Peer Assessment Answers

General Comments

Lay out is very good looks visually attractive very well done. Imagery is very good, great photography.

Looks very professional with the images of clothing and positioning of smaller images around the page.

Colour scheme works really well and relates to the genre.

Space around the page is used well and placing around the images.

Not very much writing on one of the DPS’. Some boxes don’t fit together very well.

Nice colour scheme – 3 colour rule looks professional.

Framing of the photos works well with the text

Clear to see what the magazine is about

White font is a little hard to read against the white background on front cover – maybe use a stroke.

Contents page looks bare/ Maybe have some DPS previews to fill the gaps.

1)    What are your first impressions?

Colourful & well-designed

Overall I think it looks very professional. The images, text and colour scheme work well together and it is something I would see on the shelf in a shop.

2)    What do you think the purpose of my product is?

Fashion magazine for young females

To show people what clothing is in the high street, for cheaper prices, making it affordable for your audience?

3)    What do you think about the photography? Does it match the genre of magazine? Do they tell the story?

It does match the magazine. Model is ideal role model to the target audience.

The front cover image works perfectly. Images match the article because of the colours and positioning of models on the first double page spread. They work really well and look professional.

4)    What do you think of the colour scheme, what does it mean to you?

Simple but colourful. Very eye-catching. The yellow goes well, especially for ‘Sunway Runway’ as it connotates summer.

The pink and yellow on the front cover reminds me of being feminine and girly and it attracts your attention with the yellow. 1^st DPS – summery, calm colours. 2^nd DPS – still feminine but a bit too much white.

5)    What do you think of the image: text ratio on each product?

More text than image on a night to remember but more images on Sunway runway – more images are appealing to young people.

There is just the right amount on the front cover so that everyone is able to see the image although the text still stands out.

1^st DPS – might be a little bit too much on the right hand side.

2^nd DPS flows well around the page.

6)    Do you think the fonts fit the genre of my magazine and the other fonts? What do they suggest to you?

Easy to read fonts, not too many – simple

Front cover fonts are girly and fit the genre. I think the font for ‘Sunway Runway’ could be brighter to stand out more and even bolder. A Night to remember font fits well. I like the contents page font although it could be more feminine.

7)    Can you read the text? Is it legible?

White text against white background on front cover is hard to read.

Yes, all the text is legible to read.

8)    What do you think of the language used in each article? Is it suitable for the target audience

Not too complicated to read which works well but maybe young people want to increase their range in vocabulary so they are treated like adults.

You have used the typical language that fashion magazines use as well as involving the reader using rhetorical questions and shorter sentence structures so that it’s easier to read.

9)    Are the subjects of my double page spreads relevant?

Magazine is about fashion and so are the double page spreads so yes, they’re relevant. Titles are relevant to the topics too.

I think they are because of the time of year definitely. Target audiences will be booking holidays and getting ready for prom, so they are really relevant.

10)  What have you learnt?

Learned some good tips about finding the perfect dress

That there are a lot cheaper clothing than I first thought when looking at the photographs, as well as how to put the looks together.

11)  What do you think of the sell lines?

The “50% off spa breaks” is eye-catching as it’s in the star shape.

“S.O.S” simple yet effective

“Sunway Runway” works well because of the rhyming

You’ve used short and snappy sell lines to get the audience’s attention

12)  Does the product have a clear focal point?

The titles/subtitles stand out well

I definitely think it puts fashion across to the audience and also a bit of gossip. I think audiences could see from the front cover what this magazine entails.

13)   Do you like the layout?

I like the layout for A night to remember as it looks professional. Sunway Runway has too many spaces.

I prefer the layout of Sunway Runway, looks good split down the middle variety of shots and types of image and I love the framed images.

14)  Is there anything you don’t like about the product?

Contents page looks a bit empty

I don’t like the font for A Night to remember. I think against the rest of the page, which looks great, the text looks average.

15)  Are there any obvious technical problems with my products?

No drop cap on Sunway Runway. On the front cover “get the perfect look” looks cut off at the top.

Nothing obvious at all, I think the technical aspects are good, look professional and well put together.

16)  Are there any points that do not draw your eye?

The subtitles on the front cover – could have maybe added a background behind them.

I didn’t really notice the “WINWINWIN” bit on Sunway runway as its tucked right in the corner.

17)  Would you be likely to buy this magazine? Why/Why Not?

No, as I don’t tend to buy fashion magazines but there are some interesting articles.

Yes because for females my age (17) this is what we want to read about gossip fashion (cheaper preferably).

18)  Would you recommend my product to a friend?

Yes, seems like something my friends would be interested.

Yes because I think others would want to read it.

My Weekly Monitoring Blog - Final Entry

This week was the final week to complete all of my products and hand them in, in time for the deadline. I have finished my products now and am quite proud of them. After all of the planning to create a front cover with a black background, the reality was not as I had hoped and did not look as effective as I had initially intended. I tried to keep the colour scheme as red, white and black as I had originally planned but the product just looked flat and unprofessional.

I then tried to change the colour to a pale pink to replicate the 'ELLE' front cover but this still looked quite flat and didn't really work as the background is too dark in comparison.

This means that I ended up going back to a pale background and adjusting the colour scheme so that it fits with the rest of my magazine (ie. contents page, double page spead 1 and double page spread 2). I used the colours from both of my double page spreads to create a colour scheme of black, pale pink and pale yellow and was quite happy with the outcome as my different pages did end up matching one another, which was something that worried me and looked quite professional.

The contents page originally looked very plain and bland so I had to add a lot more text and change the photo and positions.

I changed the colouring of my first finished double page spread to make it compatible with the rest of my product, by adding pink. As you can see, the article has been added too and the double page spread is competely finished. I also edited the background so that my text and clothes images looked more boxed off and there was more to my product, with a better structure. I also changed the title layout and size so that it stood out more and was the biggest thing on the page.

