Revisions to my product

In order to improve my product further, my assessor gave me some extra advice.

This is the revised version of my front cover. I was told to make it more conventional by adding more sell lines to aid the reader to decide what articles to read and also to give them more information about the type of magazine this is. To be more 'conventional' I decided that I would use more of the techniques that professional magazines use, such as exclamatives and exclusives (both of which I have used). I think I have done this well and I'm glad I edited this page because I agree that it was slightly bare before, even though I was trying to create a minimalist feel. However, I now think I have made more use of the space available and I think this page now looks more completed. I also decided to add colour based on the feedback that I had received from my peers. One of my peers said that she didn't like that the text was only in black and white and at first I was reluctant to change it, but having time to think about it, I decided to add colour. I have now used the 3 colour rule - black, white and blue (the colour of the model's jumper in the main image) - which makes it a lot more conventional. I have also used the 3 colour rule on each page - black, white and then another colour.

For my content's page I was advised to add more imagery. I did this using 2 images from Google (and one of my own drawings). I didn't want to add too much imagery as I think it would have been crowded. I also didn't want the extra imagery to be too conventional - this is why I used a speech bubble with a quote in it, a drawing and a picture of a record. Magazines don't usually incorporate the images together like I have with the model from one article saying something from a different article (the speech bubble). My magazine is an 'alternative' lifestyle magazine so it should be alternative and original. I also changed the colour of the masthead and colourful bits of text. I changed the contents page last and throughout the rest of my magazine I realised that the colours were quite bright colours and so in order to create a brand identity I decided I needed to follow this through each page. I chose a purple colour because it reflects the purple in the middle of the record.

This DPS on Andrew Backhouse was my weakest DPS because of the style of the text, the layout and the imagery. Originally I had presented a Q&A interview. My assessor told me that this style was far too easy for him to be able to judge my writing abilities. I then decided to rewrite the interview, but this time, in an integrated interview style. I was apprehensive at first because I am not confident in my writing abilities and I do struggle with it. However, when it came to rewriting it, I found that it wasn't that difficult. The hardest part was coming up with the structure of the new interview. I had to think about whether I would write the different parts in the same order or a different order so that it flowed a lot better. I struggled with sticking to a format - I rewrote the interview 3 times in total. I'm glad that I rewrote this article because I think integrated interviews are very hard to write, especially when you didn't conduct the interview with the idea of it being integrated. I think because they're 2 very different styles, you ask different questions so I had to tailor as best as I could, the interview that I had so that it fitted into an integrated interview style. I think this has extended and developed my journalistic abilities greatly. 

I was also told that there was too much white space on this DPS and that a background would make the  DPS work better. I chose this background because it's colourful but simplistic and not too over-powering. It was also creative/handmade looking and so reflects the background used on the fashion DPS and the contents page (the paint splattered background). Because I found this background, I changed the colour of the masthead to red so that it matched the red in the new background. I decided to extend the use of red in the DPS and so I changed the drop cap borders for the quote inserts and in the breakout box. This breakout box was added to make more of a feature of the Andrew's 5 favourite songs. In the original interview, I sort of just randomly put them on the end of the interview and there was no logical reason as to why they were there. I also added a quote insert on the first page of the DPS. I thought that it would make more use of the space and make it look more completed. It balances with the quote insert on the second page.

The main change that I made to this DPS is the imagery. I decided to go with my original idea and have the 2 images of Andrew on the first page - one of his face behind the microphone head and one where he is leaning out from it. I thought that this was much more comical as opposed to just aiding the storytelling of the interview. I also changed the main image on the second page. My assessor thought that it didn't quite work because of the depth of field that I had used between Andrew and the record that he holds, therefore, Andrew was out of focus. I used this new image because I just think it does work well. Because he is leaning into the camera, it's a very active image and adds energy and a 3D feel to the page which I think is successful.

