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

Since making my preliminary magazine, I have learnt about page harmony rules, and different page models. Looking at my preliminary magazine, it doesn't really follow any rules to the layout and so doesn't look professional. In general also, my ability to use different technologies has greatly increased over the duration of the course, I had minimal experience editing pictures and using photoshop before making my magazine. So throughout the process of making my magazine, I learnt the necessary skills required to effectively edit images and compile them along with my article into a magazine. My product was also improved from teacher guidance and peer comments, which helped finding flaws in my product that I didn't spot myself.

On my preliminary magazine, my lack of knowledge of the technologies and page design is evident, the page follows no real model, and the images are poorly taken and lit, with little/no editing. I had also carried out no research into what made a good magazine, so that also shows in my preliminary. During my research and planning I discovered colour schemes and different fonts, which make a far more professional looking magazine when integrated. I think my preliminary magazine is also a bit too cluttered as well, as the groups I am targeting appreciate a simplistic and clean aesthetic as opposed to the more "busy" look of more mainstream magazines.

I was also inspired to go from a typical gloss magazine to a print publication by the magazine "Loud and Quiet" which is printed like a newspaper. My improved understanding of photoshop helped me make a much more aesthetically pleasing magazine, through the use of tools like layers and editing the flaws out of pictures and adjusting the colour levels. My understanding of how to take a professional looking picture, has also greatly improved, with knowledge of things like where to place a fill light to remove shadows, and how best to position the main lights to get a fully lit picture.

Overall I think the main things I learned were the skills to effectively use the technology available, and the conventions of page design, as these were the things that allowed me to create a realistic looking magazine.