Fmp evaluation real
- 2. Designer research In my initial research I looked at various graphic designers and researched what techniques and styles they use. The most interesting one of these I thought was Peter Saville. I really enjoyed reading about his work and looking at his designs. I think that during this research the area I struggled the most with was finding enough information on each of the designers, I think I should of used alternative sources than just the internet. I think trying to find sources like books, magazine reviews and any informative videos would have been beneficial as I think I would of found more to write about.
- 3. I think I presented my work fairly well I tried to use relevant images to better explain what I was talking about. I think showcasing each designers work with their profile really shows what they’re about. I tried to include a brief summary and history on the designers. Overall I found this section fairly simple and interesting, I felt I got a good bit of information to help me in my project and found some inspirational work and design ideas.
- 4. Research During my research I looked at various magazines and analysed different sections. The structure I used was starting off with a brief introduction to the magazine and then analysing a front cover, contents page and double page spread. I picked magazines that i thought would most benefit the one I wanted to create. I think I analysed these magazines fairly well and I found out a lot of information to help with my production. I think the most useful area was definitely looking at Mixmag I really like the design and referenced it in my own production. I covered a decent amount of information however I think I could of wrote more about the methods used in the magazine and thought further in to how the design works and what was effective.
- 5. If I was to do this section again I would of further looked in to production techniques that might have been beneficial to my work as I think this would of helped a lot in the making of my magazine. I also think that doing more research in to who the target market is would have been beneficial as I struggled to find demographics that were specific to men's fashion magazines as there isn’t that many.
- 6. Problem Solving Problem solving I found the easiest section in the pre production of my FMP. When I first began this section I was not 100% sure on what to do so I took longer than I should of to get going with the work. Shortly after beginning I then asked for help and got the task explained to me.
- 7. I began by listing various practical and theoretical problems I might face during production. A lot of these came from the photo taking aspect of the project. I then began to explore in to some of these issues and see what potential solutions or preparations could be done to fix or avoid them. I think I did this fairly well although I struggled to find enough to write about them as most of them were fairly quick fixes. If I was to do this again I would like to explore more potential issues and solutions in preparation for production.
- 8. To further prepare for production I also did some photo editing within Photoshop and showed a side by side comparison. I did this to experiment in the software and see what potential issues may arrive when doing the real thing. I think this benefited me as it gave me an idea of what I could and could not achieve. Next time I would want to experiment further with online tutorials and not just using basic Photoshop skills as I think this would give me more variation and new skills in production. I also experimented with article writing, I tried to make it as much like an article I would use in my work. I think I did this fairly well it gave me a brief practice of what I should write and how I should write it.
- 9. Planning in this section I looked at planning out my magazine. I looked at areas like health and safety and what equipment I would need. I also created font and colour sheets to refer to in my production. To begin with I looked at my locations easingwold and york I think I give good reasoning as to why these two locations would be effective. I think I covered all I needed to in this section I mentioned the risks and some potential shot ideas. I also thought that creating a small picture board would be an effective way to show the locations somewhat. I think that in certain areas of this powerpoint I did struggle to find enough to write about as my project needed next to no materials or extra equipment. If I was to do this again I would of planned in some props that could of made for more interesting shots. I think that thinking outside the box using props for colour co ordinated shots could of really improved my final work.
- 10. I created a font and colour sheet to directly compare what worked and what didn’t. I think that I did fairly well with this. I think it would have been interesting to have further gone in to the idea of comparing vibrancy and dullness in the basic colour wheel and what colours compare to eachother using this. I think this would have improved my work in production as i could of directly used it when designing my pages and hopefully made them more visually appealing. I tried to create a varied selection of Fonts to test out however looking through I realised that only the simple ones were effective that’s why I stuck with fonts like Helvetica.
- 11. During the final section of this powerpoint I drafted up a brief magazine plan and project plan. I think that both of these were vital in making my magazine especially the magazine plan as I was constantly referencing it to make my magazine. Next time I will definitely make this plan more detailed because this will help me to keep on track with my work.
