Thursday, 15 October 2015

college magazine evaluation

The task was to make our own college magazine using our research and find outs of other magazines and what made them successful. I created a front magazine cover and contents page for my college magazine and i would say it was successful. However there were certain things i would have changed if i had to do it again.

Process

front cover
After practicing using photoshop by creating a quick front cover, i went on to make my own front cover for my college magazine starting with the main image. Using my Iphone i took several pictures of two possible cover stars sepetately.I then chose the best four, two for each cover star and went on to get feedback from other students to help me choose one image as i only needed one image for my front cover. Even though  i had many options of pictures for my front magazine, the image i used stood out for me and others the most because it was very suitable as it was fit enough to be in the center as much as it was perfect to show off the college in a positive way. Using the image as an inspiration for my text color, i used dark green for my masthead which perfectly matched the trees behind the model and also stood out very well as it was the only color used in the entire front cover. . The fact it was big and bold also helpd the masthead to stand out a lot more and fit the front cover really well.


Contents page
Before making my contents page i also practised using indesign by recreating double page spread (DPS) article from XXL magazine.This has helped learn how to use Indesign creatively and effectively. Using this skills i went on to create mine, starting with taking pictures. since it is college magazine i had to find good locations in college to take my pictures, and the pictures that i have used on my final contnts page shows the college in a positive light and perfectly relates to the cover lines that i have created.I then put my masthead in big and bold letters yet a simple font, this gives it a more serious tone but yet very simple to read.After making my masthead i added the two pictures to show a preview of what they will be reading about and also added text that goes well with the pictures.

what went well? 

frontcover and contents page
I think  a lot of things went well with both my front cover and contents page, this includes the photography, page layout and the colour scheme. Although all the pictures were taken on a mobile phone i think all of them are very suitable pictures for my magazine. I didn't need to edit and manipulate none of these pictures to make them look magazine worthy, they had good quality with good lighting and nice background.
The main colors that i used for my front cover are green, black and gray,  which i think works well together. All of these three colors that i have used on my masthead and cover lines are purposely created to match the main image on my front cover and the colors init, which is a perfect way to draw audience. I used this same colour scheme for my contents page so it wouldn't look like the front cover and the contents page are from two different magazines.
I believe the layout of my magazine also came together well. It isn't too spaced out and isn't too crowded either, this can help the readers organize their head on what to read next with out getting confused.

Improvements.

Front cover
In the process of making my front cover i faced some difficulties such as, making the texts appealing to the audience eyes and eye catching enough for them to purchase it.Therefore i had to rewrite my cover lines to make them interesting and relatable for the targeted audience. I also have made many improvements to my front cover and corrected mistakes such as, adding gutters after i already edited the image and added the masthead which was a bit difficult as i had to rearrange everything that i already did. I also added more appealing coverlines and also changed the colors for the cover lines many times until i found the right one.

Contents page
When starting to create my contents page on indesign i started with double page spread, however as i went along i realised that there was too much negative space so therefore i had to change it to just one page. Another improvement that i did on my contents page was the text's color, after releasing the color black is plain and boring i decide to change it by making more exciting and making it match to my front cover.

peer evaluation

Front Cover
Fatsss EI like how your masthead is behind my head, and I also like where you have placed your cover lines. In addition, your use of puff/flash is really good.

Kefentse SELAH-Your front cover is very good. I like the way that the information is laid out as makes the front cover look very professional. Also, I like the fact that your image goes with the colour scheme of your front cover.

Contents Page

Mark Rivas-The images used for the contents page are good quality and reflect the magazine well, however the contents page is very empty because there is no colour and it looks like there is a lot of empty space. Also the layout of the pictures could be more organised

Fatsss E-I really like how you added a green glow to your text because it makes it stand out and it matches the colour scheme. To improve you could have had your page numbers in order.


1 comment:

  1. An strong, detailed evaluation Eyerusalem! You identify strengths and weaknesses, and include audience feedback. You could have discussed this feedback further. You could have summarised key points for improvement. Vanessa

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