OUT AND ABOUT PROJECT LEVEL 2 Project Review Hristina Genov | 5919 | St. Paul’s Catholic College | 64770

OUT AND ABOUT PROJECT LEVEL 2

Project Review

Hristina Genov | 5919 | St. Paul’s Catholic College | 64770


1. Evaluating The Publications


a) STUDENT PROFILE


The first publication in the project was the Student Profile. The

SPB for this publication stated that in this I

was required to include:

•Age Range •Number of boys/girls

•Country and town they are from

•Language spoken •Other relevant

information, e.g. special interests etc.

a) STUDENT PROFILE


Target Audience – I think this profile targets the right audience because the ratio of girls to boys is appropriate, the age range is appropriate for the nature of the trips I have organised, and the interests of the students are also suitable for the nature of the

trips I have organised. Individual Components Such As Text And Images – I think this profile is reasonably good in this area because it has limited

colour use – only three colours – which provides a simple and professional look, and I think it also makes good use of space by having larger text but still preserving space by using a ‘washout’ picture as a background. I have also presented the information in bullet points which I think makes it clearer and easier to read

and understand. Feedback – I asked my test buddy as well as another of my

classmates for feedback, and they agreed that the limited colour use was suitable for the profile, and that the simple approach

was much better than having a profile which was crowded with a lot of images/other irrelevant graphics or text.

Copyright-free Material – I have an understanding of the Copyright Laws. As all my work contained in this project will not be published or sold, permission is not required for me to use

secondary images, and I will not be breaking any copyright laws by doing so.

a) STUDENT PROFILE


What will you do differently next time you produce similar publications and why?

•Ensure even further that the student profile exactly matches the nature of the trips organised to show that I have kept this in mind throughout the whole project and so that I can achieve top marks.

•Add a border or other moderate decoration/graphic feature to enhance appearance of the profile and make it slightly more attractive.

b) LOGO/EMBLEM


The second publication in the project was the Logo/Emblem for the project. The SPB for

this publication stated that my logo/emblem

must include:

•An image to represent the country the students

are coming from•An image to represent

Great Britain, the country they are visiting.

b) LOGO/EMBLEM


Target Audience – I think this logo targets the right audience because it has a wide range of colour use which makes it more eye-catching, and also

includes all the requirements. Individual Components Such As Text And Images – I think the layout of

this logo is quite good, as it incorporates both countries, and the division between the two flags shows the unity in that the students are coming from

one country to visit another. I decided to use two different fonts for the different countries because I felt that this would give the logo more

originality and appeal rather than using just one font style. At first, I was a little unsure about this, as I thought it may ruin the consistency of the logo, but my final decision was to use the two different fonts. I decided to include the two smaller images on both sides of the logo as I felt this added more

colour to the logo, and I also felt that the logo was otherwise a bit plain and boring without these two smaller images.

Feedback – I asked my test buddy on their opinion on my logo, and they told me what they liked, as well as what they thought could be altered to make the logo better. They said that they liked how the logo showed both

sides of the countries, and they also complimented my choice to use the two font styles as they thought this showed well how there were two different

countries on the logo. However, they said that they thought the white outline around ‘Great Britain’ blended in with the white colour on the flag behind the

text, which made it more difficult to read and stand out. Copyright-free Material – I have an understanding of the Copyright Laws.

As all my work contained in this project will not be published or sold, permission is not required for me to use secondary images, and I will not be

breaking any copyright laws by doing so.

b) LOGO/EMBLEM


What will you do differently next time you produce similar publications and why?

•As commented on by my test buddy, I could make sure that the text does not blend in too much with the background image, which could make it harder to read, and make the logo look less attractive in terms of appearance.

c) WELCOME RECEPTION DIGITAL POSTERS


The next publication in the project was the Welcome Reception Digital Posters. The

SPB for this publication stated that:

•The series must consist of four posters

•Include information in simple English

•Loop continuously •Include the logo I

created •Display for an

appropriate length of time



Target Audience – I think these posters target the audience because they are suitable for both boys and girls because as there is a range of colour, and they also fulfil the requirement of informing the students on London. The language

used is also quite simple, and I think the layout makes the information clearer to read and understand.

