Evaluation of Finished Media Product

Evaluation

I was asked to create a college magazine front page, I was told to include several key media features that are present in the most popular magazines, including the use of mastheads, title placements and image use. I was told that my photograph included in the front cover should be a mid shot.

I started my designs by creating a simple hand drawn ideas page, annotated with features, this helped me to visualise and realise my project. I then constructed two complex multi layered front cover drafts. My first draft was a success as it allowed me to express my ideas of editing and manipulation constructively. The strong parts of this front cover are the motion blur used for the background, making it look like time is moving faster behind the subject. Another strong point is the left side placement of my title, this is as magazines are classically stacked from left to right, showing the left hand side of the magazines cover. The use of the title that I have designed is strong as well because it is a clear and efficient way to not only display the name of the magazine but to display the institution that it represents. The weaker parts of the magazine cover are that the top of the magazine is not very densely populated. Also I think that there is a lack of definition between the subject and the edited background, I think that a harsher edge would look more effective.

My second front cover design contains several good and bad design points, some of the good points are; the clarity of the font. This makes the cover better as it is highly legible, meaning it can be seen at a glimpse on a magazine rack. Another is the wavy shape that I have created to fall behind the magazine title, I think that this solves the problem from the first draft that there was a sparsely populated top edge to the magazine. The biggest improvement is the outline of the subject which clearly divides the subject from the background. I think that the magazine also has some weak points too; I think that the size of the photograph used makes it look like a close up, which is the wrong use of image for my brief, therefore this will need correcting. Also I think that the purple wash emerging from the bottom of the cover is to vibrant and needs to be slightly more subtle.

My final front cover combines the best parts of both of the covers, and excludes the weaker points that I have found in my designs throughout the design process. The good points of my final product are the use of background editing on the photograph, the separation from the subject is impressive, this is because I have managed to separate the two parts of the image yet still allow them to work harmoniously. I also think that the use of combined washes/ waves is good, such as the wash coming from the bottom of the image (very subtle), and the use of the wavy lines behind the title, that stretches all the way across the page. I think that the size of the subject is more accurate now, and since it came from the same photograph, it looks big enough to stand out but small enough to still look as if it is in aspect with the photograph. The weaker points of my final cover is the use of many different font colours on the cover, although I have tried to keep the colours relevant by using the colleges colours. I also think that by removing the word library from the photograph and patching over it it is clearer to read, but my editing skills could have been to better use, and I could of patch healed the wall better. I think that I could improve the final front cover by using a clearer image of my model as I used the auto camera setting on my camera, when I could of used manual or custom settings, to allow a more manually adjusted and better image. I could of also made the issue number and season indicator a more vibrant colour, or make them a very contrasting colour, this would illuminate the bottom right of the page, making it look lighter. Overall I am very happy with the outcome of this media product and am happy with the quality of the work I have produced.

My final front cover design, containing all headers, photographs and editing. This is my finished product.

Contents Page Idea 2

This is my second draft of my contents page, I think that this one is not as strong as the first one because of the use of contrast. Although i think that it fits the college house style colours better.

Cover Idea 2

This is my other design idea, I have chosen to do two, this is because I can then compile the strong points from both of my cover ideas and create my final magazine cover.

Contents Page Idea 1

This is my first draft of my contents page, it has not gotten any photographs on the contents, but the basic layout and the textual information is accurate.

Cover Idea 1

My first draft of my first possible front cover. Containing most of the textual content, but missing some, still needs editing and fine tuning.

Hand Drawn Ideas and Photographs

Hand drawn ideas: (Click to view in large.)

First draft of magazine cover and contents ideas.

Photographs: (All of these photographs can be viewed in large by clicking on them.)

These are all of the photographs that i have considered as relevant to my magazine and of a quality suitable enough to be used, during this part of my task I took over 130 photographs in order to make sure I had an ample amount of good quality photographs. (All of these photographs can be viewed in large by clicking on them.)

Name Planning for College Magazine

This is my ideas list for the names of the magazine, I am goign to pick between number one or number two dependant on the aethetic quality of the logo for each title.

Analysis of Second Magazine

College Magazine Research and Analysis 2

Research Sample 2:

East Riding College Student Life Magazine

http://www.eastridingcollege.ac.uk/retrieve/d2343bc1358b3983a89d916f6a988935

The cover of the East Riding College magazine is plain and uses black and white, although these create a clear contrast and make it easy to read there is no point of interest, and no colour. The cover image that has been used does not mean anything without the caption accompanying it. The use of page numbers and advertisement is uncommon in magazine covers and I think that it should not be included unless there are several examples within the same cover or used as a house style. I think that the contents page lacks fluidity and the use of green is odd because it is not used on the front cover, I also think that the alignment of images and border styles is very messy and could be arranged more artistically and with reason, rather than just rigidly placed sequentially.

LIIAR Analysis

Language – The use of language on the front cover is hard to analyse as they have only used one – two word headlines and contain no real advertisement of content, they have obviously not thought about the effect that advertisement can have on whether the reader will just flick through the magazine or actually connect with the magazine ad read sections that are relevant to their lives and relevant to the sector of society that this magazine represents. I think that the use of language in the contents page is slightly better as it has a fluidity to it, and is all of similar detail and is all relevant to the content. Although the way that the text is used in the contents list could be better, some of the links are presented as statements, whilst some use direct questions to advertise the link, I think that to use both effectively in the same contents list requires a divide or section for questions and a section for statement. This could be done either on the side of the list or by using caption on content images, and use the imagery to ask the questions/ answer the questions.

