Evaluation

Final Products- Front Cover

Final Product- Contents Page

Final Products- Double Page Spread

Final Products- Billboard

Final Products - Webpage

http://bodminmedia.com/Jade

Construction Stages- Front Cover

Stage 1: 

I started my front cover with a surfing image I took on a trip to the Cornish town, Newquay. I initially chose this image as I could easily create a bright and vibrant colour palette, featuring the red and yellow seen on the surf board. The green of the water made a fresh backdrop, allowing the protagonist to stand out. The model I used was 20 years old fitting with my target audience age range. I wanted to promote a youthful appearance as it would be more relevant to my consumer. By introducing a surfer it showed one of the popular activities associated with Cornwall as well as corresponding with Dick Hebdige's term that "youth is fun". I aimed to positively represent the youth of Cornwall as being active and productive. 

I chose to design my masthead with a sans serif font and incorporate the word 'Cornwall' in the word 'Escape'. 

Stage 2:

The typography design I had featured in the first stage has developed into a more traditional and sophisticated form. I decided to divert form the sans serif font style in oder to balance the relaxed imagery. I added my first cover line which related to Gandal's 2007 'rags to riches theory'. Similarly, I followed the serif font style in my cover line. The lexis i have used if upbeat, relating to semantic fields of success and escapism (Blumer and Katz 1973). I incorporated a bare code which is alternative to the usual feature. I wanted to use this design as it brought something niche to my product, an aspect desirable of my target audience. 

Stage 3: 

As evident when comparing images from stage 2 and three I chose to take a different approach to my front cover. After reviewing my first design ambitions I came to the conclusion that there was not enough flair to entice a young audience. The traditional concept of regional magazines means that the content will be based around the location, however I wanted to prove that this could a fresh, exciting genre as well as being informative. I decide to change my masthead so that the basics of the appearance showed similarity to conventions seen in other regional magazines but yet displayed unexpected visions. I chose to feature both pieces of masthead text in a serif font style. Both where modern and contemporary in relation to the age of my audience. I changed my image to a photograph with a brighter mise-en-scene which introduced a difference range of colours. I colour matched the shade of the surf board in order to create a colour palette with the lime green whilst allowing the ocean blue to be dominant. 

Stage 4: 

I re-touched and edited the levels of the image. Making the surfer more of the main subject to the audience. By brightening the tone and increasing the contrast the photography areas much fresher; corresponding with the look I was aspiring for. I added the content outlines across the bottom, sticking the to serif typography style whilst displaying a common convention seen in other regional magazines such as; Cornwall Today.

Stage 5:
Again, I have made vast improvements to stage 4. I made a change to the name of my product; creating a title with more relevant connotations. I adopted the same colour and font, changing the word and the angle of the text. I developed the cover line and added another one, this made my page have more depth. I used the technique of word painting to label the word 'gold', the colour I used is gold as well as the element including a textured appearance. Since researching into regional magazines I found that stickers and pugs are a popular visual, I chose to use this convention by creating a competition tab. This shows that my product has links to activities around Cornwall and therefore increases the production factor. I chose to include a big number as research shows this is a tactful way of attracting attention form an audience.  I have also improved the content at the bottom of the page to show continuity between my webpages and my print deigns.

Construction Stages- Content Page

Stage 1:

Firstly, I started out by using a landscape image which covered half of the page. I had been inspired to use hexagon shapes since conducting research into modern art deco prints. I thought this was a good way of conveying multiple ideas onto one page, making it more visually exciting (being relevant to my target audience). I used the magic wand tool to select the shape then copy and pasted the my images so that they could fit together. I only used half the page as this would leave space for my text. 

Stage 2:

I decided that the design I had started to construct did not follow the conventions I had hoped to show. Therefore, I chose to display the qualities used by Cornwall Today and Cornwall Life. 

Stage 3:

I have added a headline to my content page using a simple design and basic colour. I have included both of these qualities in oder to show continuity through my products. I have used the same font as i used on my front cover in order to create the headline. I have contrasted the serif style in the other textual aspects of the page. This has allowed my product to display conventions as well as show a diverse change which is relevant to my youthful audience. I have also chosen to add an editors comment, which is a common convention seen in most magazine genres. 

  

Stage 4:

Here I have decided to add more elements to the page, making it look fuller and more professional. I have organised the text and changed colours in order for it look look more appealing.  I have used the wave pattern seen on my front cover and filled it with the same lime green used in my masthead. This promotes continuity and shows the audience that the product is from the same brand. Also, I have used the Cornish flag to emphasis the region in which the magazine is from. I added a date line which is a common convention in many regional magazines. 