Individual Components Such As Text And Images – I think that the consistency of the posters in terms of layout and design help to add a professional

and polished finish to them. However, I have still tried to use variation by using different colour schemes on each poster and trying to select my colour scheme

carefully so that it matches the colours of the images I have used also. I have kept the positioning of the text and images on the posters in the same locations, and used a variety of other simple functions, such as using a ‘washout’ image as a

background to add more colour to the posters and make them more appealing to the age range of the target audience. I also ensured that I kept the style of the font the same throughout the posters and also tried to make sure it was easy to

read against the background. Feedback – I asked my test buddy for some feedback on my posters. They gave

me some very good points, and their opinion was that they liked the colour schemes, and how each component in each poster matched everything else in terms of colour and layout. However, they also thought that the timings for the looping of the posters was a bit too long on some of the posters, so in order to

resolve this, I double-checked this by rehearsing the timings once again to a more appropriate length.

Copyright-free Material – I have an understanding of the Copyright Laws. As all my work contained in this project will not be published or sold, permission is not

required for me to use secondary images, and I will not be breaking any copyright laws by doing so.



What will you do differently next time you produce similar publications and

why?

•Consider even further whether each of the publications are suitable for both boys and girls, if this is what the target audience is, so that it is suitable for the whole target audience.

•Experiment more with different layouts, colour schemes and styles before choosing a final option to create the best publication possible.

d) WELCOME LEAFLET


The next publication in the project was the Welcome Leaflet. The SPB for this publication stated that the

leaflet must:

•Be printed double-sided on A4 paper •Fold into four A4 pages

•Include information about the four trips

•Include some useful phrases translated into the students’ language

•Include a competition•Include suitable images

•Include the logo I created

d) WELCOME LEAFLET


Target Audience – I think is leaflet is suitable for the target audience because the language is used quite simple, and it also includes all the requirements. The colours used, in

my opinion, are also quite suitable because although there is quite a lot of pink used, nowadays more boys than before like the colour pink and it is seen as more of a unisex

colour than before, and this is why I chose to use pink. However, just to balance it out even more, I also used black and grey so that it appealed more to boys who maybe dislike pink. I also used a limited colour scheme to make the leaflet easier to understand for the students. Individual Components Such As Text And Images – I think that the consistency of the

leaflet makes it much easier to read and understand, especially as there is quite a lot of information in it! I decided to use a limited colour scheme of about 3 or 4 colours, however decided to leave the images of the four destinations in their original colours just to give the

leaflet more appeal. Again, I included the logo which I created as this was one of the requirements, but as for most of my other publications, I converted it to a black and white image because I felt that its original colour clashed with the colour scheme, and making it

black and white also complimented the design of the leaflet well. I used the same style and font for the headings and text throughout the leaflet, except for the translated words which I

could not change the font of. Feedback – I asked my test buddy for some feedback on my posters. They gave me some very good points, and their opinion was that they liked the colour schemes, and how each

component in each poster matched everything else in terms of colour and layout. However, they also thought that the timings for the looping of the posters was a bit too long on some of the posters, so in order to resolve this, I double-checked this by rehearsing the timings

once again to a more appropriate length. Copyright-free Material – I have an understanding of the Copyright Laws. As all my work contained in this project will not be published or sold, permission is not required for me to

use secondary images, and I will not be breaking any copyright laws by doing so.

d) WELCOME LEAFLET



why?

•Consider the colour scheme of the leaflet slightly further to ensure that it is suitable for as much of the target audience as possible. For example, not all boys may like pink, so this is something I could think about more next time and make sure it is suited as much as possible to the target audience.

•Experiment with several different layouts before making final choice so that information is easy and clear to read, and so that the leaflet does not look over-crowded with any irrelevant features.

e) E-CARDS


The next publication in the project were the E-Cards. The SPB for this publication stated that

the leaflet must:

•Be suitable for sending to parents and other adults•Include at least three

images•Include the logo

•Have space for a personal message

•Be designed to be viewed onscreen and sent by email

•Be saved as a separate publication

1

2

e) E-CARD 1 – FIRST VERSION


Before creating e-card 1 on the previous slide, I had already designed the e-card opposite, which was going to be one of my two e-cards. However, after some consideration, I decided that I was very unhappy with its design. I felt that the front of the e-card looked very unorganised and clumsy because the images along the top and bottom of the e-card were all different sizes which ruined the consistency, and the ‘washout’ background image contained too much colour and clashed with the rest of the images on the e-card. The text also did not match because although the font style was quite simple and matched the images and the target audience, I had difficulty in choosing which colour it should be as there was already so much colour on the e-card. The purple which I finally chose, I realised looked very scrappy and the contrast between the background colours and this purple colour made the e-card look unprofessional and not very appealing. In regards to the back of the e-card, this too was very unprofessional, and the background image looked really bad! The pink I chose for the text also clashed with everything, and the bright colours of the logo also ruined the whole simple approach I was aiming to achieve. I decided to create a new version of this first e-card, and considered what was unsuccessful in this e-card to ensure that my second version was much better.

d) E-CARD 1 - NEW VERSION


This is the new version of my e-card which I created after I was unhappy with my first design.

Target Audience – I think that the design of this e-card is much better than my first design. I think that the font style and images used are suited to parents and adults, and the layout, particularly on the back side of the e-card, is quite organised and easy to understand without being over-crowded, or on the contrary, too plain. Individual Components Such As Text and Images – I think that this e-card is much better than the previous one, because there is a more distinct colour scheme and it is more limited in that there are only a few colours used, which makes it look more professional and less clumsy. I have also used a ‘greyscale’ function on the logo, which helped me avoid over-crowding the e-card with irrelevant colours like my previous design. I decided to keep the layout on the back side of the e-card the same as the first design, because I thought this looked quite organised, and suited the target audience more because they are from a different country, so I tried to make it as accessible as possible for them. Another feature which I thought would keep the e-card simple yet effective is how I chose to use the same image on the front side as a background for the back side. I used a ‘washout’ function to soften the bright colours of the image slightly, and I did this because I thought this, again, made the e-card quite simple, yet it was still effective because distorting the image made it less recognisable, yet it was the same image used twice on one e-card.

d) E-CARD 1 - NEW VERSION

CONTINUED


Feedback – I asked my test buddy on their opinion on my e-card, and overall it was quite positive! They said they really liked the front side of the e-card, particularly how the bright colours of the picture complimented the darker matte colour of the text. They also liked the back side of the e-card, saying that they liked how the smaller image contrasted the background image to stand out nicely. As something to think about, they said that the text on the back side of the e-card which says ‘Kind Regards From London’ maybe blended in a bit with the background because of the white outline, and that you may not be able to read it from a distance, but they then said that it probably would not be needed to be read it from a distance, so this did not matter too much!

Copyright-free Material – I have an understanding of the Copyright Laws. As all my work contained in this project will not be published or sold, permission is not required for me to

use secondary images, and I will not be breaking any copyright laws by doing so.

d) E-CARD 2


Target Audience – I think that the design of this e-card is suited to the target audience because it is, again, quite simple and is suitable for parents and other adults. It is also quite contrasting to the other e-card, so it gives the parents a choice to suit their different interests/preferences. Individual Components Such As Text and Images – I think that this e-card is also quite good, because it, again, sticks to a limited colour scheme, and the colours compliment each other quite nicely because there are some lighter and some darker colours. I decided to keep the front side very simple, using just one background image which I altered the contrast and darkness of to make more dramatic and attractive, and a small piece of text related to the e-card’s purpose in two different colours. On the reverse side, I stuck to these two main colours – black and pale orange – and again I made the logo ‘greyscale’ so that it did not clash with the other components and colours of the e-card. I kept the layout slightly similar, using three different boxes for ‘To’, ‘From’ and ‘Insert Your Message Below’, but I changed the positioning slightly so that there was some variation between the two e-cards. In regards to the background, I followed a similar style to the previous e-card – I used the image from the front side as a background for the back side of the e-card, and I used the ‘washout’ function for this to make it lighter and softer.

d) E-CARD 2 CONTINUED


Feedback – My test buddy said that they liked this e-card very much! They were very positive about the front side of the e-card, commenting on how they liked how the outline of the text matched some of the lights on the background image. They also said they liked how the editing of the background image gave it a real feel as if you were really there. They also said they liked the back of the e-card, but they commented that the lines in the ‘Insert Your Message Below’ text box could maybe be a bit darker to match the outline of the ‘Kind Regards’ text. Copyright-free Material – I have an understanding of the Copyright Laws. As all my work contained in this project will not be published or sold, permission is not required for me to use secondary images, and I will not be breaking any copyright laws by doing so.

e) E-CARDS 1 & 2



why?

