Evaluation:What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

During the task of making my magazine as well as carrying out the research i have used a variety of different media technology to help me complete this. The new technology i have encounted and used has helped me greatly when completing the tasks as it has made it a lot easier and allowed me to create my magazine cover more professionally which would not be possible if technology did not exist.

The first piece of technology i used was the internet and Google images to find pictures of magazine front covers and contents pages which i used in my research. The Images i collected were saved to my desktop and then inserted into Photoshop which was a new piece of technology i learned to use in this task. Photoshop was a lot harder to use than other programs such as word when i first started to use it, but after completing the first research task i found it a lot easier. When i first started to use Photoshop the part where each thing is on a separate layer was very confusing and it took me a while to remember the layers, but once i started Initial research 2 then the layers format became a natural occurrence and i found it was a lot more easier to move objects such as pictures and text round the page than it was on word. The difficulties i had with using Photoshop was the size of the canvas when you opened a new document. The measurements were very confusing and therefore i  did not know what i needed to insert in order to get the right size.

The second piece of technology i used was a digital camera which i have used before. The fact i have used it before made it easier to take the picture of what i needed which was the rough design of my magazine and also the pictures for the real design. The only difficultly i encountered was the angle i should hold the camera when taking the pictures of the model i used and what closeness was a close up shot which would be most appropriate.

In contrast i used these images to build up my front cover of my magazine in In-design which was a totally new programme i had never heard of before. This programme was very useful with what  i intended to do and was very easy to use. There have been many things which i have learned to do whilst using Indesign which  i did not know how to do before.  firstly i learned how to insert an image into the document by creating a rectangle and then importing the image into this. Then i was able to insert text onto a new layer which was alot easier to move around the screen and place where i wanted. The image shows that i was able to place the text 'shh' at an angle and overlapping other text which would not be possible on other technology programmes and most likely not at the same easiness as Indesign. Furthermore i was able to create reversed out shapes which was inserting a shape and then changing the colour which created a great effect on my magazine front cover. i was able to use these shapes to create little images which i used for bullet points which i think fitted in with the theme of my magazine.

The use of blogger has been useful in many ways. It has helped me upload and keep all the research in order in which i competed them and i was able to create it in Photoshop and then insert it into the blog post so i did not have to write it out again. It has been slightly misleading in the fact on the second week of using it, blogger had deleted all my posts and therefore i had to start again which was not nice. 

Overall the technology i have used for this project has helped in many ways and i do not think i could have completed the unit without it. it has allowed me to learn new skills and experiment with them to achieve the best results. It has been slightly confusing, such as in Photoshop and working out the measurements needed when creating a new document, but overall it has helped greatly and these skills will be used in the future. 

Evaluation: How did you attract/address your audience?

'Innovative' is a student magazine for college targeted at the 16-18 age range who take A-level art and design. My magazine cover uses many techniques such as the use of colour and content to ensure that the target audience is attracted more and is aimed at the art students.

Perhaps it is the fact that the masthead only fills 3/4 of the top of the page and is in an artistic font which allows the magazine to be taken seriously and the title I have chosen 'Innovative' shows the sophistication on the whole magazine. I chose to name the magazine as 'Innovative' because it means to be creative and thinking of new ideas which is what art students are always looking to do. The use of language I have used in the magazine also shows the sophistication of it and would appeal to grade B of the Jicnar scale but being available to the bottom end of it as it is aimed at students who are aspirer's into achieving something such as being able to blend colours better which is one of the headings I have used on my front cover.Perhaps it is the way I have used the unusual artistic font in a bold black colour which contrasts well with the boost image which allows the magazine to connect and attract the target audience. This connotes the art side to the title as the font is very detailed and will attract the audience because of the way it is written. The colour highlights the boldness of the subject and the fact that you have to be bold in art to stand out and even mistakes in work resembling an inspiring piece. Furthermore the use of the word 'Innovative' can show the innocence of the magazine and that it is aimed for the higher class of the college as art is normally associated with wealthier people, however this innocence is contradicted by some of the cover-lines I have included on the front page which allows the magazine to be brought down from a grade B magazine to a students grade D/E.

The use of the colour red and white I have used throughout contrasts well with the t-shirt of the model used in the boost picture and also does not make the magazine gender specific. I have used bold colours of red which attracts the eye of the audience well and the colour of the masthead stands boldly out against the image and other text.