This was one of the later DPS's that I changed. Because all the other pages had a textured background, I thought that this should also have one to follow the brand identity of the magazine. Again, I used a painted textured background. I changed it to blue in Photoshop by using the Hue/Saturation slider option. I wanted it blue so that it would match with the blue in the rest of the DPS. I wouldn't have been able to change the colour of the text because it needed to be the Facebook blue so that the audience will have been able to recognise it. Another change I made was adding a kicker to the first page so that the audience knows what the focus of the article is before they read it. Even though by putting this in, it changed the layout of the cartoon words around the model. However, I think it looks successful.

My assessor liked this fashion article and so I didn't have to change anything. This is the final version of my 3rd and final DPS.

I am really happy with how my product has come out. I think it has developed a long way and I think my skills have suitably developed as well. I have found it stressful but I think it has been worth it. I now have more confidence in my writing skills and my flexibility and adaptability as a writer, considering I had to change what type of interview I was writing.

Project Progress- Week starting 17th February

Even though it was half term this week, I still came in to college to catch up on the production of my magazine. I was able to create the layouts of all of my DPS' now that I had a definite and clear idea of what I wanted and had found a similar layout style in Cooler magazine.

These 2 images below are the first drafts of my fashion DPS. I am happy with how it is going so far but I just think they look too bare at the moment. I will probably have to write some text in order to fill in some of the spaces.

After thinking about this DPS for a while, I decided that I didn't like the arrows being there. I have also managed to write some text to fill in space. I have worked on this DPS for a long time this week and I'm very happy with it. I also wanted to make the pages more interesting and textured so this is why I added the paint splatters. To do this I had to re-learn how to install brushes from the website 'brusheezy'.

I have also started to create the contents page. I have found it easier to do this now that I have created the rest of my magazine because it means that I can get the same tone throughout the magazine and give it brand identity. I need to add more articles and somehow fill in the space in the bottom right quarter of the page, under the image.

I've added more articles and I think I have now finished the final contents page. Also, to fill in the space, I decided to create a letter from the editor. I think that this adds to the close relationship that the magazine has with its readers and also reflects it.

Now that I have finished the rest of my magazine I can focus on the Facebook article to get it into an aesthetic that I'm happy with.

This is the final version of this DPS. I added a breakout box to add more variety to the article in the range and sources of information it gives.

Project Progress- Week starting 10th February

This week I had my 'I Wear You Grandad's Clothes. I Look Incredible' photoshoot. I think it went very well and I am really happy with the outcome - I think I have some really good shots that will work well in my magazine.

I then concentrated on editing the images in Photoshop to make them look powerful and even more effective. I reinforced my skills of using the healing brush tool and the dodge tool to get rid of marks on the floor/backdrop and a few skin blemishes and to brighten up certain features such as her face. I also learned how to use cross-processing or 'curves' to change the colouring in the images. I learned that an S-curve gives the best outcome on images. It changes the colour and hue of the images without being too drastic. I used these techniques on all of my imagery so that they would be consistent and keep a house style. I wanted to create a soft, gentle, feminine tone without being too 'girly'. This is important to the values of my magazine as this is the feeling I want to create. I want to break away from the conventions of the women's lifestyle genre, but I also want the audience to know that it has been made for them - for their gender.

Here are the chosen, edited images that I want to use for my DPS: 

I also edited the interview with Andrew and put it into my DPS layout. I also selected the fonts that I will be using and added them in.

This is the final version of this DPS.

Having abandoned my original front cover, I have decided to create more of a conventional cover with a main image instead of lots of small images. I am going to use one of the images from the photoshoot I have just done with Kinga this week.

I chose the image and have been able to start editing it. Again, I cross-processed the image to give it a pink hue and I also extended the background so that it would easily fit into my inDesign document.

Having done front cover research I felt I had enough inspiration and ideas to make the front cover. This week I also managed to create the first draft of my front cover. I wanted it to look simplistic and also quite minimalist.

The second picture shows the font that was supposed to be used. However, due to licensing restrictions, it wouldn't be exported into a PDF format. 

Flat plans

These were the flat plans that I made in order to be able to more easily visualise what my finished product will look like. I created these with the designs that I have decided at the moment, however, with time they will most likely develop and change.