Preliminary Task Evaluation

Preliminary Task Evaluation

For the coursework of this unit, we had to produce a preliminary task which consisted of a basic front cover and contents page of a school magazine. This was not something that would help me gain any extra marks, but I would be able to use this to help compare this to my final piece next year and evaluate the progress that I have made with the software that I have to use.

 

On the front cover, I decided to go for something which was simple, yet effective. I chose a colour scheme of yellow and navy blue as these were the main school colours, which helps relate to the specification of the task; a school magazine. The full bleed image features a student in the new canteen, I chose this full bleed image with the student not facing the camera because this is not the most important part of the picture; the canteen is. However by having a student featuring on the front cover indicates that the magazine is targeted at students. As this is not the only article that will featuring in the magazine, there are other sell lines which tell the audience what will be included in that issue.

 

The sell lines consist of a basic, navy blue typography. I chose this because it needs to be clear and easy to read; this way the readers are able to see what the magazine will consist of. I put all of the sell lines in rectangular boxes to make them stand out against the background. I made the boxes a bold, bright yellow because it contrasts against the navy blue which helps catch the readers’ eye.

 

The contents page of my magazine is quite basic; this is not always a negative thing because by keeping the layout simple, the information will easily be relayed to the readers because there is nothing that will detract from the most important parts; what is on each page. As well as just writing on the contents page, I have also included some pictures so it doesn’t look just look like a word document. At the bottom of the page, I have included a message from the head teacher to give a sense of formality to the magazine as in some magazines you may receive a message from editor.

 

Improvements to make:

·         Make the masthead more attractive and eye catching

·         Use another font on the front cover to break things up a little

·         Incorporate the social media in some way

·         Use better quality images

·         Include a price for the magazine

·         Have something on the front cover which is the main focus

·         Include a brief description under each sell line

·         Make the colour of the page numbers more bold as this is one of the most important parts

 

As I have used the software InDesign before, I did not struggle when coming to using this. However I do feel I need more practice when using this to make my final product look more professional and clean cut.