The cover-line 'How to create the perfect colour blend' which I have written is situated about a 1/3 was down the left side of the cover, directly below the reversed out cover-line. The use of the words 'How to' allow an insight to how you would be able to do something, which will appeal to my target audience because perhaps before they may not have been able to 'colour blend' but after reading the magazine they will. Below this is the cover-line 'Shh.... Still life drawing tips revealed.' The use of the reversed out cover line of the word 'shh' allows it to stand out against the rest of the text and makes it more eye catching. The colours used for this shows a contrast and similarity to the t-shirt the model is wearing in the boost picture and also the 'bullet points' which I have created which helps to attract the audience due to the bold colours.The font in the reversed out cover-line is moderately larger than the rest of the cover lines and the font used furthers the mood for an artistic feel which will attract the artistic audience. The use of the word 'shh' allows the reader to feel that they are being let in on a secret which cannot be shared.  in contrast the way I have used the word 'revealed' shows that the tips have only just been released and therefore the reader is the first to know about them as it may contain information which they did not know and therefore encourage them to read the magazine to find out more. Underneath this cover-line is the heading of 'Jordan's' Play list of eminent music to inspire...' The word 'Jordan' is written in a different font of text and is the colour of red which matches the shapes and general colour of the cover. The fact that it is in colour and not black and white highlights the name which is referring to the boost image model, however many teenagers and also art students may think of Katie Price when reading the cover line quickly and perhaps will pick it up to see the type of music as it had a recognisable name on the front. 'Play list' is situated below the word 'Jordan' and slightly to the left and is written in the same font as the name above but it is the colour black just like the rest of the text. The fact that it is slightly bigger than the rest of the cover-line suggests its importance and is a subject that my audience can relate to as music is a big part in today society. The use of the word 'Eminent' instead of 'amazing' or 'awesome' brings the sophistication back to the magazine and allows it to look like it is appealing to the higher people in society and grade A/B on the Jicnars scale. The centre of visual interest on my cover is my cover line of 'You could see the bone!' opposes the innocence of the magazine and shows that inside there are some fairly odd articles and stories which you would not associate with an art magazine. The way I have used a reversed out cover line below with the heading 'avoid your way to one of these disasters' allows the main cover-line to associate with the magazine theme again and makes it less oblivious. The way I have used 'Avoid' suggests to the reader that the disaster mentioned in the centre of focus was art-based and will tell the reader how they can avoid this happening to them and to ensure they take more care when working.

Right at the bottom right of the page I have included a black reversed out cover-line with white text of 'Free' The use of the colour of black allows this to stand out against the rest of the cover which catches the eye of the audience which allows them to notice that the magazine is free of charge and therefore more likely to pick it up. The use of the white texts allows the word 'Free' to be bold against the black background and therefore help the magazine to stand out.

My magazine uses a full page image of the model i have used which is Jordan Elson which shows a variety of different messages to the target audience. The position of the model i have chosen is Jordan painting at an easel with the back of the easel to the camera and Jordan facing the audience but concentrating at what is on the easel. Her hair is shoulder length and dark brown in colour, however it is slightly lighter in some areas where the light catches it, her hair looks very natural which shows the effort is being put more into the theme of the magazine. Furthermore her clothes consist of a red-t-shirt and blue dungarees which shows the casual look to the magazine which is not too fashionable which would not be ideal for the magazine. Her facial expression shows a concentrated look which shows innocence of teenagers that are interested in art because her full focus is on the picture and shows that she is keen to achieve something.

The use of the single piece of jewellery Jordan is wearing round her neck also shows the casualness of how Jordan is dressing and the fact it is nothing special so it keeps to the magazine theme.

Simultaneously the colour of the clothes Jordan is wearing contrasts well with the colours' used on the reversed out circles which portrays the sense of awareness and stands out which attracts the eye of the reader.

in conclusion my magazine uses many techniques to attract my target audience. The general use of colour gives a unisex feel with the contrast between then shows the sense of awareness and also innocence between the audience which is contradicted slightly by what is written on the front.

Final Contents Page

The image shows the contents page which I have designed for the task of creating a college magazine.

Final Front Cover

The image shows my front cover for a student magazine. I have used my research and my ideas for the target audience to create a magazine cover which would be related to them.

Risk Assessment

Finally before going outside of the classroom to take the pictures needed for my magazine, I was asked to create a risk assessment of the dangers which I could be faced with when around the college when taking the photos. I had to identify a danger and calculate how dangerous and threatening this danger could be if it actually occurred and the possibility of it actually occurring. I labelled the risk Potential and The danger actually occurring from 1 to 3, with 3 being very dangerous and very likely to happen. Then to calculate the overall risk danger I had to times the number I decided for the risk potential to the number of it actually occurring. For example, the risk potential of being attacked by a dog outside is 3 but the likelihood of it occurring is 1, so to find the overall risk you times 3x1 which is 3 which is not particularly dangerous.

The final column shows how I think the danger could be avoided and what precautions need to taken when leaving the classroom.

Planning

This task involved planning all the images/prop and equipment I was going to use when taking my pictures for my magazine. I had to include who them model is and whether I had permission to use them, also any props in which i needed them to have whilst I took the picture. 

When creating this planning sheet my intentions were to use a few images on my contents page. I planned it all carefully which is shown on the attached image, but when it came round to creating my contents page, the idea which i had did not work, so therefore I used a similar image to what i had used on my front cover which is the type of image used in the first row of the table, but at a different angle and perspective which worked better. 

Rough Sketch of Ideas 2

The second image shows a rough sketch of the layout i am expecting my contents page of the magazine to look like. i have included the title of 'contents' and a list of possible headings for stories and page numbers which run down the right hand side of the page. furthermore to the left will be another picture/image to empathize the theme of the magazine more to the reader.