Question 7Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in th progression from it to the full product?

This is my Preliminary cover

This is my preliminary cover, as you can see it is quite basic and it doesn't look too great. I used Photoshop as I would use this for my real product so I needed to learn how to use it. The main image is good as it is clear and appropriate for the cover. I think that the image would look better if it was at more of an angle as it would show more of the building and appeal to the audience as more interesting. The two pieces of text are ok but the shapes around them aren't the best. I tried to put something behind the text to make it more interesting but it hasn’t really worked as it doesn't look that good. The logo and title are both necessary on a cover and here they are bold and clear which is good.

I would rate this 4/10

This is my Preliminary contents

After my school cover I had to make a contents page. I Publisher to see what it was like as I could use it for my final products. The contents is well laid out with a mixture of text and images that are clear. The two sections of text are easy to read and well laid out with the bigger number and heading with the smaller information. This would be easy to understand and follow for the readers. There is also a wide variety of images which would interest different audience which is good. There is PE, History, IT and sixth form related pictures. The pictures also have caption on which would show the reader the related page quickly and easily. There is also a competition which would attract the pupils and the phone number which would be useful for parents. Overall I feel this is better than the cover and shows I was honing my skills. It is clear, interesting and informative which is what a school magazine needs to be.

I would rate this 6.5/10

This is my Final cover

This is my music magazine final copy. After using Publisher for my school magazine cover and contents I decided to move to Photoshop as it can do much more and produce much better results. I took me a while to adjust but I slowly did. The cover is very conventional with all the standard features such as left third, top strip and a pug, I did this as I didn’t want to be too creative as I didn’t know the software. However the cover would appeal to the target audience so I was happy. I tried to make it look as good as possible and was happy with the section in the bottom right. I made small boxes different sizes and lengths to make it look original and exciting. Then I added the bright yellow circle to make it stand out. This was a small feature but it showed I was improving with my Photoshop skills in time for my contents and DPS. On the whole I though I played the cover safe but for my first Photoshop attempt it was good.

I would rate this 7/10

This is my Final contents

Now after completing my cover I felt I was more accustomed to Photoshop and was confident going into the creation of my contents. I didn’t want make the contents really filled with effects as I wanted to keep it quite simple as the focus was on the information. I kept to my colour scheme which was important as this is the brand identity and I didn’t want to change this. I put two columns in which was important as this is where the majority of the information went. Then I added pictures as I felt they were needed in the contents with a caption explaining the image. The I tried to get creative by making the quarter circle in the top right which I was proud off. I though it looked great with the two colours and the drop shadow. Overall I could see and feel my progression and was happy with my contents. I though I got the balance between the information and the creative side.

I would rate this 7.5/10

This is my final DPSLastly I had to make my DPS, when planning it I was unsure of what to do for the background so I thought the image could be the background. I think the tree look worked well and now the background was done. The interview was done in a Q and A style and this would work well for the genre. The quote and statement looked good and would work well to interest readers. Finally I though I needed to added detail and effect to round it off. The page number with magazine name look really professional and the stamp looks great too as it is creative and like something you would see in a professional magazine. The stamp would be something I never thought I would been of been able to make when I stated using

I would rate this 8.5/10

Photoshop. Overall I though this was the best piece I made and it was the last and I was really aware of music magazines and how Photoshop works.

My ProgressionI think from my poor school magazine cover to my music magazine double page spread there was a massive improvement. With my three final pieces I would say I was happy with the contents and double page spread. I am not disappointed with the cover but I would say it would be worth hiding some layers and just having a bit of a mess around to see what I could change and how it would look with minor changes. The contents is arguably the most important page in a music magazine as if it is poor then it wont get picked up and there for sold. However for my first three documents in Photoshop I am really pleased with my work.