What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I started by using Google to research the conventions and format of existing magazines. I also used Google to research what media institutions would best fit my magazine. Google also helped me gather images for different uses such as developing my mood board.

Photoshop was the main program I used. I used it to create my magazine, I also used Photoshop to create my preliminary task while doing that it taught me the basis so when I produced my music magazine I knew roughly how to use it. I learnt how to use ‘rulers’ effectively to format my pages, this was especially useful for my feature article when I had to put the columns in. I also learnt how important having separate layers is when you want to move things separately without moving the whole page.

I have always had an interest in photography but lacked the knowledge and capability to achieve the shots I wanted. Due to this being a magazine I knew I needed to achieve high end shots for the type of magazine I wanted to produce and the target audience I was aiming at. To get ideas on what kind of shots I should take I looked at Vogue and Elle to see what their front covers are like and how women in them pose I then showed the girl I was photographing some ideas so she had she knew what I was trying to aim for and I think by the end I achieved the upper class look I was aiming for.

Web spaces played a major role during this project. To begin with blogger was used to keep all my work. I also used Flickr to upload analyses; it allowed quick and direct annotation to be attained. A disadvantage I found with Flickr was that I had to write everything out on a word document before putting annotating the picture this was time consuming. It prevented me from having a long/detailed analysis due to the constriction of space. I also used survey monkey, I used this website to get feedback from the audience to see what they would like to see in my magazine. This helped me decide what I want my target audience to be and what I want my magazine to include. After getting some response I realised the audience wanted a music magazine that included some fashion bits, I also realised that my magazine would therefore be aimed at women. This website played a major role when it came to me producing my final magazine.

In conclusion I now have a great knowledge and understanding of how to use Photoshop, Flickr, blogger, issuu, survey monkey and other programs and websites I have used while producing my magazine, these have helped me produce my finish product to be exactly like I wanted it to be.