Evaluation 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I feel that since the preliminary task my knowledge and understanding of the magazine industry has increased dramatically. Looking back at the work I produced in the preliminary task shows just how my knowledge and technical skills have improved.

Looking back at my preliminary task (seen on the left), you can clearly see the improvement. The jigsaw pieces and the text font that was used looks very unprofessional. Also the sizing of the fonts doesn't look like much thought went into it. 

When you compare the two front covers, they are very different, and with good reason, each magazine has a completely different target audience. But even so my main project is much more professional and also catches the eye much better. The photograph of my music magazine is of a much higher quality and looks like it was taken by a professional photographer. From the first task I learnt that lighting is very important to give the best effect. As you can see the photograph for my preliminary project is very poorly lit in comparison to 'Quirk'.

My skills on using Photoshop for image manipulation and InDesign for desktop publishing have improved greatly, I now have a greater understanding of how the software works, and how to use it to its full potential.


The biggest thing that I have probably learnt is how to manage my time. In the preliminary task I didn't plan my time at all. But from that experience I learnt that time management is very important and in a way, vital to staying on top of the work. Planning each lesson with a different task was a great way to keep on top. I had each separate task written out that I need to do and just followed the plan, it works seamlessly. 
UNLESS you add other people in to that plan, i have also learnt throughout this process that people are not reliable, and to choose my models carefully and make sure they are committed and good at taking instructions.