Evaluation Question 7. Look back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you've learned in the progression from then to the full product?

What skills and knowledge did I learn in order to produce a music magazine?
Talk about the importance to carry out research.

Looking back at my preliminary task, I have effectively improved my knowledge in using Photoshop to create products. Since the preliminary task, I have learnt more about the codes and conventions of different genres. This was important to make my magazine appealing to my specific genre. In both of these magazines I used feature stories that appeal to the target audiences which is crucial. I improved my knowledge of fonts and design taking inspiration from famous magazines (NME, Q, Mojo...), this looks more attractive and I was also able to put more stories on the front cover without overcrowding. I like both of the main images for both tasks as they both suit the genre and are posed in manners that reflect the attitudes of the magazine. I also learnt why costume was important and how this can affect the audience completely. My pull quotes on both magazines are the second largest font on the page, this is so that it stands out and is noticeably relating to the main image. You can also see that I kept my colour schemes to a minimum, this is conventional for looks and branding purposes and that we recognise this magazine over and over. However, I like the background in my preliminary task in comparison to my final product as there is already a lot of white on the page, my final product would have looked more effective with a background as it would stand out more (for example, a brick wall), although this would mean changing fonts and the colours of the fonts so that they are clearly visible.
The preliminary task was useful because it taught me the basics of everything I needed to know when starting the main task. I also became more confident and found it less pressuring because we had 'practiced' a much smaller version of the main task beforehand.