My Final Major Project Evaluation

Final Major Project Evaluation IG4 

For our final major projects we were assigned the task of creating our own compositions. Doing research into each of the topics I decided to choose to make a magazine, then more specifically one based around health. To do this I had to make sure that I did enough research to enable me to create something with a professional look that would fit the client brief. I looked online and found images of magazines I liked, and also used sites like Prezi and Pinterest to gather my ideas onto creative and easy to understand webpages. 

As my magazine was going to be on Health, I looked into different things associated with it, such as healthy eating and diet specialists which enabled me to create articles to make my magazine look more official. 

When I had all my ideas ready and presented in a way I was happy with I started editing my project on Adobe Photoshop which I have used before which was helpful as the experience came in useful. Looking closely at the examples I had found helped me to start putting together my Front Page, Contents Page and Double Page Spread. At first I found it hard as I seemed to be just staring at a blank canvas, however when things started to fall into place it became easier to see where it was going and I began to enjoy the creative side of putting it together more. 

For the front page I went with bright colours that I had seen on magazines of its genre, greens, pinks, and whites with black text which stood out against the background, with a central image which grabs the viewers attention as it is large and dominant. I placed most of the text down the left hand side as my research showed me that peoples eyes are more drawn to this side of the page to read, and as with a lot of the magazines I looked at, I placed the bar code and price discreetly in the bottom right hand corner so it was out of the way and not taking over any main parts of the front cover.
I found the placement of the text the hardest with the front cover as I didn't want it to overshadow anything else, however I had quite a lot to put on it which made it difficult. In the end I placed it all down the left hand side which was the most appropriate place to put it. 

I focussed on the contents page next which was probably the most time consuming, only because I had to make sure that all the text was on point and aligned properly. Had it all of been unaligned at at different angles on the page it would have looked unprofessional and rushed. Again I looked at examples of contents pages and the one I liked I took ideas from and turned them into my own. I placed the masthead along the top of the page in a large, clear and bright font which is attention grabbing, and then the actual contents numbers and page names are down the left hand side again. The images are down the right hand side so they stand out as the page is clear and not crowded with things which take away from the most important features. 

I enjoyed creating the Double Page Spread the most as I liked making up the articles and making them seem more professional in the layout I had chosen. I made sure that they stuck to the theme of the magazine and had all the correct information which would be interesting for the target audience I had chosen. I had text on both pages of the double page spread which is broken up by pull quotes and images. It is all set out in clear to read and easy to follow blocks, much the same as the examples I chose to look at. 

During the production of my Final Major Project I did the majority of my work on Adobe Photoshop. Having used this software before I know how it works however I still wouldn't class myself as confident with it, so creating this project on it was still a challenge, but one I enjoyed. It has made me more confident with the whole layout process however, showing me that once things start to come together it really is easier than initially I may have thought, and that with determination it is possible to pull something of good quality off. I feel if I was to do something similar to this again my Photoshop knowledge will have grown thanks to this, and that I have taken skills from it which will benefit me greatly when needed. 

Originally I had planned for something much more simple in my drafts of what my magazine was to look like, and I started putting this together, however after a discussion with my tutor, Iain, I realised that this was in no way going to get my a good grade, and that I had to change my ideas slightly to gain a much more professional looking result. I am glad I did this as I can see that had I have kept it as it was, I would not have been happy with the results. However my magazine layout is still very much like my initial draft idea and I haven’t strayed to far from my vision. All the content I had chosen is the same, just set out in a way which makes it much clearer and of a better quality. I had also planned for my images to look a lot more professional, however due to the fact that I lost the images I had originally taken using the photography room in college, they were not possible to recreate and l was left using ones of a lesser quality that we're slightly rushed. 

If I was to do this project again I would definitely manage my time better. I feel that I had to rush slightly at the end to get it finished and given in for the deadline which meant that somethings I wasn't completely happy with and I feel will hold me back when aiming for a good grade. Near to the deadline after our chats with our tutors, I realised I had a few smaller outstanding tasks which needed uploading to my blog for marking. This meant that I had to take time out of creating my project to do this, whereas had they have been done earlier, this would have not needed to happen. I also let other tutors work build up on me too, so at the end of the year when all the deadlines were approaching, the race felt like it was on to get everything finished at the same time which was not possible. Nearing the end of the year when I realised I had to get everything done on time, I started to write myself lists of what needed doing, focusing on the most important, and working down them, crossing them off as they were completed. I found this helped me to realise where I was at and took some of the initial stress and worry off of me that it was not going to be finished for the end of the year. 

However in the end I did get everything finished which I was happy about, even if there were a few things which I still felt could have been made better with better time management. 

I used the social media site Facebook to gather feedback from an audience which I have collected and looked at. There were a mixture of comments such as, "looks very professional" and "clear to follow" which I was happy with, and I also asked if there was anything that I could improve on which people said that maybe I could "add a few more pictures" or "change the text placement on the front".  These were the comments that I expected as they were the things that I was most unhappy with myself and if I was to redo the magazine I would take this advice on board and change what I did. I have added the comments in full to the bottom of this evaluation. 

Overall if I was to do my magazine again for my Final Major Project I would make sure to have a clear time management plan and always ask for help when it was needed, instead of struggling to come to terms with it myself. I would have made sure to take more professional looking pictures and use more of them and perhaps use a different and more interesting font throughout my magazine as this could make it look boring and uninviting. 

I would definitely spend more time learning about the editing software I used as this could have made my magazine look much more professional as this part of the creative industry is not something that I have taken well too and I still struggle with simple tasks when using it, however I do find it interesting and fun to use 

In conclusion I am happy with how my magazine turned out as I feel I overcame some challenges when making it and it is good to see it finished at the end of the year knowing this. As mentioned above, it has taught me to manage my time better as this was my main problem.