What
I have learned from completing this task:
From
completing the preliminary task I have learned how the typical conventions are
used on a magazine cover and how the conventions allow the theme (house style)
to be used throughout the magazine. I understand how this is effective and
allows the reader to easily distinguish the genre of the magazine. It also
makes the product appeal to be more professional.
I
have also learned how to manipulate images through Photoshop and add text to
produce a finished product. My understanding of Photoshop has been developed
and I have learned how to erase and adapt parts of an image to make it more
appealing. I have also attempted to
change the background of an image through removing existing parts.
Through
the process of creating my college magazine, I have been aware of working
towards a deadline and managing my time accordingly to ensure my work was
complete on time and to the best of my ability. This at times has been a
challenge but is something I have learned to adapt myself to manage and best
enable myself the opportunity to make my work of a higher level.
Technology:
I
have used Photoshop to allow me to create the magazine cover and contents page,
which is software I am unfamiliar with and have had no previous experience
with. In Photoshop I have acquired many new skills and been able to use the
facilities it offers to create a finished product that follows the conventions
of existing magazine covers and contents pages.
I
have also had to learn how to operate a camera and upload the photographs onto
the computer, which I have not done previously. To do this I had to use a SD
card to store my images in and a card reader to transfer the images across to
the computer.
Another
part of technology I had to learn to use efficiently is blogger to create my
blog. I have not previously used a blog so the software was unfamiliar, but I
learned to use it quickly.
What
conventions I used:
The
conventions featured on my magazine cover and contents page included a masthead,
feature stories, main feature story, main image, a plug, page numbers, date and
issue number, price, and a skyline. My magazine cover follows the conventions
used by other existing products in order to allow it to resemble a magazine and
make it easier for a reader to understand.
All
the conventions I have used are typical of other magazines, although, I have
missed out a number of conventions such as footer as I struggled with the
spacing of my features and was wary not to overcrowd my cover, as this would
make the product less appealing to the target audience. Equally, I didn’t need
to add to much detail to the cover as the skyline I have used adds a lot of
content in a small amount of space, which is also what a footer does so I felt
it would be unnecessary to include both features on my product.
Changes
I would make:
If I were to do the task again, I would manage my
time differently to allow myself more time on Photoshop to improve and adapt my
cover and contents page to be of a higher standard in order to represent a more
typical college magazine and fit better within the genre. This would also allow
me the opportunity to do more research into the features of a magazine and try
to include more in my product.
I would change the font style and size and affect
in order to make the font stand out more and be more apparent to the reader;
this would also allow my product to resemble a typical magazine, as this is a
common convention. I would do this by editing the text to make it have a
shadowing affect so it stood out from the main feature image and would be
easier to read.
I would also conduct more research into the
layout and conventions of other college magazines to find out more on their
language, ideology, institutions, audiences and representations. I would do
this to allow me to carry over the ideas of existing products into my own
product.
