The document provides a reflection on the student's magazine project. It discusses the strengths and weaknesses of their research, planning, time management, technical qualities, aesthetic qualities, audience appeal, and peer feedback. For their research, they looked at existing gaming magazines to inform their own designs. Their planning involved mind maps and mood boards. Their time management allowed them to complete tasks on schedule. Both their magazine and the researched magazines shared similarities like game characters, while also having differences like fonts and layouts. Peer feedback praised the variety of fonts and images but suggested improving text readability and reducing density.
3. Research
Strengths
• One of the strengths of my research I feel was of the
magazines I researched as they gave me a good idea on what I
need to include in my final front cover and double page
spread.
• Another strength of my research was that looking at the
magazines meant that they can appeal to different age groups
either separately or together meaning I had a large choice of
age groups to choose who I wanted my product to appeal to.
• A final strength of my research was of what was different and
the same for each product I looked at meaning I would know
what to keep different so my product stands on its own but
keeping certain aspects the same so it is recognised as a game
magazine and nothing else.
How did my research help my product
• One way my research helped my product was what to do and put on
each both the front cover and the double page spread as for the
front cover it needed something to do with a game the magazine is
covering and also tell people about other things going on in the
magazine and for the double page It needed to cover topics for the
games like interviews with the developers and their opinions on the
game but also tell readers of other upcoming things like reviews or
release dates for game or information of what is going to be included
in the game.
• Another way my research helped my product was giving me a clear
example of what I can use in my magazine as since game magazines
have images ripped straight from the games it meant for my product
I didn't have to waste time doing an illustration for the front cover so
my product wouldn't get sued for copy right infringement.Weaknesses
• One of the weaknesses I feel my research had was I only looked at
gaming magazines as maybe If I looked at other types of magazine
I may have found something from them that may have help make
my two final products even better.
• Another weakness I feel my research has is that I only looked at
one example of a two page spread and maybe if I had looked at
another two page spread it may have given me a better idea on
what to put on a two page spread.
What effect would this have on my product
• The effect all of this would have is that my front cover may have
been different on what the title would have looked like the
topics covered and where they would be placed on the front
cover, with the double page spread not having the interview on
them and maybe other games may have been covered instead
of the one being covered in my final two page spread now.
4. Planning
Strengths
• One strength I feel my planning had was the second mind map I
had made as in that one I had a large multitude on what I could do
for my final product meaning I had a large selection of ideas to
draw from.
• Another strength I feel my planning had was of the mood board
analysis as I feel that I had a good understanding of what was the
same and what was different between all the examples I had on
the mood board itself.
• A final strength I feel my planning had was on the first mood
board as yes it may not have as many ideas as the first one but
the ideas for magazine theme I had fir well with what I am most
used to which is games movies and music so I know what I could
cover in each.
Weaknesses
• One weakness I feel my planning had was of the way the mood
board is presented as it is just all the images lined up neatly
which isn’t very interesting if I could go back I would maybe put
some images over lapping each other maybe having some
angled side ways may have made the mood board more
interesting.
• Another weakness I feel my planning has is that it covers
something I already have experience with as maybe if I chose to
do a magazine on something I don’t know much about it may
have been a bit more of a challenge or a disaster or just add a
fourth idea to the mind map.
How did my planning help my product
The way my planning helped my final product was by helping me get
a clear outline on how I wanted my front cover of my magazine and
double page spread to be which was the front cover will have a
flashy title with big bold text to grab a reader in and for the spread
page it will have a side dedicated to a game and the other side will
be dedicated to a up coming review of a game, and I have stuck to
those idea for the magazine and double page spread ever since with
only some slight changes as the idea went along.
What effect would this have had on my
product
A way this would have effected my work would be that the
magazines theme may have been quite different from what it is now
as the theme could have been about fishing or knitting or even
farming which I don’t have much experience with so if I had gone
with a theme I'm not really knowledgeable of the final product may
not turn out with the standards I try to achieve with my work or it
might have come out quite well its hard to know.
5. Time Management
• I believe in my personal opinion that have managed my time quite well as I
have managed to stay on point and on task and get everything done in a
neat orderly fashion before time runs out so I can get this reflection done
just in time as well.
• However I do believe my project could have been improved with more
time tho as I may have changed the photo I used for one of the interviews
from the magazine as I think It looks to blurry.
• Although if I had more time I would have not only made improvements to
both the front cover and the double page spread I may have done another
double page spread based on what I had put on my magazines front cover
which was Jim sterling's theory on micro transaction systems and why they
shorten a games life span but in reality it would be just my opinion on why
micro transactions don’t work in games and in fact shorten there life span
with fans.
6. Technical Qualities
similarity's
both my magazine and the existing
magazine have a character related
to a game series on the front cover.
Both my product and the existing
one have the required bar code.
Both my product and the existing
one have information on what the
reader is going to find inside the
magazine.
Both my magazine and the existing
magazine have titles
Finally both my product and the
existing one have the title of the
game of the game on the front
cover
differences
My magazine has a slogan whilst
the existing magazine.
The image on the front cover of my
magazine is from the trailer of halo
infinite whilst the existing
magazines image is clearly edited
with some assets taken from the
game to create the image.
My magazine has less information
on the front cover whilst the
existing magazine has loads.
The existing magazine has the logo
for a console on its front cover
whilst mine doesn't.
The existing magazines front cover
uses the same font whilst mine
uses a multitude of fonts.
7. Technical Qualities
similaritys differences
Both my double page spread
and the existing one have a
character from the game
they’re in for background
images.
Both my double page spread
and the existing one have bits
from the magazine that tell the
reader about the game.