•Experiment further with different styles of font/colours/layout to ensure I create the best e-card I possibly can.

•Check throughout the duration of making the e-card that all the components work well together, and that there aren’t any elements which bring the quality of the e-card down, e.g. text blending into the background, clashing colours etc.

f) WELCOME RECEPTION INVITATION


The next publication in the project was the Welcome Reception

Invitation. The SPB for this publication stated

that the invitation must:

•Be single-sided A6•Be presented four to an A4

page•Include appropriate

information •Include the project logo •Be suitable for printing in

colour

f) WELCOME RECEPTION INVITATION

- FIRST VERSION


Before creating invitation of the previous slide, I had previously created the design opposite as my official invitation.

However, after some consideration, I decided that I was very unhappy with its design, and that I wanted to create a new invitation. There were several reasons for this.

Firstly, I felt that although I liked the fact that I stuck to a limited colour scheme, the two shades of purple which I chose were not really suitable as a background and colour text together, and the black text added to this also looked a bit clumsy. I also realised that the font did not compliment the rest of the invitation very well, despite the fact I thought it looked quite good at first. The pictures were also a very bad choice, especially as some of them were fully occupied (for example the champagne bottle), whilst others had a white background (the shoes). Even when I tried to set a transparent colour to these white backgrounds, this just made the invitation look even worse.

Similarly to a few of my other publications, I felt that the colour of the logo again clashed with the whole colour scheme of the invitation, like the purple background and text. I was also unhappy with the layout of the invitation as I thought it all looked very cramped with all the text and images bordering the top. The logo was also much bigger in comparison to the rest of the images and this looked very unorganised.

f) WELCOME RECEPTION INVITATION – NEW VERSION


This is the new version of my invitation which I created after I was unhappy with my first design.

Target Audience – I think that the design of this invitation is much better suited to the target audience because it looks a lot more sophisticated and simple, and the language used is quite formal. I also think the colours used compliment each other quite well, and despite the fact there is the use of some pink again on a unisex publication, I don’t consider this to be a great problem because many boys nowadays like the colour pink. However, just to make sure the invitation also appealed to any boys who may not like pink, I also included colours like black and grey just to balance it out. Individual Components Such As Text and Images – I think that this invitation is much better than the previous one for a few reasons. Firstly, the colours used compliment each other much better, and this has helped to make the invitation look more formal and professional. I have used an image of London as a background because this relates to the theme of the project. I also edited it slightly by setting a transparent pink layer over it so that it could match the rest of the colour scheme and give a simple but effective touch to the invitation. As in a few of my other publications, I edited the logo to make it ‘greyscale’ so that it did not clash with the rest of the components in the invitation, and I inserted a curved-line autoshape below the ‘Addressed to…’ text box just to ensure that the invitation did not look too plain. I ensured that I kept the font style consistent through all aspects of the invitation, and I tried to make the title stand out amongst the background by using a pink outline to make it bolder.

f) WELCOME RECEPTION INVITATION – NEW VERSION

CONTINUED


Feedback – I asked my test buddy on their opinion on my invitation. They said that they liked it very much, especially the big bold title and how it was outlined in pink to make it more eye-catching. They were mostly positive in their feedback, however, they pointed out the font style which I had used may be a little problematic to understand at times. For example, they noticed that the ‘T’ looked a bit like a ‘J’, which may become a bit confusing, but I decided to keep the font the same as I thought it was suitable for the target audience and the purpose of the invitation. Copyright-free Material – I have an understanding of the Copyright Laws. As all my work contained in this project will not be published or sold, permission is not required for me to use secondary images, and I will not be breaking any copyright laws by doing so.


2. Evaluating The Project As A Whole




What did I set out to achieve?

Plan and organise four trips for a group of 80 students and 8 teachers from a foreign country. I also created a number of publications to go with the trips and suit the target audience, which was the students, as best as possible.

To what extent have I met the objectives?

I think I have met the objectives of the project quite well as I have completed several publications for the students, and I have also completed a Project Log and Final Plan to help me organise my time effectively.

How well did my plan work?

