Personal Critical Feedback

I am  proud of my final product. I have worked hard to achieve it, and I feel it has been rewarding. I never thought when I started the project that I could produce a mock up of a magazine, I have enjoyed working on it .
Although there are a few things I would change, such as to make the cover page image lighter, and correct minor mistakes on the cover page. For the contents page I would make sure all my lines are correct, as the banner is not straight. I would also take a wider selection of pictures, so I would have more choice, and could experiment more. On my double page spread I would make the gutters clearer. I would make the header more dominant and make the border not as 80's in style. I think overall it could be improved with a clearer picture quality.

Final Product Feedback

Male, 16

Front page = I liked the use of colour, which creates cohesion with the other pages. The picture is not very good quality, and is very dark. The cover lines are catch, but some of the text that overlaps onto the background is a bit hard to read.

Contents page = Good cohesion with the cover page, the use of colours is bright and fun. The stories are realistic and standout from the background. Some of the positioning of stories is odd.

Double page spread = It is colourful, and appealing to the audience. The picture is creative, but there is a lot of negative space around her.  The text is too small, and is hard to read.

Female, 18

Front page = The positions of things are in the correct places, making it look professional.  I like the colours used and feel they are appealing to the target audience. Some of the text does get lost into the background though.

Contents page = There is no negative space, and it is very busy. Some of the words in the editor’s letter are a bit cheesy, such as “freshest”.

Double page spread = It is very eye catching due to the use of colours, which tie in to the rest of the magazine. The pull quotes break up the text, but are in too big a font.

Male, 18

Front page = The colours fit the context of the music, as they are bright and exciting. The title does not stand out enough, as do some of the cover lines, although there are a good range of colour lines.

Contents page = Good cohesion with the front page. The stories with pictures and numbers are a bit random, and scattered all over the page. Some of the text is hard to read with the busy background.

Double page spread = The header is a bit on a whim and is not mentioned on the contents page. The image is good, and there is good use of negative space so the page is not to crowded.

Final Product

Draft of selected photos evidencing image manipulation

This is my cover picture, I edited in photoshop.  I started by cropping the original image. I have also cut round the image using the magnetic lasso. I then found a background that suited my genre of the magazine, I chose the bright lights one as it reminds me of people dancing in a club in bright lights. I then cropped the image, and rotated the image clockwise, 180 degrees.

This image is used on my contents page. I cropped this images, and edited the colour using photoshop.

I just cropped this image, and made it later using photoshop again. I did not want to edit this picture a lot as it is the editors picture and is supposed to look natural.

Double Page Spread Draft

Draft 1

After asking my focus group they felt this layout was too blue and boring as I have only used 2 colours. I do not like the drop cap behind the text as you cannot tell where you are supposed to start reading. I also do not like the border as it is to think and blocky. There is also too much blank space at the end of the text.

Draft 2

I feel my target audience will much prefer the range of colours on this draft. I have chosen bright bold colours as they are fresh and exciting. The colours also match the image well, and tie in with the colours of her head phones and her jumper.  I feel this border matches the theme of my magazine. I have added a pull quote to break up the big blocks of text. The drop cap is also in better proportion and you can tell that is where the text starts on this draft. Each column starts with a new question, which is not professional. There is still a lot of blank space on the right page.  I do not have page numbers, or the brand name.

 

Draft 3

I have moved around the text to make it look more professional, by not ending a question and carrying it on to the next column make the reader continue reading. There is less blank space in the page now. I have moved the main feature title to the centre of the page. Having now added a footer, which includes the brand logo, data and page number, I now need to design a header to tie the feature in with the rest of the magazine.

Contents Page Draft

Draft 1

Draft 2

I do not feel the pictures are in the best positions. There is also too much yellow on the page, to improve this I will use my other key colours or bright pink and blue. The pictures and the text about them also need to link together more. The editor’s letter is also in the wrong place and need editing as it is too long, and needs to advertise the magazine better. I prefer the "In additions" box on this draft and it looks more structured.  I need to include my double page spread, and the cover lines from the front cover.

Draft 3

I have changed the colours of the text about the pictures, which I much prefer. I like the structure on this page better than the others. There is quite a lot of blank space on this page which I need to fill in with more stories and pictures. I need to add a signature from the editor and page numbers for the pictures.

I have used the same background as my front cover, so there is cohesion. I need to change the positions of the pictures and give them page numbers and a brief summary of what each feature, and picture are about. I need to add an editor’s letter. The plus sections need some editing as well.

Cover Page Dafts

Draft 1

I want to change the picture and background as they do not fit sensibly on the page, the orange also clashes with the red of the models top. I feel this logo is too big on the page and I will need to make it smaller to make it look more professional. The header text does not stand out from the dark background. The cover lines text is also to dark, and boring. The barcode and information is too big.

Draft 2

This picture is much better suited for my magazine as it has a dark background, with brighter lights on the top, which is almost like a nightclub. I do not like the header on this draft as it does not blend in well with the magazine, I do not like the colour, and the text doesn’t stand out either. The cover lines text colours are not bright enough, and you cannot tell where on feature end and another starts. The white text is also too bright, and stands out too much as this is a key feature. I do not need the extra information next to the barcode as the date and price is under the logo. The logo lines are not all to the left.

Draft 3

I prefer the layout on this draft as you can tell each different feature, although I may experiment with the positions on the cover lines on the top right as they are intruding onto the image. There is also a large empty space on the bottom right of the page. The colours of the logo and the text on the page match as well, the blue and yellow stand out on the dark background. However, I feel the logo should standout more, as it looks like a cover line. The lines are also better on this draft.