Finished Magazine Cover, Contents Page and Double Page Spread!

With the completion of my Double Page Spread, all of the required music magazine have been finished! This includes me front cover, contents page and double page spread. As they have been previously drafted, when compared to the ICT drafts that I have done they bear a large similarity in layout to the completed product, as well as in basic colour scheme and text. There are also similarities with the image based design, with only the model's prop being that main difference, and a slightly different ordering of the sell lines being the other difference.

The front cover went through many different stages of design. these included different backgrounds, different font colours and styles, as well as different editing effects on the cover model to remove imperfections and general extra editing. Contrast was also played with in order to fit with the conventional brown and gold colours of a classical music magazine.

The contents page stays with the theme of the cover page, in terms of the background and colour scheme. the golds and browns continue over to keep within the theme even though the contents page does not need to stand out in the same way as the cover page does. This is done due to a large amount of the page being taken up with the contents box and the small article advertisements, as it contrasts well with the fullness of the foreground.

For the double page spread, I decided to take the theme from the other pages and tone it down a bit, as this page is not one that needs to stand out in the same way that the cover does. This is due to the double page spread being about the article, as that is what readers would look for on this page. The cover model's colours have been tones down to stand out more against the lighter background, and the black text is also used to stand out while sticking with the familiar theme. The headline of this article sticks with the same theme as all of the other pages, making it feel more similar to the other ones.

Audience feedback on these final pieces has been overwhelmingly positive.

Having these pages be displayed over digital means would be very beneficial to the sales of the magazine, and due to the size/shape of the pages and phone screens, a digital version of these should be available to the buyer by scanning a special QR code on the back page that would allow them to view the magazine on their phone. This is particularly important as embracing new media forms such as the internet and convergence devices such as mobile phones can make or break the magazine's success.

After receiving additional audience feedback in regards to the double page spread, the article was changed to fit more conventionally. this involved changing the Q&A to fit into two columns, which is often seen in magazines more so then the single column layout that was previously used. Credits relating to the image and text have now been added, as this is also conventional of musical magazines.

Q1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Q2: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Q3: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product?

Q4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

Q5: How did you attract/address your audience?

Q6: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Q7: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

For my First set of coursework, my preliminary task was to produce the front cover and contents page of a fictional college magazine. This was done in preparation for the final task, and to assess my initial skill and ability to create a professional looking magazine.It also allowed us to try, as well as get used to the process of creating a magazine. This also served as an introduction to the different conventions of a music magazine.

Since my first attempt, I have learnt many things such as the correct terminology for a lot of the magazine's important components, like Masthead, sell lines, picture anchor and plug. I have also learnt to use Photoshop more effectively, more specifically the image editing tools such as the spot healing tool and the magnetic lasso. The LIIAR analysis is also a new acronym that I have learnt, and a good method of analysing work.

My preliminary front cover is extremely unconventional when placed in comparison with my newly finished one. However, in making this magazine I learnt why my magazine should not break too many conventions at once, as this leads to an unprofessional looking magazine as well as an unattractive one.I have learn for example that almost all magazines use three set colours, in my later magazine's case gold, brown and black, whereas in my earlier magazine I only used green and white, leaving the whole magazine looking rather unfinished. This also introduced me to the conventional placement of sell lines, the masthead's location, and where the date and issue number should be located.

Throughout my magazine's creation, I consistently compared it to feedback from the preliminary magazine. Although the two were from different topics altogether, it made for good reference for the conventional positioning of elements as well as the identifying of god fonts and colours. This was invaluable for the final product to look professional and please it's intended audience.