Preliminary Task Evaluation

Preliminary Task Evaluation Questions

Did you plan your magazine? If not, what have you learnt about the importance of research and planning?

For the prelim task I did not make any planning for my front cover and contents page, however I do see the importance of doing enough planning as I then would have had a better understanding of the layout on each page, colour schemes, pictures and title placements. If I did research on existing magazines similar to my one then I would have understood what codes and conventions to use when making the layout of the two pages. Also when trying to decide what to put on each page which includes writing content, pictures and the background, I would have wasted less time trying to decide than if I used existing examples for guidance on what the two pages should look like.

What technology did you use to complete this task, and how did you use it?

To create both my front cover and contents page I used Serif Page Plus. This was an important software to use as it helped me to layout each page, choose colour schemes and move items on the page easily. Page Plus is also easy to use when trying to insert your own pictures which is what I did for both my front cover and contents page. Once taken the pictures on a digital camera, it was simple to plug the camera into the computer, download the images and then once on Page Plus, using Cut Out Studio I managed to edit my images by removing the backgrounds.

Did you encounter any Difficulties and what were they? 

Throughout the process of creating both pages, I came across a few difficulties in which I struggled to overcome at first but with some practice I managed to correct these mistakes. First of all this was a new software for me and the first time that I had used Page Plus so having a little understanding of what all the tools did was a struggle when trying to make my magazine. I was unsure of how to remove the background on one of my images but by speaking to classmates who had already managed to do this, helped me to do it myself. Also I was struggling to change colours of the background, titles and how to change the shape of the titles angle. I managed to overcome this by getting advice from my teacher who then showed me how to do all of these different skills and the processes used.

How successful was your magazine, what worked well but also what would you do to improve?

I believe that my magazine was for the majority was successful, I think that understanding the layout of the front cover would have helped me to make my magazine look more professional but by doing this, it would have taken longer to design. I think I could have improved on filling up the pages more, especially my contents page as it looked fairly empty. Also my titles could have had more of a think in order to make them sound exiting to make the audience more likely to read the magazine.

What have you learnt from completing this task, how will this effect the rest of your coursework in the future?

I think that by completing this piece of work I have learnt new skills when using Page Plus that will help me to create a more professional looking front cover and contents page in the future. I have learnt that the placement of features is also important because it will make the magazine more eye catching if they are placed in the correct area. By doing more planning I believe that I could have focused more on the ascetics of the magazine such as images and colour schemes used as this will be what draws the suitable audience in to read it.