MAGAZINE DESIGN

EVALUATIONJo

INITIAL RESEARCHI researched mostly on the internet because my magazine was based on Carp Fishing and this is not a popular sport among my age group. I researched and analysed numerous existing Carp Fishing magazines. I looked at what they all seemed to have in common. I found that green is a common colour among Carp Fishing therefore many magazines included green in their colour scheme. Green resembles weed in a lake and this is where Carp often linger whilst fishing, this explains why green is a good colour to use. I also found that many magazines used very bold and eye catching text on the front cover and also advertised a competition as well as including informational interviews with the sports professionals. Off this research I decided to include an interview with a friend of mine who is a trout master, turned carp fisherman. I also advertised a competition in the magazine.

PRODUCT RESEARCH

I compared 3 magazine covers and contents pages. I found that they always include competitions and big bold fonts to make these stand out. The competitions were always something the reader is going to want therefore this also acted a selling line.

LOGO DESIGNI like my logo design because it interprets my country which I think gives it a more professional look as from what I found in my research this is quite common in Carp Magazines. The reason why this is common in cap magazines is because if the magazine is based on the country the reader is from then it is more likely to be based on what type of fishing thy do and the probability is that it will be more informational for them. I used the carp rig to right of the ‘UK’ because this is in the left third which the reader sees straight away and this automatically tells the reader this is a informational carp fishing magazine.

IMAGE EDITING

I edited this image by adjusting the brightness and contrast. I did this to make the fish stand out more and appear bigger. This is the only editing I did to this image as it was all the other text I put on top of it which made the front cover look good. I used images of Kevin throughout the interview of the magazine and I cropped quite a few of them and also adjusted the brightness and contrast.

MAGAZINE COVERI used a picture of my friend holding a carp in the background, I did this because this is extremely stereotypical of Carp Fishing magazines. This definitely catches the viewers eye as this would be the specimen they fish for if they was going to purchase this magazine. I used the UK colours because they stand out well, I think this worked really well because it gave my magazine a theme. I think the white writing I used for the main cover lines worked well because they stand out to the viewer. I put the ‘Like on Facebook’ part at the bottom because this isn’t very typical of Carp Fishing magazines so I thought this would capture the viewers interest.

CONTENTS PAGEI think my contents is my best page as I followed the rule of ‘less is more’. In my opinion this paid off because I think my contents page looks very professional. All of my contents are realistic. I used a scenic shot of a fishery I go to in the background, scenic shots of lakes/wildlife seem to be popular for fishing contents pages. I managed to capture the swans in the middle of the photograph which I think really sets my contents page off. I made my magazine look like it was a monthly magazine by creating realistic short sentences to give the reader a preview of what is on each page.

DOUBLE PAGE SPREADI used my interview with my friend Kevin Smith for my double page spread. I think that the fact I did an interview made my magazine look more professional. I used quotes from Kevin’s answers from the interview to make the pages look more like a professional magazine. I used the correct text size which is used in actual professional magazines. I also used the same spacing and a formal font.

PEER GROUP FEEDBACK I think Josh’s magazine is very detailed and looks professional,

especially his front cover. The white writing goes well with the image that is the background – Jess (Study Support)

I preferred the contents page to the cover page, as I didn’t really like the title of the mag. I also feel the interview should have been done in 3 columns. Damon (Teacher)

I really liked the contents page as it look very professional but simple at the same time. I also liked how the ‘UK’ logo stood out so

much to the audience on the front cover. Alyx (Student) I thought the images that Josh used were all very professional

especially the one on the contents page this really added to the

overall look. James (Student) I thought the two column layout of the double page spread was

different and would stand out from others on a shop shelf. Max (Student)

The large Kevin Smith on the first page of the double page spread made Kevin look like a really important person in the world of carp. Paul (Student)

The carp fishing rig on the title of the magazine really made it look professional. Jason (Student)

The way the pictures were lay out on the second page of the double page spread was good it made it look professional. Nick (Student)

I think the fact that the little blurbs under the contents of each page on the contents page were a great idea! Shirley (Student)

STRENGTHS OF THE PROJECT I think the fact that I had Kevin Smith to

interview was a hug strength of my magazine as he give in depth and professional answers. I think the pictures I took at the fishery I go to helped a lot with making the magazine look as professional as possible. I also think that the Photoshop skills I used made a big difference to the magazine as í think I am quit advanced on Photoshop therefore this added to the professional look of the magazine.

WEAKNESSES OF THE PROJECT

If I did a second issue of the magazine I think I would change the title as not many people liked that. I would and also the font of the text on the front page.