Task 4: Evaluation - Preliminary Task

Evaluation for the Preliminary Tasks

What went well?

Front Cover:

First thing that went well was the colour schemes, because from the feedback I received I was told that the colour schemes were very eye-catching, as I used different variety of colours which made the magazine looks lively; therefore, from the first impression of the college magazine it would not looks boring. Another thing that went well was the photograph, because the model on my front covers is a student which relate to the magazine since my target audience is directly aimed at college student, so it is based on them. For the image on my front cover the model is looking directly at the camera which is a good use of direct-mode-of-address, and so it make the front cover seems welcoming which attract the audience more. Furthermore, from the feedback I received I was also told that the masthead was appropriate for the magazine, as it is bold and it is the largest font on the page and the font style were quite quirky but yet modish so it suit the target audience character, since many of them are young adults. The title of my masthead it’s called ‘College Magazine’ which sound quite basic, however I did that purposely so it is easy to remember and to let the readers know that it is directly aimed at college students only. In addition, I used slogan for my magazine as well which I think it worked effectively, since the title of the masthead was quite basic therefore I’d came out with a catchy slogan: ‘Your College, Your Magazine’. Additionally, I felt like the cover lines went well as well because the cover lines was appropriate for the target audience, since it is related to the main purpose of the magazine, for example one of the main cover lines is ‘TOP 5 Revision Tips!’. I've also used persuasive teasers like giving ‘20% discounts off’ so it would interests the audience.  Meanwhile, for the page layout I used PhotoShop and personally I prefer PhotoShop as I feel much comfortable using it. During the page layout process I tried to make my text aligned neatly and organised so it looks professional, and not too cluttered. Lastly, I used psychological pricing to price my magazine. I made my magazine £1.99 rather than £2 so it looks much ‘cheaper’; I felt like this would appeals to the audience, since the pricing is affordable for students.

Contents Page:

First that went well for my contents page was photograph. From the feedback I received majority of people like the images, this is because it relate to the purpose of the magazine and it shows the diverseness of the college which I think it worked really effectively, as it would appeals to the audience more. Another thing that went well was the layout because I tried to position the text very neatly, and I ensure the page numbers is next to the text. Similarly, I did the same stuff for the picture-based listing as I linked the picture-based listing next to the article page number, so the readers would be able to find the article they want to read easily and efficiently without getting muddled up. For my contents page layout I used InDesign, at first when I used InDesign I find it quite difficult but now I’m starting to feel comfortable using InDesign, and I feel like my InDesign skills has definitely improve. Furthermore, from the feedback I received I was also told that the colour scheme was simple; however it suited the magazine because it is formal and works well with the college magazine concept. In addition, I used bigger fonts on the section I wanted the audience to mainly focus on the ‘Students of the Month’ and so I changed different font’s style and made it bolder, so it’s distinct from the other font’s style.

What do I need to improve on?: 

For improvement, I felt like I need to improve on my InDesign skills because I am still unfamiliar with the InDesign tools as I sometime get confused with certain tools. Also from the feedback I received someone said that I should follow the colour scheme for both of the front cover and the contents, therefore it would make a links and this would make the magazine look much more formal and professional so it’ll suits the college magazine concept. I also think that I need to improve image manipulation on photoshop, because some of images seem quite dull and it did not make my magazine looks proficient.

Three key point for development when producing the main task (music magazine):

·         InDesign Skills – To get familiar with certain tools, so when I produce my main task I can deal with things much easier; therefore I’ll be able to create my content looks much proficient. 

·         Colour Scheme – Despite I got a lot of feedback saying the use of different colours scheme was really effective, however I need to follow a specific colour scheme on both front cover and contents so it make a links, therefore it’ll make the magazine looks much professional and organised.

·         Image Manipulation – Since the first selling points is the main image, therefore the main image need to looks perfect. I felt like most of my images look quite dull due to the camera quality, I could have edited or adjusted the brightness.