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

It is clear to see the difference in my media products. The first major reason I think

caused this is because I learnt that lots of random (non-

matching) light, pale colours are not commonly found on

magazine covers. They cause a childlike and busy design rather than a simplistic but effective and sophisticated

design. By using neutral and plain colours with minimal

bold, bright colours the design is simplistic but sophisticated

and professional.

The multiple colours, fonts and subheadings on the

cover lines have made my preliminary product

confusing and off putting to look at. Thus I learnt

that less fonts, colours and cover lines with a more room to space them out makes a more attractive,

relaxing and attractive design.

The busy design of the flasher also contributes to the

unprofessional look due to is hectic design and

overpowering appearance.

Despite having plain backgrounds of both of the magazines I learnt that as the common photography technique is to use a plain white or possibly a plain black background to an

image. Thus the un-naturalistic green colouring behind the woman on the

cover of my preliminary task give the page an

unprofessional and uncommon appearance.

Despite being seen in on many magazines on the market I noticed that having a large masthead on the top left of the page rather than the top right makes it more memorable

and recognisable as it conforms to the instinctive method of reading from left to right. Thus this is the first item that the reader sees on the page and by doing this as well as using the scale and prominent colouring the masthead dominates the page giving it an overall more professional appearance.

I noticed that adding a block shape behind the

headers and footers, they look much more

professional and stand out more.

I discovered that making the main image overlap

the masthead slightly is a commonly used technique in making the page look skilful and dynamic, thus giving it a professional

appearance.

Although I used it in the preliminary task, I have developed my use of the rule of thirds which most magazines use, therefore it makes magazines look attractive,

appealing and professional.

For my contents page I tries a totally different approach. Instead of creating a contents page that looked simplistic, plain and easy to read, I decided to create a page that was dark, busy and eye catching. Despite

making it slightly harder to read, by caching the readers attention they will focus on it more anyway.

I have again used the rule of thirds yet despite the fact that he

main image fills the two right hand columns, they are also

filled with more images and the text row across the bottom. This

fills more of the space but makes it more inviting due to the

large quantity of contents and more profession

I have again decided to split my cover lines

into subheadings. This breaks the page

up and allows the reader to find their

desired article more efficiently.

As in my preliminary task I have kept the colour, scale and

position of the masthead exactly the same as on the cover. This is to make it more repetitive and therefore memorable. However this time the masthead is on the left. Therefore I decided to make the blocked column of the page on the left side also. This adds structure and simplicity to the

page.

The fonts I have chosen to use for

this magazine differ from the preliminary

task as they are more blocked then

curvy. This is a more commonly used

technique for magazines.

I have used three images as before as it is known that

people like the use of triples. However I have made one the main image and two

smaller images. This makes the page more image dominated and busy.

I have added effects such as

drop shadows onto the images and

captions to makes them stand out

against the main image.

The page numbers for each article is more simplistic than on the preliminary magazine

making them easier and more inviting to read. However the numbers on top of the

images are larger and stand out more highlighting the fact that they are the main

articles in the magazine. Yet I have not added a block shape behind as it makes

them blend in and look more natural on the page.

I have again added the title ‘contents’ at the top of the page as this is a common feature for any magazine. However I have also added a URL web address below the title to highlight to the

audience that this is a well known, recognised, successful

music magazine.

Although I had not created a double page spread in my

preliminary task, I had carried out research and analysis of them and

the common conventions they feature. Thus the things I learnt to

carry out on my double page spread were either features that I found in my analysis or things I

learnt from my overall preliminary magazine.

I have used a simplistic but eye catching colour scheme

to prevent the page from looking hectic and off putting

as I discovered from my preliminary magazine cover.

I added tags to my images and the pages in order to explain the relevance of the images in terms of the article to attract the reader to

read all of the article. I also added a tag onto the whole double page spread allowing

a more efficient location of the article fore the reader.

I have made the main image fill the entire second page as I notices this was a common feature from my research and analysis as I found by making the pages image dominated, readers

were more attracted to read the article. For this

reason I have also added two other images.

I have devised the article in Q&A format as it makes a more simple and easy to read article, especially for such a long article. Therefore I did this to make the

reader more attracted to read the article.

I have learnt to follow common conventions of magazine as they

help make the magazine look more professional. Hence

why I decided to include a stand first

and a by-line.

Again to make the page look appealing, attractive and

professional I have added effects to the small images

used and made the pull quote the title of the piece and in a

bold red colour.