I kept the article from my "mock up 2" as my audience had really liked the structure of the paragraphs and the language but I completely changed the look of the product, keeping it classy but making it brighter than my first black mock up. I used the pink to relate to my other products.

Overall, I am thrilled with my products and think that The Northern Echo would be pleased with my work too. Time management was an issue at times but I managed to swap things around to ensure that everything was finished in time for the deadline set.

I left myself more work than I should have for this final week as I had not started my final double page spread, A Night To Remember at this point. However, this was not an issue as I knew that I had my images and my article ready to import from my earlier planning. Managing my time correctly earlier in the project allowed me the time to get everything completely finished by the time it was the deadline day.

I believe that this project has been a success and I am happy with the results.

Front Cover Contingency Photos

As you can see from my planning and research blogs, I decided to go with a black background for my front cover and planned to cut out my model from a white background and change it manually on photoshop. However, I tried this and it looked very unprofessional, as my model looked obviously cut out, with a white outline around her that was hard to get rid of.

This means that I needed some new photos fast with a black backdrop. I arranged a last minute contingency photoshoot to make sure I had time to finish the product and not just take the photos. I used similar poses but a different model and a different backdrop. I was pleased with the outcome of this photoshoot.

This is the image I intend to use for my final product as I really like the pose and it is just the right position for my front cover, with a serious face on my model.



My Weekly Monitoring Blog – 2nd February 2012

Again this week, there was disruption to my schedule due to exams but in the end, I ended up managing to get one of my double page spreads to an almost complete standard, which is more than I had hoped to do. I have developed the layout quite a bit so that it looks different from the original although still keeps some of the original features. I have created my logo as I want it, which is something I said I would do this week and I have prepared my images, ready to be used. The fact that I have almost completed one of my double page spreads to the stage where only the article needs to be added is a huge step forward.

This is my original draft shown in my pitch, hand drawn.

This is my almost finished double page spread.

As you can see I have kept some features from the original idea. I have kept the idea of all the items of clothing that need to be packed into this year’s summer, represented by the clothing and the open suitcase. I am very happy with how this worked out. Instead of putting numbers next to each item and making a list in the bottom right-hand corner as you can see on the first draft, it seemed much more practical to put the prices and shops under the actual items. I kept the idea of angles being used in my double page spread, with the boxes behind the text, the main image and the little “Polaroid” style images, as I had intended from the start. I made the main picture a lot smaller as in reality, trying to fit all of the images at the current size and an article and little pieces of text was making the article look very crowded. I decided to make the main image smaller, use three Polaroid style images instead of two and cut the article size down, so that it fit on one side of my page. In my planning work and Unit 1, I had said that I will include competitions and little fact-style pieces of text in my magazine to keep my audience included and allow them to enjoy my features without having to read masses of text, so in my final double page spread, I have included a competition to win a paid-for holiday to one of the top 5 holiday party destinations this year. I decided to include the top 5, prices and the place to book them so that I am offering my audience the best kind of information for them to utilise.

Whilst I still need to add my logo and main article, I am thrilled with this week’s progress and believe that the Northern Echo would be very happy with my work too. The planning is coming to life in my work now.

Model Release Forms

My Weekly Monotoring Blog – 26th January 2012

I did not set myself a huge amount of work for this week due to the fact that I had two big exams in other subjects. This meant that I had to give myself time to revise and prepare, as well as including the time of media lessons that I have missed due to the exam and lesson times overlapping. The tasks I did leave myself in my schedule were experimenting in Photoshop with my images and creating a rough draft of the layout for my magazines. I was meant to carry on working on the layouts all week, ready for insertion of text and images.

I have struggled to keep focused on my media project this week, in all honesty because of the pressure of my exams for other subjects. However, I have managed to create rough drafts of the layout and inserted some images to get a better idea of what the pages overall will look like in the end.

I feel confident that I will be able to keep up to date, as once my exams are over, I will have complete concentration on my media work. The Northern Echo may be concerned about my progress, that may result in me being left behind. However, I am sure that they will understand and am determined to meet my deadlines.

Front Cover and Contents Page Photoshoot

Here are the images taken for my front cover and contents page. The pose of my model is essential to the overall image of my magazine and to attract my target audience. My model needs to be confident and looking directly at the camera. To make sure I was ready for this photoshoot, I researched some poses and got my model to recreate them in my photoshoot for the front cover and contents page. Here are the poses researched against the poses of my model. I was happy with the outcome of the image.

I particularly liked Katy Perry's pose on the front cover of Cosmopolitan. This magazine is a magazine that I aim to be similar too, with a very similar target audience to mine which suggests that this image is a success with the audience. The model looks very confident and very sure of herself, which is something my target audience will be looking for. The pose is also flattering to her figure and will encourage my audience to aim to be like her. My model matched this pose very well and also looks like someone my audience will aspire to be like. I took photos of this pose in both outfits, to give myself a choice.

The second image was also from Cosmopolitan. This model looks very confident, looks directly at the reader, helping to intergrate them into my magazine. The hands on the hip stance is very effective and is flattering for their figures. I like this image.

I like this pose as it is quite fun and flirty. My model recreated the olden days pose well and looks good. My target audience would admire these images as the models look confident and have good figures in their costumes.

This pose is for my contents page. The image that I chose to model the pose off was infact from a contents page itself and I thought it looked very effective. The text will wrap my model on the right-hand side which I think looks very trendy and stylish. I took some other photos similar to this which may also be used, as they look quite good. I am pleased with all of these photos.

I like how my models hair is laid out on the floor. I particurlary like the bottom image as it is more from a birds-eye angle. I believe my front cover, contents page will be very effective in the end.