7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have

learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Cover Comparison

Although I used the same two pieces of software (Adobe InDesign and PhotoShop cs3), it is evident that I used many more

features to better effect in the full product

• I used many of the same conventions such as a header/footer, barcode, date and issue

number, masthead and colour scheme.

• I’ve learnt to use colours to a better effect in my full product, as in my preliminary task

I tried to use a range of bold colours in order to try and achieve an eye-catching look. However, they clashed quite a lot

which made the features such as the sell lines difficult to read. Learning from this mistake, I stuck to a strict scheme of red, white and black, and then when a feature needed something extra, I used yellow or

blue. I feel that this makes the product looks much more professional as the colours work

together very well.• I also used more boxes and transformations to slant object and make them appear more

visually grasping.

Cover Comparison (continued)

• In the preliminary task I was already quite familiar with many PhotoShop tools, and I tried to apply things such as gradients and drop shadows all over the product. Upon

reflection, it seems cluttered and that it needs a pinch of simplicity with a ‘less is more’

approach, which is what I tried to do in the full product

• In the preliminary task, I used quite a number of sell lines to try and frame the subject of the image, but I knew that this would be difficult in my full product as I had my mind set on a band as the main feature, which would mean using a group shot, so I steered clear of using any sell lines. This way you could see the band

more clearly, which is what I wanted

•More specifically, I used the levels tool quite a lot to edit the subject and the background of the cover image in my preliminary task. After

realising that the desired effect of contrast wasn’t achieved, I made the background very

dull and plain in my full product

Contents Page Comparison

• It’s quite clear to see that the layout of the two contents pages are very similar,

as I was quite pleased with the one I produced in the preliminary task, so I

decided to build upon it

•However in the full product, I used less gradients, and focused more on the

colours and layout in the interest of the reader. I used a ‘polaroid’ style

photograph to demonstrate some vintage style (which is popular in indie),

doing a similar thing as last time. Although, in the full product, I set it backwards and slanted it to make it appear wedged onto a clipboard for

some visual effect

• I also used my knowledge of InDesign to add a drop capital on the beginning of my briefing of the band, and well as

a QR code that would link to their website

Conclusion

I believe that since my preliminary task, I have developed a broader range of skills within InDesign and PhotoShop, using features more effectively to appeal to the target audience

I think that my sense of design has also improved, in that I have become much more disciplined in using the layout and effects of features/objects, rather than just using every skills I know when it may not be relevant to the task