My double page spread has pages
dedicated to a topic each whilst
the existing one has a page entirely
fill up by an image with some text
and the other talking about the
game
The existing double page spread
has images relating to the game
that it is covering whilst mine has
picture of people that are apart of
the game and review and also and
original illustration done by me
relating to the review that it being
talked about on that page
The existing double page spread
uses the some font for each page
whilst mine uses two different
fonts for each page
8. Aesthetic Qualities
Strengths
• One of the strength of my project I feel is how the
front cover turned out as I believe it is eye
catching enough that it may draw in an audience
to read it.
• Another strength I feel that my project has is that
of the illustration I did for my double page spread
as I think that it gives my magazine its own idea
that makes it stand out form the rest.
• A third strength I feel that my project has is in the
font I have used for both each the front cover and
the double page spread which I think fit quite well
for each page they’re on and keeps the magazine
interesting to the reader.
• A final strength I feel my has is the slogans I used
for my work like to infinity and beyond and the
new reviewer on the block as catchy slogans can
catch an observers eyes and making them want to
buy the product itself.
Weaknesses
• One weakness I feel my project has it that most of
the text is the same colour which is black which is
a problem as two of the sentences on the front
cover blend in to well with the back ground
image.
• Another weakness of my final piece is that the
text on the left side of the double page spread
may be a little to small to read which is a problem
as you don’t want your audience having to look
closer at the magazine just to read the text.
• A final weakness I feel that this project has is that
some images may be more blurrier than other
which you don’t want in your magazine as it
becomes very distracting to the reader.
In my honest opinion I feel like my work I looks very good as I
believe it is creative enough to stand out on its own among
other gaming magazines and an aspect of this work I like is
the front cover as I think I was able to create a front cover
that looks like the real deal.
However I would improve the colours of the text on the front
cover and resize the text on the left side of the double page
spread and the way I would do this would be to go back to
Photoshop select both text that were black and recolour them
a different colour to make them stand out but also go to the
text on the left side of the double page spread and resize the
text to were the reader can see it better.
9. Audience Appeal
One way I have been able to
appeal to my target
audience is by showing an
image that attracts this kind
of audience which is halo
which appeals to many 15-
20 year old mostly men with
a lower number of women
being in this category too.
Another way I have been able to
appeal to my target audience is
by keeping the sentences in the
double page spread short
without them dragging allowing
one sentence o move onto the
next meaning the audience
won’t get bored halfway
through reading.
A final way I have been able o
appeal to my target audience
is in the use of the small
amounts information on the
front cover with them only
giving small detail to the
reader on what's to come
making the audience want to
find out what the rest is about.
11. Feedback 1
• What did you like about the product?
– I like the fact its different to anyone else’s magazine, I love
that there is a variety of different colours in the front cover
and double page spread.
– Also I like the fact you have used different fonts to show
how personal the writing is to the reader.
• What improvements could have been made to the
product?
⁻ I think overall it’s a good magazine but he colours of
the writing needs o be more brighter to be able to read
it properly also I feel as they should be more photos
then writing.
12. Feedback 2
• What did you like about the product?
– The images used are high quality and clearly show the genre of the magazine
–There is a nice variety of fonts used for the titles and these reflect the content of
the stories well
– The background images behind the text work well on the double page spread
• What improvements could have been made to the product?
- There is a lot of text in the double page spread this should be in
columns and could have been cut down to be less as it makes it very busy.
- The cover lines on the front page aren’t very clear against the image
and the fonts used are quite difficult to read
- The title could have had a thicker border to make it stand out more.
13. Feedback 3
• What did you like about the product?
– I found the front cover to be very creative as it showed clearly
what genre of media it was covering.
– I liked how the font from the left side of the double page spread
used fitted with the topic it was covering on that page
– I also found the title of the magazine to be enticing to the eyes
as well as the slogan used on the front cover.
• What improvements could have been made to the
product?
– The double page spread could use less sentences in it allowing
there to be more room for images.
– Two of the sentences on the front cover could use some
recolouring to make them stand out more
– Some fonts could be changed so they are easier to read.
14. Peer Feedback Summary
• What do you agree with from your peer
feedback?
– That the texts could do with some changes like
resizing certain parts recolouring sentences so the
stand out more and are easier to read.
– The title could have had a larger boarder
• What do you disagree with from your peer
feedback?
⁻ Cut down on text used on double page spread to
allow for more images.
15. Peer Feedback Summary
A first change I would make to my work based on peer feed back would be to change the colour
of some sentences to make sure they are easier to read and make the border around the title
bigger so it stands out more.
Another change would make to my work based on peer feed back is to cut some sentences from
the double page spread to make It shorter and allowing for more images to be on the double
page.
A final change I would make to my work based on peer feed back would be would be to change
some font for sentences to make sure they are understandable for the reader.
Notas do Editor
What were the strengths of your research? How did your research help your product?
What were the weaknesses of your research? What could you have done better/improve? What effect would this have had on your product?
What were the strengths of your planning? How did your planning help your product?
What were the weaknesses of your planning? What could you have done better/improve? What effect would this have had on your product?
Did you manage your time well? Did you complete your project on time or would your products have improved with additional time?
What would you have done if you had more time to produce your work?
Compare your work to similar existing products and discuss the similarities and differences
Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page alongside an existing product
Use text boxes and arrows
Does your work look good? Was it creative? What aspects of your game’s visuals do you like? What would you improve? How would you improve it?
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses
Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page and analyse them
Use text boxes and arrows
How have you appealed to your target audience? What specific bits of content would appeal to your target audience.
Refer to your findings from your questionnaire.
Put your final piece(s) in the centre of a page and analyse them
Use text boxes and arrows
What changes would you make to your product based upon your peer feedback and why?