Preliminary Task – Evaluation of Product

Conventions

In my product I have used many conventions of school magazines. I made sure that all topics and articles of the magazine were about school related topics and all images were relevant. As my only images are of students, one at prom and another with their GCSE results. The main topic on my front cover was about GCSE results which are a very common article in school magazines. The other articles were things such as an interview with the headmaster and talking about uniforms. I also used a conventional layout. I kept it simple with a consistent colour scheme of only school colours. Most of the text was black but a simple and smart font to make it formal. The mast head was also in an appealing but formal font and in bold at the top of the page to stand out. The route of the eye went across the title, through the main article then across the bottom of the page to the school logo. The main article and image are in the hotspots so they are the main attraction on the page. Overall the front cover has a very conventional formal vibe that fits in with the other school magazines that i analysed.

Technologies

For my preliminary task, the programs I used, other than the internet, were Microsoft word and publisher. To write up all the analysis’s of the current school magazines and do my font drafts I used Microsoft word. To make the drafts and the final product I used Microsoft publisher because it was a useful and easy program to use. I used a digital camera to take my main image and then uploaded it and pasted it onto my front cover. Other than these programs I had to use a blogging website and scribd to embed and upload my files. I also used a fujifilm camera to take my picture which was very easy to use.

Skills Developed

Through doing my preliminary task I have learnt how to properly analyse covers of magazines and look for the conventions of the genre. I also know now how to make a better front cover while following conventions. I have developed my skills to use scribd and blogger and this will help me when I’m making my actual product because I will need to post entries and embed documents.

Other skills I will need to develop include learning what conventions a magazine fits whatever type it is. Then I will need to improve my photography and photo editing skills as I will need to take all my own photos.