- 12. Production
- 13. My initial steps during production was my photo taking. I found this a fairly simple task however different to my planning I decided to shoot only in easingwold although urban backdrops may have been more effective I thought that my local town had some cool spots that I could get the photos I need. I shot all the photos in raw so I could get a better quality shot and they would be easier to edit. My theme when taking the images was a to have a striking center piece and an effective backdrop.
- 14. These photos took very little editing when preparing them for the magazine. The brightness was turned up a fair bit and small changes to sharpness and contrast was all that was needed after. I think I did a good job taking these images I definitely could of used more however I think the ones I did get were really good quality and were useful in my magazine. One of the images I actually used for my front cover and I thought that it was actually very effective.
- 15. This is my front cover design for my magazine I think I did a really good job here I wanted to create the cover in the style of Proper magazine. I really like the clean look and I think minimal text is most effective on the front page. I think that if I had cluttered up the magazine with small article headings and titles it would of looked a lot messier and less appealing there for I stuck with less is better. I referenced back to my colour style sheet and thought what colour text would pop and I really like how the pink stands out against the white/grey sky. I also thought the text matches the flowers nicely. The positioning of the issue number is on the top left to make it symmetrical as there is a branch in the top right. I did this because symmetry is more appealing to the viewer again going for this minimal look. The title then in the middle of this matches everything up nicely. I chose to put the magazine in a smaller font and align it. I honestly would not change anything about this page I think it looks really good and the simplicity is very effective.
- 16. For my contents page I went for a simplistic design, I wanted to carry on a simple theme although I think this is maybe too simplistic I do like the basic idea. I think the blown up A-line logo looks effective and the pink really pops against the dull background. i positioned the this week to blend the background together I think this is effective as it makes the page look a lot smoother and better. To improve this page I would definitely add more content however I would have to be careful to not ruin it. I think the page would be quite easy to ruin because the simplicity is what gives it the clean look and I wouldn't want to make it feel cluttered.
- 18. For this page I wanted to keep an urban theme I used darker colours to match the product I was showcasing, I think this colour scheme may be slightly dull however it works with the images. For the main image on the right page I zoomed in a shot of my self and applied the Patagonia logo to the bridge above I think this looks really good, it’s a powerful image that shows off the product in a testing environment. The fact it is taken on a rainy day shows off the practicality of the jacket which the company is all about. I then added a small quote from the companies website, I tried to find a quote that was a statement from the business this gives a powerful effect when combined with the photo. In terms of text positioning if I had more images I feel as if I could of made a better design on the article page but I didn’t have a suitable one so I tried to fill up as much of the page as possible.
- 20. This page for Size is my favourite in the magazine I think there is several techniques I used here that are effective. To start with a decided to stick with the size colour scheme of black and orange, I think that this looks effective and is a striking contrast in colour. To create the left page I got the size logo in orange and cut out the question mark. I then blew it up and lowered the opacity to create a background. By having white text over the top of this it contrasts and stands out to the viewer. On the right side of the page I got three images all the same just at different distances. I blew the closest one up and the added the other two slightly small above. I then enlarged another one behind it to make a background for the three images. I think this was a creative technique and I think it worked really well.
- 22. Next is Oi Polloi a Manchester based independent boutique selling lot’s of different brands. The shop is extremely popular and sells casual slightly hipster products, always trying to stay on top of the latest trends. I think the hipsterish vibe of the shop really affected my design of this double page spread. I thought the wooden floor background would be effective to match the images of the shop. I made a small section of images along the bottom to show the inside of the shop. I added an effect to make these images sort of retro looking. The photo in the top right shows off a brand the shop sells and I think looks effective. The colour scheme matches the title and I think it looks like a professional look book image. Finally I found the logo changed the colours and enlarged the birds next to it. Although simple I find this page effective I think it has a consistent theme that accurately represents the shop.
- 23. Conclusion Overall I think I have done fairly well in the making of my magazine. There is a lot of areas that I would potentially change if I had more time but I do think there are some solid designs aswell. I am proud of my ideas but some were harder to actually produce than others and I found timekeeping a challenge throughout production. Further referencing my previous timetables and schedules would have been beneficial throughout the project. I have enjoyed the project and although this is its finished state I think given more time I could keep up consistent quality throughout instead of having some areas a higher level than others.