Q7) Preliminary Task (Evaluation)
- 2. PREVIOUS PRELIMINARY FRONT COVER AND CONTENTS PAGE FRONT COVER CONTENTS PAGE
- 3. INITIAL PRELIMINARY FRONT COVER / CONTENTS PAGE… • My initial preliminary product, I believe currently, shows some skill, especially with the text (e.g. I principally used ‘blending options’ a lot to add ‘strokes’ or ‘drop shadow’ to the majority of text), however, I still think the pages still could have been done in a more professional format. • I think I could have taken the images in a more professional manner (e.g. I could have used more of the camera’s variety of settings). I also believe the images look quite focused, however, they could have looked more sharper. To accomplish this, I would ‘click’ on ‘Filter’, on ‘Photoshop’, then ‘click’ on ‘sharpen’ to ‘Unsharpen Mask’, which would have then improved the quality of my images a little more. • My initial contents page was produced in quite a simplistic layout, as I didn’t want to make it look too creative as it’s still part of an informed school magazine, therefore, the format had to look quite sophisticated (plus, it’s a contents page, meaning its main key purpose is to feed the reader information about the different topics that are found within the product). • In general, I was quite pleased with the pages and I knew I could have improved their format (including the photos taken etc), but due to the preliminary product not being my actual production, I couldn't spend too long designing them. • However, I decided to not fully re-do my pages but I still wanted to change different aspects/conventions on the pages just to show a little more improvement, progression and my understanding of the tools on this specific software.
- 4. ASPECTS I WANTED TO CHANGE/IMPROVE… I believed the masthead was not bold enough to grab a readers’ attention, which is mainly its purpose, and I thought it should be made larger and slightly more thicker in its style of font. I thought the size of font could be a little larger as it’s partly aimed to cause readers to read on through the product, and with the size being quite small I didn’t believe it would achieve this. I still wanted the colour font of the main cover line to be white, however, I believed the ‘drop shadow’ was too bold, and it should have been toned down a little.
- 5. ASPECTS I WANTED TO CHANGE/IMPROVE… • I believed the layout of how the images were placed on the front cover seemed a little boring and too simple. • Even with the added ‘drop shadow’ of the text, I still thought the cover lines blended in slightly with the images placed behind, and it seemed that this could have been handled in a better and more effective way. As the yellow colour of the circular design seemed to be too bright for the front cover of the magazine, I thought it took away the attention from the main focal image and the masthead. Also, it was the only colour seen on the front page, therefore, it looked quite random and so I didn’t think it necessarily needed to be present on the cover.
- 6. ASPECTS I WANTED TO CHANGE/IMPROVE… ‘CONTENTS...’ - I thought the style of font needed to be changed, because I believed the text wasn’t bold enough, same with the masthead on the front page, as it didn’t stand out against the page too boldly. I also believed the ‘slanted’ style of text (‘italic’) should have been changed to ‘regular’. • I thought I should have created more boldness to the text, especially with the page numbers as they aim to highlight whereabouts the topics are within the magazine, therefore, improve navigation for the readers. • In addition, the image of the artwork I believed should have been larger, so it would have then filled in the white space. Also, more effect could have been added by continuing the text onto the image (however, also making sure that it wouldn’t blend in with the background, as it would have made it harder for the audience to read). I believed the colour of the text should have been different as the quotes, said by students at the school, would have then separated themselves from the text of page numbers (as they were initially the same colour of black) – blue, I thought, was suitable as it would have been part of the main colour scheme, and would have highlighted the quotes in contrast to the rest of the text on the contents page.
- 7. NEW PRELIMINARY FRONT COVER AND CONTENTS PAGE FRONT COVER CONTENTS PAGE
- 8. NEW FRONT COVER (CHANGES)… • Masthead – changed style of font from ‘Georgia’ to ‘Gill Sans MT’, plus I removed the ‘drop shadow’. • The style of font has changed from ‘Sylfaen’ to ‘Lucida Bright’. • I have removed the ‘drop shadow’ and added a white ‘stroke’ (plus, made the font slightly larger). • Main Cover Line – changed style of font from ‘Georgia’ to ‘Lucida Bright’, and I have kept the ‘drop shadow’, however, it is less bold/noticeable (and I’ve made the font slightly larger in size, and I have placed the whole text on the left side). • I have used the ‘rectangle tool’ to create two white coloured rectangular designs, which I have placed my two smaller image onto. • Cover Lines – changed style of font from ‘Georgia’ to ‘Lucida Bright’, plus with a blue stroke (but no ‘drop shadow’). • Main Focal Image – I have slightly ‘played’ around with the ‘Brightness’ and ‘Contrast’ of this image, including the ‘Colour Balance’ (under ‘Adjustments’).
- 9. NEW CONTENTS PAGE (CHANGES)… • ‘CONTENTS...’ – changed style font to ‘Gill Sans MT’. (Slightly reworded the quote) • Changed style of font to ‘Goudita Sans SF’, and added boldness to the actual page numbers. • I also added a white ‘stroke’ to the text. • Used the ‘Colour Balance’ on this particular image – to considerably tone down the yellow colour from the light. • Page Number – changed style of font to ‘Gill Sans MT’, and still kept the ‘drop shadow’.
- 10. WAS THERE IMPROVEMENT? COULD IT BE BETTER? • Overall, yes, I think I could improve some aspects of the preliminary magazine pages, however, mainly more on the front cover due to its importance of appealing the correct audience, depending on how the conventions are portrayed. • On the front cover, I think I could have improved the quality of my images, especially the main focal image of the Ratcliffe student. This is because she is squinting due to the light from the sun, therefore, it doesn’t make the whole image look effective. • I believe the main cover line should stand out more against the front page as it still slightly blends in with the white section of the image behind, therefore, I should have produced a thicker ‘drop shadow’ to connote the importance of the Ratcliffe magazine and how they want to attract a wider range of audience to read about the school. • On the contents page, I actually prefer the white ‘stroke’ to be present around the text next to the many page numbers, as it shows off some of my skills with the use of ‘blending options’, instead of there just being a plain list of simple black text down the left side of the page.
- 11. WAS THERE IMPROVEMENT? COULD IT BE BETTER? • The layout of the contents page is simple as the magazine is quite sophisticated due to it being based on school education. I like how I kept to that particular format, except I would have preferred the page to be filled with more images/text; to fill in the white space (plus , there would be more for the readers to look at and so they would receive as much information as possible – alongside the appealing images of what the school offers to their students). • Principally, I still prefer the style of font I have chosen on the latest version of my preliminary front cover and contents page, as it is suitable and relatable to the type of magazine (e.g. a ‘bubbly’ font would not really suit the type of the product). • Although I have taken some nice quality photos of different settings around the school, I believe I could have varied the choice of mise-en-scene a little more, to show a slight more variety within the images on the page. Also, I should have used another student to be seen in a separate image, as I have used the same school student who is the main focal image on the front cover, but she is also portrayed on the contents page looking at the awards – therefore, choice of models is another thing to consider. • In future, I will try to show off more of my knowledge of ‘Photoshop’ by using more complex tools such as the ‘magic wand’ tool or ‘lasso’ tool, to create a more realistic and appealing magazine page. • There is also room for improvement for the framing of photography, and trying to apply the ‘rule of thirds’ within the images, as this is something I didn’t really take into consideration during the progression of the preliminary pages.