Prelim
Task evaluation
1. Did you
plan your magazine? If not, what have you learnt about the importance of
research and planning?
I didn’t plan
my prelim task because I didn’t think it played as important part as it does
when it comes to creating a new product for the market. I have now realised that research needs to be
in depth if you want to have a successful product that fits the gap in the market. You must look at what is already out there
and what has worked at making the biggest magazines popular as well as working
out where the gaps are for a new product to fit in.
You must
plan your magazine so that it will appeal to your target audience and sell as
many copies as you can. This includes planning
your content, colour scheme and your marketing techniques. You will also need to create a front cover
that will be eye- catching to people in your target audience which will include
getting a topical cover star and having pugs that will draw in the
readers.
2. What
technology did you use to complete the task and how did you use it?
I used my
phone camera to take pictures to be used on the front cover. I then put the whole magazine cover and
contents page together on Serif PagePlus X6 as it is an easy to use and
professional-looking software. I tried
to use as many tools as I could, such as the warp tool, the cropping tool,
different fonts to fit the image I wanted to create. I then changed the colour scheme and background
to the school colours so people would easily be able recognise what the
magazine was about. If I needed to edit
the picture I used on the front cover more I would have used Serif PhotoPlus as
this is also easy to use and helps to transform the images into professional
looking ones.
3. Did you
encounter any difficulties? If so, what were they and how did you overcome
them?
I found it
difficult to fill the space on the front cover without making it look over-crowded. To solve this problem I looked at other
magazines front covers to see what the layout was like and tried to replicate
this with my own. I also found it hard
to have the same colour scheme running through the pages as I kept forgetting
the exact colour shade. To overcome this
problem I used the colour picking tool so I could choose colours from places I
had already used them and change the colour of a new shape.
Another
problem I encountered was trying to make the contents page look interesting and
eye-catching without making it look unprofessional and too much like a poster. To overcome this I made sure the colour
scheme was the same as the colour scheme on the front.
4. How successful was your magazine? Please identify what
worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?
I think the colour scheme worked well as it replicates the
school’s colours so it can be easily identified as the school’s magazine. It
also creates a professional image because the colours work well together and
aren’t too bright.
If I was to do it again I would have the image portrait as
it makes it easier to work around the picture and play with the space as there
is not many options for a landscape image apart from in the centre of the page. It would also leave room for another small
picture somewhere else on the page without it looking over-crowded.
5. What have you learnt from completing this task? Looking
ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your
foundation coursework, do you think?
I think this prelim task will help me to complete the rest
of my foundation coursework as it has given me experience and shown me what I will
need to improve on if I want the magazine to look professional and appeal to my
target audience.
I will definitely need to do more research and planning for
the rest of my coursework so I can see what my target market is interested in
so I can adapt it for them so I can become more successful. To get the audiences’ opinions I will create questionnaires
and asks for what they would be interested in, not just make it how I want it
to be.
I would edit the photos I used more so that they look more
professional and eye-catching.