Institution – The magazine doesn’t really represent the institution, as the cover is very plain and dull, and I think that the college itself has to have some personality, even though it is not represented within this magazine. The contents page represents this sense of character slightly better as they have some limited use of colour and contrast, and they have included several images even though half of the images are not self explanatory, or send a message to the reader. I think that the use of captions and the use of page number links would make this contents page a lot more clear and concise. The representation of the colleges personality on the contents page is shown to be very active (image of paintballing and several images taken outside) and also to be high achieving (shown by the image of a student holding a certificate).

Ideology –  The ideology of institutions such as colleges are to inform and educate, I think that the inform section of the ideology is focused on more in the magazine as they report on several different aspects of college life. The ideology of the east riding college magazine is represented as a diverse centre of education that does more than just educate the student within the realms of the specific subject, by educating them about other aspects of their development.

Audience – This magazine will be aimed at the students, staff and associates of the east riding college, it may also be of interest to local businesses and places, as they could be featured in this magazine if they have worked with the college in extra curricular activities.

Representation – The cover page and contents of this magazine represent the centre of education to be informative and diverse but also not very fun and exciting, I think this because of the lack of tone/colour in the pages, also the use of images aren’t very exciting and the use of the image doesn’t seem to promote the Berlin excursion to be very interesting and fun, but advertises it as being quite dull and mature.

Analysis of First Magazine

College Magazine Research and Analysis

I shall construct a college magazine’s front cover and contents page, I shall try and make this an effective and professional looking magazine, I shall do this by researching existing college magazines and by planning my magazine and making different initial samples of the styles that I could use.

Research Sample 1:

Grimsby Institute GX Magazine:

http://www.grimsby.ac.uk/documents/GX_mag/GX1.pdf

The front cover of the GX magazine uses several different colours, these are used in block colours and have no tone to them. This works effectively to make the cover look stylized and to make it look like a poster effect.

I think that the strong parts of the magazine cover are the use of colour, the use of the text and the arrangement and alignment of the text. I think that the colours used are good because they compliment each other, and give the cover a cool feeling rather than using warmer colours such as red or brown. I think that the use of text and font is effective as the designer has used a large seriffed font style that is clearly visible and contrasts from the background that is used. I think that the alignment of the text is good because it follows the male figure and doesn’t cut into him.

LIIAR Analysis

Language – The language used on the front cover of the magazine is informal, short and to the point. I think that this is effective because when looking at a magazine cover you don’t display articles or bodies of text, it is short effective phrases or headlines that attract the readers view. The use of informal language works in the magazines favour as it allows the reader to connect with the magazine on a more comfortable social level. I think that the use of informal language on the contents page is effective as it also allows the reader to connect with it on a more comfortable level.  I think that the use of short and sharp titles on the contents page is very effective as it allows the reader to scan the headings and chose which magazine article they want to read.

Institution – The magazine cover represents the institution to be a new place, this is because of the denotations taken from the fact that the magazine uses modern graphics and the use of colours. I think that the magazine also implies the institution is a relaxed and welcoming place, I think this because of all of the images of people that are happy and social, and also because of the fact that the magazine uses informal language which suggests it is also an informal and welcoming setting.

Ideology – The magazine suggests that the ideology is that the Grimsby institute is a educational yet fun and welcoming place to be, and that there are a wide variety of help, guidance and things to do. I think that this is a helpful ideology to have as it will make the reader feel as if they can connect with the college on a personal level, just by reading the content of the contents.

Audience – This magazine is aimed at Grimsby institute pupils mostly, although there are a lot of broader subjects advertised by the magazine that could suggest that it would be useful to other audiences of a similar position or at a different college.

Representation – I think that this magazine represents the college to be a very positive place and it represents that the college is a educational place in which help and support is readily available, it also advertises the college to be proactive and that it offers the students things which other institutions may not be able to.



Interpritation of The Brief

I shall produce a cover page and a contents page of a college magazine, I shall use Wyke College as the subject of my magazine, This magazine shall report on all manners of college life and shall inform and entertain.

What aspects shall be considered in the content of this magazine?

I shall approach the design of the content of this magazine by making it as relevant as possible to my subject, I shall do this by considering the LIIAR acronym:

L - Language - I shall consider what style of language would be suitable for this magazine and what to include (non bias statements, fluent content) and what not to include (profanities, language not suitable for the purpose of this magazine, non specialist vocabulary).

I - Institution - I shall consider the type of institution that I am representing, and i shall mediate the content accordingly, meaning that it shall only represent the college suitably and will not criticise the college or represent it in a particularly negative light.

I - Ideology - When designing the magazine I shall consider the approach and beliefs that the college hold regarding education, and I shall represent their ideology. Every part of my media work shall contain ideology and I should carefully think about how I represent the ideology of the college and myself at the same time.

A - Audience - I shall consider the audience that I am appealing to, and as this is a mass audience (the whole body of students, staff, governors and corporate sponsors of the college) I will make sure that my magazine is suitably aimed at all of these individuals.

R - Representation - I shall consider how I present the institution and how I represent the different social, ethical and gender groups. I think that as long as my content is unbias towards any certain sectors of these groups then my magazine will be suitably mediated for all of these audiences.

What aspects of design shall be considered?

I shall consider the colours, style, house style, shapes, alignment and font used in my media product and shall consider the denotations of these aspects of design. I shall try to make the design as fluent as possible and use relevant features, colours and house style for the use of an educational institutions magazine.

Outlining My Brief

UNIT G321 (FOUNDATION PORTFOLIO)

Preliminary Exercise: Using desktop publishing and image manipulation programmes,produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close up plus some appropriately laid out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock-up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of desktop publishing.

Main Task: The front page, contents and double page spread of a new music magazine. All images and text used must be original, produced by you - minimum of four images.