Preliminary Task



Introduction:

Our task was to create a front cover and contents page for the Woking College magazine 'Pulse'. We first had to draw out what we wanted these two pages to look like. While drawing the front cover and content pages, I had to think about what I wanted to include in them, and also where I wanted things to be placed around the pages.

We then had to go out and take some pictures of potential objects/people that we wanted to feature in our magazine. While taking these pictures, we had to think about the audience of the magazine (students) and figure out what they might find interesting/useful while attending college.

Finally, we had to make our actual version of 'Pulse' magazine using our hand drawn drafts and pictures. To do so, we used the program 'Photoshop' on the computer in order to create a much neater, better looking magazine cover and contents.  

Initial Hand Drawn Drafts:

The photos above are my drafts for the college magazine 'Pulse'. The main subject for my magazine is revision tips as it is aimed at students of the college. The main article about revision tips is a very important one for students who are looking to knuckle down and achieve the best grades they possibly can. This is why the mode of address (the boy on the front cover) has a very serious look on his face as he is determined to do well. Because the boy in the picture attends the college, the article should appeal to other members and motivate them to do well in their exams too.

The first thing that is visible on the front cover is the masthead. This is due to It being across the top of the page and also because it is larger than the surrounding text. People will read this first and immediately recognise that it is a magazine associated with Woking College. The front cover also contains a 'Features' list of all the things that are available to read upon purchase. Some examples of these features are things such as 'Q and A's' and also the 'latest college gossip'. As the target audience is students, these are all things that are likely to interest and attract them to the magazine. 'Win an iPAD' is also on the cover, and is surrounded by a jagged bubble to make it stand out. Apple products are the latest pieces of technology which most people nowadays have, and so many people would be attracted to this.  

On the content page there is a list of what the different pages contain along with the page number that they can be found on. The page numbers are in a bubble to separate them from the text and which makes them clearly visible. There are three pictures down the side of the page to give the reader an idea of what they will be reading about, along with text to add extra information on that particular article within the magazine.

Pictures for Preliminary Task:

Finished Preliminary Task:

Evaluation:

My final task during the preliminary, was to create my 'Pulse' magazine based roughly on the hand drawn drafts that I completed. Overall, I am not satisfied with the final outcome of my magazine front cover and contents. This is partly due to the fact that prior to the preliminary task, I had never used Photoshop before and so I did not have a great deal of time to get used to it. Another reason why my magazine is not to a very high standard, is because I do not have Photoshop at home and so therefore I had to complete it during college hours, whilst also trying to use free time during college to meet other deadlines for other subjects.

However, I do believe that there were some positive things that I could take away from my magazine. For example, I think that it follows the general/typical conventions of a standard magazine.  It includes a large masthead, a big picture (mode of address), and text running down either side of the page. Unfortunately, although the magazine includes all of these things, it does not look very professional. However the purpose of making this was to practise and learn more about the program etc. in order to make a much neater, professional magazine for my final product. To do this, I will need to produce better quality (high standard) images throughout the front cover, contents and double page spread.

As I have already briefly explained, Photoshop took some time getting used to and is not as simple as other programs I have previously used. I only had one week to complete the front cover and contents pages' of my 'Pulse' magazine and I could only edit them during college hours because I do not have Photoshop at home. During my time on Photoshop, I became aware of some of the different tools that are available and grew in confidence when using them regularly. Although I did not have time to use any of them on my preliminary task, I would definitely consider using them when making my final product. The text on my front cover and contents page were already on the program and so are quite dull and not unique which again, makes it look unprofessional and less visually interesting. When I come to making my final product, I will gather various fonts that fit the genre from the internet and decide where to use them in my magazine.

Overall, by completing my magazine front cover and contents using Photoshop I feel that I have learnt numerous things that will help me when constructing my final product. The stand out problem for me during this task was time management. Therefore I need to leave myself sufficient time to complete my final magazine as I will need to make it professional and to a high standard. The people that I include on my magazine will have to look the part for the specific genre that I intend to focus on for my magazine. This means that they will have to wear the appropriate clothing etc. to make it look realistic and also so that the reader will instantly recognise the genre. The layout of my magazine is very simple and so this is something that I will have to analyse in existing magazines to make mine as similar as possible. For my final product, I believe that I will make it look very convincing having now acquired certain techniques to use in Photoshop.