My plan was more effective in some areas of the project more than others. For some of the tasks, it specified more time than I really needed, and for other tasks, it specified too little time for me to finish the work to a good standard.

How well did I manage my time?

I think I managed my time quite effectively, because I managed to complete some of the easier tasks in less time than my Final Plan gave me, which meant I had more time for some of the longer tasks which required more time and effort.



Did I choose the right people as my test users and reviewers?

Yes, I think I did, because my test buddy was of a very similar nature to the students whom the publications were created for. This meant I got some very accurate feedback for the publications, and whether they were suitable or not for the target audience.

What, if anything, went wrong?

There were a few things which didn’t quite go as I may have wanted. For example, I significantly exceeded the time specified for some of the tasks on my Final Plan, which meant I fell behind slightly and completed the project later than I may have wanted to. There were also a couple of publications which I was unhappy with, so I decided to recreate them, however, this was solved in the end because I was much happier with my final designs.

What did others have to say?

Most of the feedback in my Project Review came from my test buddy, but I also received some feedback from Mr Bennett throughout the course of the project. Most of the feedback I received was positive, which I was very happy about. This meant there were minimal changes to be made, and this saved me some time. My test buddy did also give me some ideas for improvements to think about, and I have included these in my Project Review. However, I did not make very many changes to my final publications as I was already quite happy with them, but I did understand the reasons as to why my test buddy gave me ideas for particular improvements.



What improvements would I make if I had time?

If I had more time for this project, I would probably use it to go over all the existing publications I have made, and ask even more test users on their opinion on them. I would then look in detail at anything which might not be very good on the publications, and change this according to the feedback I get from my test users.

What would I do differently if I did the project again?

If I did this project again, I would firstly try and stick to the time limits more, so that I organise my time more effectively, and complete the project as soon as possible so that I can start on the next project. I would also try and collect test user feedback more often on all my work, so that I can use this more in my Project Review to support what I have to say, as well as use the feedback to improve my publications.


3. Evaluating My Own Performance




How well did I work during the project?

I think I worked quite well during the project. I was able to ignore any distractions which may have made me lose my concentration on the work I was doing. I also tried to help my class mates as much as possible with anything that I could so that they could achieve the best grade they could.

Did I keep to deadlines and targets?

I managed to complete most of the work in the project by the specified deadlines on my Final Plan, including my Welcome Posters and E-cards. However, there were also some tasks which exceeded the time on my Final Plan, such as my Project Review and Welcome Leaflet. This was not too much of a problem though because I still had a lot of time left until the official deadline for finishing the project, and I also managed to catch up on the tasks which took me longer by having finished some of the easier tasks quicker than I anticipated.

How have I benefitted from working on the project?

My work in this project has allowed me to develop new skills on a programme I hadn’t used before in ICT, Microsoft Access, as well as develop my existing skills on more basic programmes such as Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel (which I found the most difficult). It also taught me to organise my time effectively, as well as use a Final Plan and Project Log to keep a record of the tasks I completed.


4. Other Project Work




Final Plan My Final Plan helped me

to plan my time throughout the project,

so that I used it effectively. It also helped me keep track of which

work I was completing in order to ensure that I

met all the deadlines and targets.



Sources Table

I used my Sources Table as a record of all the

images I had used in my publications. I also used

the table to identify which images were

Primary and Secondary sources.



Project Log I used my Project Log to record

what tasks I completed in every IT lesson. In order to gain full marks, I had to make sure the information

in my Project Log matched the time scales I had written in my

Final Plan. This was sometimes a bit difficult as I did not have

enough time to write in my Project Log in some lessons, but I did this most other lessons, and double checked everything matched up

correctly.



Trip List I created my Trip List in

Microsoft Excel, and used it to record my research into the

16 potential trips for the foreign students. I then chose

4 of these as the definite destinations for the trips, and inserted these into a separate Worksheet, including all the charges and time scales for

the tips etc.



Trip List This is the separate

Worksheet I created to work out the overall costs for the 4 trips. I felt this was the most difficult part of the project, because there were a lot of

formulas to insert in the cells, but I managed to do this with a bit of help from Mr Bennett.

Documents

OUT AND ABOUT PROJECT LEVEL 2 Project Review Hristina Genov | 5919 | St. Paul’s Catholic College | 64770