7. evaluation 2
- 3. Research I think that research is a big strength of mine. I have done a lot of it. I researched existing magazine front covers and went into as much detail as possible and analysed everything on the page. I looked into magazines with different types of people on the front cover. I also analysed and looked at “Thrasher” magazine which is a skateboard magazine. I looked at this magazine because it targets more or less the same demographic as mine and I think it’s a good way to understand my audience. Another big strength of my research is my questionnaire and my interviews. Without this aspect of the research my finished product would be completely different. For example I was planning to also cover more alternative sports such as skateboarding and free running. When I asked if people would like to see this type of thing in a music magazine and all but one person said they would. So I decided against this idea and kept the content covered in the magazine just music. A weakness of my research would be the fact that I wasn’t sure how to word questions properly on the questionnaire. This made it a little bit confusing when people tried to answer it. An other weakness is the fact that the questionnaire was taken anonymously. Overall this wasn’t a problem but one or two people took advantage of this and answers with irrelevant and unhelpful information. I think if theses things were improved my finished product wouldn’t have changed very much, it would have just made my job easier when analysing my results.
- 4. Planning The strengths of my planning stages would be the fact that I went in depth when looking for existing products. I also looked for suitable fonts and images as well as colour schemes. Doing this helped my product because I had an idea of what the finished product would look like before I had even started. I already had all the images and fonts I needed to start. When planning I also found it helpful to make a mock design first. I liked doing this because I helped me get a feel for how I would use all of the images I had picked out. I liked experimenting with different colour schemes and font styles as well. The experiments helped my finished product by helping my figure out colour schemes that fit the genre I was going for. It also helped me get a chance to experiment with the looks of fonts and images I could potentially use for my final product. A weakness of my planning would be the fact that I don’t feel like I spent enough time on my double page spread. I looked at existing ones but I feel like with a little more time I could have experimented a bit more when it came to the double page spread.
- 5. Time Management Overall I think I managed my time well. That being said however there was some points during the production that I wished I had more time.
- 6. Technical Qualities I chose this existing product to slightly base my magazine off because this magazine font cover is simple, it has a simple colour scheme and it has Corey Taylor on the front. When creating the colour scheme for my magazine I also went with the black and white look. The difference with mine is that I added red into it. I did this because it livens the page up and makes the whole thing look more interesting. The colour also helps highlight key words I want to stand out such as the word “free”. I used the white “Slipknot” logo. The one I chose is bigger and bolder. The one I chose I chose because it looks good with the rest of the text surrounding it. I chose a more gritty looking logo for my front cover compared to the existing product. I did this because it suits the style I was going for. The one they chose is more clean looking which suits that magazine.
- 7. I decided to have my barcode at the bottom of the page instead of in the middle. I think that the way I have laid it out makes it look more professional and less cluttered. I have also advertised a free poster. I made mine bigger and more noticeable. I did this because I want to draw peoples eye to my magazine. I also have the word “Free” in red bold letters above it that helps draw attention. I made my titles font more gritty looking. Where as the existing product has gone for a more sleek clean look. I decided that wasn’t the look my magazine was going for so when looking for fonts I kept this in mind Along the side this magazine has list of band names that is featured in the magazine. I have done something similar on my front cover. On mine I have a smaller list of bands that are at this years “Riot Fest” and instead of just writing their names I have used their logos. I decided to do this because fans of the band will instantly recognise the logos and be interested. I did this also because logos are much more interesting to look at than just boring text.
- 8. Aesthetic Qualities I think that my work is very creative and overall it does look good. The biggest things I like about it is the colour scheme. I like the simplicity of the black and white and the red really stands out. I like the fact that I have placed all of the red text separate. I did this so I wouldn’t draw attention to just one place. After reviewing my peer feedback I have realised that this blank space could have been filled with extra information. I think I have chosen the perfect picture for my magazine front cover. I like this picture because his pose suits him and the band very well. It also goes with the theme I was going for with this magazine. The font I chose matches the style I was going for. I like it because it suits the magazines style and look. The font is perfect because it really stand out and is bold.
- 9. Audience Appeal I have appealed to my target audience by featuring bands and festivals that my target audience would like. From my questionnaire I have found that I was to target females aged 13-15. so I have advertised a poster for the band “Parrimore” this band also appeals to this audience so featuring them on the cover as a free gift will attract this audience. These bands advertised for “riot fest” is targeting the audience I chose to target because on my questionnaire people said I should feature bands that aren’t mainstream, even though these bands are very popular they aren’t mainstream.
- 10. Peer Feedback
- 11. Feedback 1 • What did you like about the product? – You’re magazine cover looks really professional and you can tell you used lots of tools in Photoshop in order to create the magazine cover – This type of magazine appeals to me because of the different genres on the cover, it gives your cover lots of diversity and gives you a bigger audience appeal. • What improvements could have been made to the product? – You have left space on the left hand side of the cover which makes it look incomplete. You could have avoided this by putting all the masks by slipknot in the blank space, this would have attracted more people
- 12. Feedback 2 • What did you like about the product? – Looks very professional – All the little details (price, issues number) – The use of fonts • What improvements could have been made to the product? – The side are empty
- 13. Feedback 3 • What did you like about the product? – The magazine looks very realistic – The font style suits the magazine well – The magazine meets the conventions set by the genre • What improvements could have been made to the product? • Different colour scheme as the current one is quite stereotypical of the genre
- 14. Peer Feedback Summary • What do you agree with from your peer feedback? – I agree with the fact I used a lot of tools in Photoshop – I agree with the feedback saying that I have a bigger audience appeal because of the different genres used on the front cover – I agree that I have left a slight black space on the left hand side of the magazine – I agree that it look professional – I agree that the font style suits the magazine well – I agree that the magazine meets the conventions set by the genre – I agree that the different colour scheme as the current one is quite stereotypical of the genre • What do you disagree with from your peer feedback? – I disagree that I could the masks by slipknot in the blank space, this would have attracted more people. I disagree with that because I was planning to do this on the inside of my magazine witch is the reason I didn’t do it on the front cover.
- 15. Peer Feedback Summary Based on the feedback given by me peers I would change very little. The biggest thing I would change however would be getting rid of the blank space on the left hand side. The blank space isn’t very noticeable until its been pointed out. That being said however if I had the opportunity to do this again I would find something to put into that space.
Editor's Notes
- #4: What were the strengths of your research? How did your research help your product? What were the weaknesses of your research? What could you have done better/improve? What effect would this have had on your product?
- #5: What were the strengths of your planning? How did your planning help your product? What were the weaknesses of your planning? What could you have done better/improve? What effect would this have had on your product?
- #6: Did you manage your time well? Did you complete your project on time or would your products have improved with additional time? What would you have done if you had more time to produce your work?
- #7: Compare your work to similar existing products and discuss the similarities and differences Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page alongside an existing product Use text boxes and arrows
- #9: Does your work look good? Was it creative? What aspects of your game’s visuals do you like? What would you improve? How would you improve it? Discuss the strengths and weaknesses Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page and analyse them Use text boxes and arrows
- #10: How have you appealed to your target audience? What specific bits of content would appeal to your target audience. Refer to your findings from your questionnaire. Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page and analyse them Use text boxes and arrows
- #16: What changes would you make to your product based upon your peer feedback and why?