Click the image for Flickr analysis
Friday, 8 April 2011
Monday, 28 March 2011
Unedited Images
Unedited images from my first magazine cover.
Images from my second magazine cover.
The image from my contents page.
The initial 5 images from my double page spread.
Friday, 25 March 2011
Finished Products
Final magazine cover (left) along side my first cover (right).
Double page spread.
Contents page.
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the college magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?
Looking back at my preliminary task, it is obvious my Photoshop skills have developed because of the progression in text alignment, photo manipulation (brightness, contrast and curves/levels) and fonts used. The preliminary task featured three coloured pictures, layered under a dark picture on a gradient background, in pastel colours. The contrast between the pastels and the 4 layered images is not aesthetically pleasing. On my new cover, the colours on the background match the new images, which have been edited in brightness and contrast to complement each other. The text from my first cover is white and in a childish font. It would not attract many new readers. The masthead is black and made by hand so does not look very professional. On the other hand, my new cover has a font similar to the first but where I have improved my font skills; it looks more professional and attractive. The cover lines on the new magazine are coloured, capital and in a colour instead of white.
The overall theme of the first magazine is mixed up and not clear because there are many colours and fonts used. For the second cover, there is a clear colour theme of blue, black and white, and only 2 fonts used; for the masthead and the cover lines.
I have also improved my photographic skills throughout this project which is obvious through the choice of any models, props and colours. The first cover features 1 model, not looking directly into the camera. I learnt through audience research that the first picture the reader sees will often influence them to buy the magazine, or put it back. I shot for my second magazine before carrying out this research so my first final cover has a model looking out of frame. After getting audience analysis of this, I realised the magazine would be more appealing with a better first image. This is when I retook pictures for a new magazine cover. This included models that better fit the magazines genre and they are both looking into the camera. There are 2 models, one male and one female which means the magazine is not aimed at just one gender.
The main Photoshop skill I developed would be cutting images from a background. When creating my preliminary, I had a lot of teacher and peer support, giving me tips and hints on how to improve the appearance. After that, I spent some time looking at videos and guides online to improve the technique used. The main point I learnt was to shoot the image on a plain background so I could use the magic wand tool to erase all of the background. It was often easier to use the magnetic lasso tool to select the body, and copy it onto the new document.
When first using the magnetic lasso, I struggled to select all detail or parts of the image required. After some practice, I leant to feather the edges upon selecting, to make a smoother copy, and to use the magic wand after to hand picks parts I wanted to keep or deselect.
My first contents page was similar to a Q contents page. The font used here looks computerised and, once again, not very attractive. It is plain black and one font carried throughout. It has a clear colour theme but does not match the front cover. The final contents are much more professional. The text is a better, clearer font and in a plain black and white but it complements the image and the background. Throughout the project, I have experimented with the use of fonts, colours and text alignment. My progression is shown through the clear improvement of text from preliminary to final products. I experimented with types of font to find one that matches the theme and genre. I settled with 'Impact' for most because it is bold and strong, which draws attention. On my final contents, the text overlaying the picture changed colour, unlike the text from the first front cover. This makes it stand out more yet doesn’t distract from the picture.
The first magazine contents text is in 1 long text box, so it is all in line. While progressing, I learnt to utilise the Photoshop page rulers to create guides. By turning 'snap' on, all the text boxes would snap to the ruler so they were automatically in line. This was a useful tool because it allowed for more manipulation of text, such as text alignment or colour, as it is not possible to have many text designs in one text box.
My preliminary tasks had very little planning or research. On the other hand, a lot of research went into the final products. I used survey monkey, a free online survey and questionnaire site, to set up a questionnaire to be sent to people of my target age group. The results from this were posted on my blog and Flickr but proved to be too broad for in-depth analysis. I used these results as a starting post for my design and layout, based on the most popular multiple choice. answers. During the developing process I carried out smaller paper based questionnaires and face-to-face interviews to get feedback based on my progress. The use of research in my final product has reflected by the massive improvement from preliminary task. The preliminary task ticks none of the boxes when it comes to pleasing the audience. To improve, I should have atleast done an initial questionnaire or research as a starting point for design.
Sunday, 20 February 2011
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
While creating the final products, I used a wide variety of software including Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft word. Most of my work was posted on Flickr and then posted across to Blogger, where all my final work is. Whilst using Flickr on the college network, I often experienced problems with uploading or analysing. This meant using Mozilla Firefox to upload any images but switching back to Internet explorer to analyse. This method was very time consuming and confusing but had to be done to complete the task. Throughout high school, I learnt basic skills and tools regarding Photoshop. This project has helped to develop and improve this. The thing I have learnt most about would be using layers. Before, I only ever used 3 or 4 to separate text, images and background where as now, I can confidently use up to 20/25 layers. By grouping, merging, linking and renaming layers, I found it easier to navigate through these layers. Technologies used included a pen drive to transfer my work from home to college, and back again. The use of Photoshop, Flickr and blogger at home helped to stick to deadlines and extend time for creativity and experimenting with images and layouts.
I had never used blogger or Flickr before this project so everything I have learnt is new and a challenge to understand. After this project, I feel confident about the controls on both websites and the capabilities. I know how to change the layout of my blog, but am still unsure on how to make images fit 'square' to the text on a blog post. Instead of the text running beside the image, I normally had an empty space so I kept to the same layout for all blogs posts instead.
Half-way through the project, I personally invested in a new camera, Lumix-G2. It was a new toy for me and because of this ongoing project; it gave an excuse for experimenting. I learnt many new camera controls such as the rule of thirds and how to use macros. This all helped when framing my images, and choosing a camera angle.
Whilst researching and planning my final products, I used a website called survey monkey to carry out an online questionnaire. It was a simple and easy to use website. When evaluating, I used Flickr to upload images. I would use Flickr again as it is fast, efficient and limitless. On the other hand, it is not very reliable as it took a long time to upload images using Internet explorer and sometimes failed to post notes to the images using Mozilla Firefox. Blogger was used to analyse my final work. This is more efficient than writing an essay and a lot less time consuming as work can be uploaded and viewed instantly. It also allows for quick, anytime editing and comments. I was able to upload pictures to my posts to assist the text. This was a lot more effective than just referring to my products and images. Web 2.0 allows me to get instant user feedback from a range of audiences. This was helpful when creating surveys and collecting user responses.
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