LO4: Evaluation

Unit 3: Create a media product.
 Evaluation:

Over the course of this project i have faced many challenges which I have had to overcome. When beginning Unit 3 i was unfamiliar Adobe Photoshop and Indesign which were to be the main programmes i would use to create my final product. This is apparent when comparing the front page I created for the LO1 prelim task and my final piece.  Below i have attempted to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each of the pages which i have created towards Forge magazine As well as this the Content section of my Proposal is included as to show what aspects i have kept in order to meet my targets and create a magazine appropriate for my target audience.

1) Front page.

My Front page features  a Sheffield based indie rock band's (the coup) lead singer as the main cover image in order to emphasise the focus of my work (that being the band) as well as the alternative genre it fits into. The main cover image of my magazine is from a 90-degree angle and is a medium close up (shoulders up) so that the member of bands face and shoulders are visible. This cover image will connote the alternative and experimental music that the magazine will focus on. The member of the band is wearing typically casual clothing that being a shirt and jeans this is because this is the type of clothing that their audience are likely to wear as that the 16 to 35-year-old target audience (while wide) will be mostly comprised of people with a low disposable income. The usage of the clothing they may wear appeals the band more towards them due to them being more relatable. The image therefore connotes the alternative genre as that it is quite unique against others which it would be lined up next to as that the idea of having the main cover image edited into a different colour (Using the hue and saturation adjustment in adobe photoshop) is rather unique. The mast head has been placed at the top as that that must be the first thing my audience/ potential buyer sees. As well as this it is be in a sans serif font as to connote the modern theme of the magazine and bold so that it stands out against the cover lines and main cover image to this end i have also made it white to stand out against the blue and grey of the rest of my cover. I created this by using Dafont.com to find a font wanted to use (This being "York Whiteletter.") and then edited it into a masthead design i wanted to use the process of which is shown below:

The Font i have used "York Whiteletter" 

The initial design of the masthead before editing.

This is the version as the masthead that I have used In the final version of my magazine. I have used the -- tool and the brush tool in order to merge the o and the r in forge ass that I feel that it connotes the unique theme of indie music as well as of people coming together to enjoy music that they love.

This should appeal to my young target audience as that the bold font and sans serif font fits into my chosen genres conventions of large, unique mastheads quite well as that many other magazines use them such as Kerrang! as well as NME and Exposed (a local Sheffield issue that focuses on culture and music). I have certainly taken inspiration from all of these magazine's designs in order to make my piece fit the conventions well.  As well as my mast head and my main cover image i have also used several cover lines and a main cover line in order to make sure that the front page does not appear empty and that it appears to fit into the genre of a music magazine more efficiently. The main cover line i have chosen reads "Abigail Holland, The New Queen Of The Sheffield Indie Scene!" This cover line should be very effective as that it introduces the model i have featured on my cover and gives them a sense of importance. I have chosen this individual to be my model as that i feel that she connotes the themes of indie music very well. The cover is blue to create synergy with the double page spread I have produced on the model (I have screenshots showing how I have done this below:)

This is how my cover looked before i changed the colour.

As can be seen here i have used the Colorise hue and saturation tools on photoshop to change the colour of my image. [note. when i took this screen shot I had already completed this process which is why the tools seem to have not been changed. ] 

Here i have changed the size of my model and the curves of the image in order to make it appear more detailed 

The final size, positioning and colour for my model on the front cover.

All of the content on my front cover is either Blue, grey, white or black. The reason i have chosen these house style colours is that they connote the indie style of music that I am trying to portray without seeming aggressive. This (as I have already stated) also fits in with the colours i have used on my double page spread. I feel like this consistent use of the colour blue helps to build up a persona for the model as creating music that while fitting into the indie rock genre of my magazine is very neutral. This will also make the model appear to be a neutral person who is easy to relate to. This will make people want to listen to them.

As that i created this page last I was making sure to have it create synergy with the rest of the magazine. At the same time i also had to make sure that it would appeal towards my 16 - 35 year old target audience. I have done several things towards targeting the audience i detailed in my proposal however my methods of doing so have changed hugely from the initial concepts and designs detailed there. Originally the page was to consist of images of the members of a band named "glass hearts" edited into playing cards. However the band were unable to appear in the magazine which led me to contact another named "Archelon" who again were unable. Finally I contacted Abigail Holland (The model who appears on this page) to see if I could include her on the front page of my piece as well as tan interview on my double page spread. This is why the page is not how it was detailed in my proposal. That being because my original idea being centred around a pun playing on the name of the band.
However the image i have captured is the same as the one detailed in my proposal in many ways also. Those being that that it is taken fro a 90 degree angle and is a medium close up.
This page is appropriate for the target audience i have decided on for many different reasons as well as the genre that it is meant to fit into. Firstly in my proposal i stated that i wanted the model to appear as relatable and not have the picture connote power in any way. This is shown in my use of a 90 degree angle (no high or low connotations.)

Overall I feel that the page I have made here fits in with many of the themes that i wanted to create in my proposal.

2) Contents page.

My contents page will features three images which I feel suit the themes  outlined in my proposal. These images include an image of the Sheffield skyline, an image of some Sheffield street art and an image of a model walking past a telephone box (which is very recognisable English iconography.) These images all suit the indie/ local themes of my magazine as that they were all taken in Sheffield and street art could be seen as coming from the same independent creative vision as indie rock music.
I have changed the idea of my contents page in many ways since my initial visualisation of contents page took place. Firstly the Initial visualisation of my contents page showed the space where the names and descriptions of the articles on the other side than i have put t. My reasoning for changing this was due to me doing more research into the typical layout of contents ages which concluded that the text usually goes on the right. This means that the first thing that the person opening the magazine sees is the names of articles and their descriptions. I have also moved my images so that instead of being on the bottom they are on the left side with page numbers to show what the image would relate to in the actual magazine. Again this is much more in line wit the  industry standard and therefore will make my magazine better.
The third and final change i have made to this page is the banner at the top of the page. This change was made because again i noticed that no real life examples of contents pages include the heading as small as i had put it on my initial visualisation diagram.

3) Double page spread.

In this article i asked the lead singer of a local sheffield indie band named "The Coup to answer the following questions.


1) How did your band form? (When did you meet?)
2) Have you always played in Sheffield? (and if not where?)
3) So how would you describe the music you produce?
4) What would you say your music is about?
5) Do you find Sheffield to be a rewarding place to play music?


In my proposal i have detailed that i wanted to make the layout of the page which was to feature a full band however as  have detailed above the situation with my models only allowed me to have one person on the page. Therefore i decided to create a unique graphic for the page. I felt that this graphic would be very suitable for targeting the audience i wanted to read many magazine as that they would most likely be interested in concepts which are unique and therefore would want to read something that has such a different look. The process of my blue graphic being created is shown below:

As i have mentioned in my inital proposal I have attempted to keep the housestyle of my magazine consistent all the way through the publication. The colours i have chsen are blue, white, blac and grey and i have attempted to stay away from any colours which could overpower these. The creation of my contents, front and double page spread show my attention to keeping to these housestyle colours as that i have