College Magazine Evaluation

After my first production of the College Magazine, the use of an evaluation can help me determine the strengths and weaknesses of my magazine. This therefore, can be useful for when I start to design my Music Magazine.

My College Magazine

PhotographyPhotography is essential when producing a magazine. Looking through our first photo shoot for the magazine, there were images that were appropriate for the magazine however the background merged into the individual, making it hard to get a precise outline cut out of. Although I was unable to use the image as a cover photo, I could still use it in my contents page. Other images like the building image I used in my contents, were interesting shots but would not be accurate for the cover image, but would suit more in the contents.

Photography

The cover image I eventually used, although it was hard to cut out an outline due to the white shirt and the white background, I obtained an accurate cut out. The image was a good mid- close up shot as the individual is looking straight at the camera with a direct mode of address and smiling, this can put across a more lighter, friendly tone. However, the image is the middle of front cover, the top half of the cover looks slightly empty (bare). I placed the image in this way allows the kickers and cover lines to fit around the image without overlapping.

PhotographyThe use of images I used on the contents is interesting; they are all connected to a page in the magazine through the use of the numbers on the bottom corner of each image. The first image links into the page about ‘What People Think of the New Building’, as it is an image of the new building. It is a busy photo as it has a lot of contents in it, for instance not only the building but the trees around it, and the individuals walking out of the building. This then shows that students are using the building. The second image relates to the cover story/image as it is the same individual. There is a difference in that image and the cover image. The image used in the contents gives a less serious tone, as the individual is looking away from the camera but is still a mid-close up shot. The third image is the image which was hard to cut out due to the building used in the background. I however, then found a use of the image as it links to the page ‘Have Your Say’ which is about the students opinion. The idea of the bright background gives the image a more positive tone, but the facial expression allows the page topic to be more serious.

Software

When starting off designing and producing the College magazine, I had not used the Photoshop or InDesign software’s before. I have gained various different experiences on how to produce my magazine.

SoftwareUsing Adobe Photoshop, I cut the individual from the cover image out from the background of the original image. With using this software I gained knowledge on how to use specific tools for instance, the ‘Quick Selection Tool’, and how to layer. I also learned how to put the white/coloured background behind the image I selected. I placed the image onto Photoshop and used the ‘Quick Selection Tool’ to crop around the image, which had to be done more accurately. While doing this, due to the tool selecting too much or too less of the image, so I had to reduce the brush size. Although it was an effective tool, it takes a while to work. Although my image is quite precise of the cutting I would still need to improve to make it more accurate, and I would also improve the background of the image which is white on my final magazine cover but I would change it to give the overall cover more colour as the front cover looks plain when white.

SoftwareWhen making the overall front cover and contents page, I used InDesign. The tools I used varied from the ‘Type Tool’ to the ‘Rectangle Tool’. When placing my cover image onto the page, I fit the content to frame, which observing now, I should have made bigger to fit the magazine more, making it look more ‘full’. Placing text boxes was quite easy, along with text font and size, but to make the magazine more professional, I tried to line the text up and to fit around the image. It I could edit my front cover, I would change the background colour using the ‘Rectangle Tool’ and then the colour button to change it, and to then send to back of the magazine. I would also make the font and size of my headline and anchorage, to make them stand out to kickers and cover lines. Looking at my masthead, although I could make the text size a bit larger, it is bold and stands out as the masthead, which is a main strength. Another asset in my magazine is the use of the banner making the magazine look a little bit more colourful, which I prepared through the use of the ‘Rectangle Tool’. A large rectangle produced by the ‘Rectangle Tool’ is used on my contents page. Along with the text down the left side, I used the ‘Image Tool’ to change the size and angle of the images to arrange them in that way. The use of the layout of my contents page is a strength as the use of the images down one side and text down the other makes the page look more ‘busy’ and there is not a lot of empty space.

Overall ProductAlthough I am quite happy with the way my College magazine has turned out, there are still many weaknesses. The photography skills were quite poor, however, we had to obtain the images in a hurry to meet the deadline with the magazine front cover and contents. I need to improve my use of making the front cover look more ‘busy’ and more professional. Another weakness was the use of colour as the overall front cover and contents page do not have a lot of colour in them.

Overall ProductThe magazine turned out just as I expected, however, there could have been some more improvement. A background colour should have been added to make the magazine look more colourful and less plain than it does. More kickers and cover lines should have also been used to fit around the cover image, as the front cover looks sparse and there is a lot of empty space. On the other hand, my contents page looks more professional with a great mixture of captions and images, along with the colour.

Overall ProductAs stated before, it would of looked better if there was a colourful background. This is a convention that is used on the professional college magazine examples I chose. Along with the more varied colours that are used in the examples. Looking at both my magazine front cover and my contents page, they both have the same style and colours and look like they are from the same magazine, however, the contents page is more professional and ‘busy’ than the front cover. To make the front cover look heavy, more kickers and cover lines should have been used around the cover image so there is less blank space on the cover.

Overall ProductThe size of the text is a size especially the masthead, stands out, and the use of the smaller size of text for kickers and cover lines states that although they are important, they are not as important as the masthead, headline and anchorage. The font of the text was formal, but a couple of different types of font should have been used, instead of using just one plain font. As said before the colour scheme was accurate and looked professional but more of the colours should have been used instead of having blank spaces of white on the front cover page. Overall, if I had a bit more time, I would have made the front cover more colourful and fairly different fonts used on different text on both the front cover page and the contents page. I more professional image with a decent close up mid shot would have also been attempted.