Stage 5:

This is the final design of my contents page. I have removed the box that bordered the editors comment and instead added a dark filter across the whole of my page to make the lettering stand out. As I have used a black filter, this follows Stanley Halls 1904 theory that stated the common mood of teenagers is depression. Despite following this theory I have also challenged it by using bright colours such as; lime green. I have included my website link in the bottom right hand corner which show a diverse aspect of my brand as well as displaying a convention of regional magazines. 

Construction Stages- Double Page Spread

Stage 1:
This is the initial starting point of my double page. I used an action as the base to my page as I felt this would be more relevant to my target audience. I wanted to use this image as it featured many shades of blue showing correspondence to my front cover. The headline of this page is different and unique as the design has been altered from what have been previously seen or that is shown through conventions. This theory links to Stanley Halls 1904 statement that refers to the storm and stress model; this evidences that my target audience are more inclined to consume something that is different and rebels against expectations.

Stage 2:

In the second stage of my construction I have developed the design of my headline by changing the direction of the word 'THE' reads. By doing this I feel that the concepts fits together better and makes the page look tidier. I have also enlarged the headline making it a more dominant element of the page. I have included a short article which fills the blank space on the page. Page numbers can be found in the bottom left and right hand corners, I did this in order to follow conventions.

Stage 3:I decided to again, develop my headline; adding a drop shadow and changing the weight of some of the text. I move some of the lettering in order to fill two lines, making the headline appear more professional. I added the Cornish map in order to show continuity through my front cover, content and double page spread.   



Stage 4:

I have added a caption to my article which introduces the text in more detail. I have also included my website link which invites a professional overview to my page. I adjusted the positing of the caption as I have decided to create a less refined and organised look by changing the column appearance.



Construction Stages- Billboard

Stage 1:
I started by transferring the the hexagon concept to my billboard. I wanted to use this design somewhere in my product, therefore I chose to feature it in one of my ancillary tasks. I changed some images in order to make it relevant to my target audience and their interests.

Stage 2:

I used the Cornish flag as an outline of where I placed my images. Once i had completed the hexagon task, I went on the add a vibrant group of colour which would compliment the images and their position. 

Stage 3:

Using the Cornish flag I used the same shape to outline my images. I continued to use the same masthead as seen on my front cover as this is the most recognisable part of my product identity. I adapted the colour scheme slightly by using grey instead of white to fill the word 'Cornwall'.



Stage 4:

I have developed the screenshot of my front cover by adding another two thumbnails to add more depth to the page. I thought it was necessary to use other visual aspects alongside the map as the product is other wise quite plain. I kept to the colour palette by using bright and interesting colours carried over from my main tasks, for example; blues and greens.  

Stage 5:

To conclude my billboard, I included a landscape image to act as the background for my advertisement. I turned the opacity of the image down so that both contextual aspects and other visual features could be seen. The original colours of the background image were strong and would've overpowered the page when put next to the map. Using the same font as part of my masthead, I added my webpage link into my billboard, acting as a large contribution to the product. I thought this was an important concept as my target audience are youthful and depend on the online world as part of their entertainment forum (Blumer and Katz 1973). Finally, I incorporated the three wave symbol seen in my front cover and content page, which puts emphasis on the continuity of my pages.

Photo shoot Reflection

When looking back at my photo shoots, I feel that I made the most of the environment I constructed imagery from. By taking multiple images which featured a range of compositions and frames, it provided the opportunity to apply the most relevant photography to my products. Having multiple shots also benefited aspects such as my Billboard. My design required images that fit in the hexagon shape and therefore needed to be cropped to a certain size and outline whilst still promoting the topic of the picture. I felt I had got to grips with the lighting of the surroundings, as it would've been hard to manipulate considering most of y shoots were taken outside. I feel that the bright and intense light fits with the mise-en -scene of my magazine as it is regional, promoting the natural aspects of Cornwall. The locations I chose mostly pushed the colour blue which was helpful when deciding a colour palette.
In order to improve my images I would've chosen a better place to set up the equipment. Especially, when photographing the fast paced action shots I feel like the angle in which the images were taken could've been more successful and had more of an impact on the audience.

Photo Shoot

Sample Images

Red Arrows- shoot 1:

Red Arrows- shoot 2: 

Newquay food: 

  

Gig rowing: