles and interesting stories which should attract the readers attention. Whereas my music magazine contents page has got information on articles featured inside the magazine that are related to current music news and musicians, which the reader will find interesting.

I have developed my skills and knowledge in many ways since I constructed my preliminary task. Mainly when using Adobe Photoshop and InDesign software as I only knew how to use the basic features of Photoshop when creating my college magazine, whereas when I created my music magazine I knew how to use the complex features e.g. polygonal lasso/marquee tool, gradient tool and blur tool. Also I developed my skills and knowledge of using InDesign a huge amount as I had only used the software a couple of time when creating the college magazine, however when I created my music magazine I felt a lot more confident as I learnt the more complex features e.g. linking tool and text frame options such as number of columns.

Overall since I constructed my preliminary task I have developed my skills and knowledge of hardware/software to a much higher standard and I feel more confident. Plus I have learnt a lot more about the structure/layout, colour schemes and content of real magazines and how I should apply them features to my work.